medical physics Flashcards

1
Q

non invasive techniques

A

techniques which involve no cutting or incision of the body

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2
Q

an example and advantage of non-invasive technique

A

X-rays

it has a lower risk of infection

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3
Q

How does a medical tracer work

A

a radioactive substance is injected or ingested
Technetium-99 is commonly used
most tracers emit gamma radiation
the tracer is absorbed by the organ of interest
a gamma camera is used to image the organ

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4
Q

collimator

A

a block of lead drilled with narrow tubes
gamma ray photons travel along the axis of the tubes
longer and narrower tubes give a sharper image

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5
Q

scintillator

A

can be made from sodium iodide
a gamma ray photon strikes the scintillator
producing many visible light photons

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6
Q

photomultiplier

A

electrical pulse produced by each photon of visible light

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7
Q

what does the computer do in the gamma camera

A

connected to the photomultiplier

software uses electrical signals to generate an image

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8
Q

4 parts of a gamma camera

A

collimator
scintillator
photomultiplier
computer

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9
Q

how to PET scans work

A

A positron-emitting tracer is placed into the body
Flourine-18 can be used
each positron annihilates a single electron
producing two gamma ray photons travelling in opposite directions
the patient is surrounded by a ring of gamma detectors
a computer connected to the detectors works out the arrival times of the photons indicates the location of emission
the computer uses the information to create a 3d image

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10
Q

advantage of PET scans

A

can be used to reveal the function of the brain or organs

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11
Q

disadvantage of PET scans

A

uses ionising radiation which causes a small risk

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12
Q

How does MRI work

A

Nuclei behave like tiny magnets

nuclei precess about the strong magnetic field provided by electromagnets

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13
Q

Properties of ultrasound

A

longitudinal wave with a frequency higher than 20kHz

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14
Q

piezoelectric effect

A

a potential difference is applied across a piezoelectric crystal
the crystal expands and contracts

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15
Q

producing an ultrasound wave

A

an alternating potential difference is applied across the piezoelectric crystal
the crystal vibrates at a high frequency and emits ultrasound waves

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16
Q

detecting ultrasound waves

A

an ultrasound wave is incident on a piezoelectric crystal

the cases the crystal to vibrate and produce an alternating potential difference

17
Q

How do ultrasound scans work

A

transducer with piezoelectric crystal emits and detects ultrasound waves
transducer sends pulses of ultrasound into the body
ultrasound is reflected at boundaries between tissues
reflected signals are detected by the transducer
time delay used to determine the depth of boundaries
intensity of reflected signal is used to identify the tissues

18
Q

what are A scans

A

A single transducer is used
in one direction only
allows depth or distance to be found

19
Q

what are B scans

A

an array of transducers are used
in multiple directions
allows 2d and 3d images to be produced

20
Q

how does the wavelength affect the image produced

A

higher frequency waves have a shorter waves length to give finer detail images

21
Q

how to work out acoustic impedance

A

density x wave speed

22
Q

why is impedance matching important

A

if there is a large difference in Z a large fraction of intensity is reflected
air and skin have very different Z’s so most of the intensity is reflected at the skin
gel with similar Z to skin is used
so very little of the intensity is reflected

23
Q

Doppler effect

A

a change in frequency and wavelength when waves are emitted from a moving source
for a source moving towards the observer the wavelength is smaller and the frequency is higher

24
Q

Doppler scans

A

used to measure the speed of blood flow in an artery
a transducer is placed at an angle to the artery
pulses of ultrasound are reflected by moving blood cells
the frequency of the ultrasound is changed because of the Doppler effect
the change in frequency is related to the speed of the blood

25
Nature of xrays and xray photons
can travel in a vacuum at c no charge and no mass highly ionising only waves transverse and em waves with wavelength of 10^-10
26
production of xrays
produced in an xray tube electrons are accelerated across a high voltage the fast moving electrons hit a metal target the kinetic energy of the electrons is transferred into xray photons
27
photoelectric effect
one xray photon is absorbed by an electron in an atom | an electron is ejected from the atom
28
Compton effect
one xray photon collides with on electron in an aom an electron is ejected from the atom and a photon is scattered with a lower energy
29
pair production
one xray photon collides with the nucleus of an atom | the photon disappears and an electron positron pair is produced
30
what are image intensifiers
used because most xrays are not absorbed by the photographic film scintillator is placed in front of the film it absorbs an xray photon and releases many visible light photons visible light photons are absorbed by the film producing a higher contrast image with a lower exposure of xrays to the patient
31
how does contrast media work
different soft tissues have very little difference in attenuation barium can be digested into the digestive system iodine can bee injected into capillaries and blood vessels they have high atomic numbers so they have high attenuation coefficients they absorb xrays producing a shadow on an xray image allowing the soft tissue to be outlined
32
how does computerised axial tomography work
a thin fan shaped beam of xrays is used the tube and detectors are rotated around the patient so beam passes through the patient at different angles computer software produces images of slices through the patient the tube and detectors are moved along the patient to produce the slices computer using information from the detectors to calculate the 3d image
33
how are CAT scans different to Xray images
Cat scans use many different angles | uses a computer to produce an image
34
advantages of CAT scans
produces a 3d image | gives better contrast between different soft tissues
35
attenuation
a reduction in intensity by absorption scattering or reflection
36
how do you find the energy of xrays when they're being produced
work done by pd = maximum kinetic energy of x-ray | QV=hf=hc/λ
37
how does one x-ray photon produce many visible photons
x-rays have a higher energy which can form many visible light photons
38
how is an x-ray image of bone produced
fewer photons pass through bone to the film under the patient the bone casts a shadow on the film metal absorbs x-rays better than bones so show up bright on x-rays