Physics: Rapid Review Flashcards
What is the approximate average energy of an xray beam?
1/3 kVp
Note: The beam is mostly (80%) due to Bremsstrahlung interactions creating xrays.
Which electron is ejected from an atom during characteristic xray production?
An inner shell electron
What is the binding energy for Tungsten that creates a characteristic xray peak?
70 KeV
What is the purpose of the glass enclosure/envelop of an xray tube?
- Maintain a vacuum
- Allow the amount and speed of the electrons to be controlled independently
What does the xray tube cathode do?
It is the filament that emits electrons to be accelerated towards the anode
What does the xray tube focusing cup do?
Help the electron beam strike an appropriately sized focus on the anode
What does the anode do?
Provide the target material (e.g. tungston) to be hit by the electron beam to make xrays
What happens if you increase the target anode atomic number (Z)?
You increase the quantity and quality of xrays produced
What happens if you increase the xray tube kVp?
You increase the quality and quantity of xrays produced
What happens if you increase the xray tube mAs?
You increase the quantity of xrays produced (but not their average energy)
What happens if you increase the voltage ripple in an xray tube?
You decrease the quantity and quality of xrays produced
What happens if you add filtration to an xray tube?
You increase the quality but decrease the quantity of xrays produced
On which side should you place thicker parts to minimize heel effect?
The cathode side
How should you change the xray tube angle to minimize heel effect?
Increase angle
Note: Smaller angles are associated with worse heel effect.
How does the focus to film distance (FFD) affect the heel effect?
Smaller FFD means less heel effect
How does the field of view affect the heel effect?
Smaller field of view (film) means less heel effect
For mammography, you should put the chest side on the…
Cathode side (to minimize heel effect)
How does increasing mAs affect the average energy of xrays produced?
It doesn’t change the average energy (it only results in a higher quantity of xrays produced)
How can you determine the kVp for a given target curve?
It is the maximum energy of xray photon produced (where the curve falls back to 0 on the x axis)
You lower the kVp and now no longer see a characteristic peak on the target curve…
You lowered the kVp below the binding energy for the target (no characteristic xrays can be produced)
What happened if the target curve now has a different characteristic xray peak?
You changed target material
Note: Tungston will always have a characteristic peak at ~70 KeV (as long as the kVp is set to 70 or above).
How does k shell binding energy change with atomic number?
Higher atomic number means higher k shell binding energy (need a higher kVp to produce characteristic xrays)
Compton interactions are a main contributor to…
Scatter/noise
Note: Compton scatter involves the outer shell electrons, whereas the photoelectric effect (which contributes to desired contrast) involves inner shell electrons.
Magnification is proportional to
SID/SOD
Note: Increased source-image distance and decreased source-object distance both increase magnification.
How can you decrease blur in radiographs?
- Smaller focal spot
- Bring detector as close as possible to pt (and source as far away as possible)
Detective quantum efficiency
An estimate of the required exposure level necessary to produce an optimal image (a measure of how efficient a detector is compared to an ideal detector)
Note: Higher DQE detectors will result in decreased doses to the pt.
Modulation transfer function
A measure of the relationship between sharpness (i.e. edge detection) and resolution (i.e. ability to discriminate between two close points)
Note: The higher the MTF, the higher the detective quantum efficiency of the detector.
As detective quantum efficiency increases, signal to noise ratio ______
Decreases (inversely proportional)
Detective quantum efficiency is better at low/high spatial resolution
DQE is better at LOW spatial resolution
What is the approximate detective quantum efficiency of digital radiography?
0.45 (almost half of the xrays hitting the detector are recorded)
Note: The DQE for plain film is worse (0.25).
If a tech wants to noticeably increase the brightness of a radiograph, they should…
Increase mAs by 30%
How does changing the kVp change the radiograph?
Lower kVp -> higher contrast
How does changing the mAs change the radiograph?
Higher mAs -> higher radiographic density (brighter image)
If you increase mAs by 50%, what should you change to maintain the same radiographic density?
Decrease the kVp by 15%
What is the main downside to using a grid in radiography?
Increased dose to the pt (more xrays needed to produce the same exposure)
What are common scenarios where you would not use a grid for radiography?
- Babies
- Extremities
- Magnification (in mammography)
How can you reduce scatter (improve contrast in radiography)?
- Collimate
- Compress the body part
- Lower kVp
- Use a grid or air gap
What are the benefits of using collimation in radiography?
- Increased contrast
- Decreased scatter
- Decreased dose (kerma area product)
Note: The main down side to collimation is decreased field of view.
What is the typical standard of care resolution for a digital display in radiology?
3 Mega pixels (3,000,000 pixels)
What is the major determinate of image contrast in film radiography?
kVp (lower kVp -> higher contrast)
What is the major determinate of image contrast in digital radiography?
Look up tables
Note: kVp still influences contrast, but since digital detectors have such a high dynamic range you can adjust the contrast by windowing.
What is the difference between the detector response curves in film vs digital radiography?
DR has a linear response curve (high dynamic range)
FR has a curvilear response curve (has a hard time discriminating between really low energy and really high energy photons, good contrast is only achieved in a narrow range of photon energies)
What are the major determinates of spatial resolution in digital radiography
Better resolution if:
- Smaller pixels (detector elements)
- Decreased pixel pitch (distance between pixels)
Indirect digital detectors
Indirect detectors (scintillators) convert the xrays into visible light, which then gets converted into electrical charge
Note: Direct detectors (photoconductors) convert xrays directly into electrical charge.
What is used as the scintillator in indirect digital detectors?
Thallium doped Cesium Iodide (CsI)
Note: This converts the xrays into visible light. The added step also decreases resolution (the thicker the crystal the more the light can scatter before actually reaching the digital detector).
What component converts xrays to electrical charge in direct digital detectors?
Amorphous selenium
What factors can improve spatial resolution for computed radiography?
- Smaller laser size
- Thinner phosphor plate (less light spreading)
- Increased sampling frequency (which results in a smaller pixel pitch)
- Smaller imaging plate (for a fixed matrix size CR system)
Note: Increasing the number of xrays available will not improve maximum spatial resolution.
Which has better spatial resolution: computed radiography or digital radiography?
Digital radiography (because the pixel detector is built into the DR flat panel)
What factors can improve spatial resolution for digital radiography?
Solely dependent on the size of the detector elements (smaller detector elements, better resolution)
What is the fill factor for direct conversion digital radiography?
Nearly 100%
Note: Indirect detectors only have a moderate fill factor.
What is the kVp used for mammography?
Low energy (25-25 kVp)
What is the kVp used for general radiography?
High energy (50-120 kVp)
What is the most common anode used in mammography?
Molybdenum
What is the most common anode used in general radiography?
Tungston
What is the mAs used in mammography?
100 mAs (low tube current)
What is the mAs used in general radiography?
500 mAs (high tube current)
What is a typical exposure time for mammography?
1 second/1000 ms (long)
What is the typical exposure time in general radiography?
50 ms (short)
How does the receptor air kerma differ in mammography compared to general radiography?
Higher receptor air kerma (100 micro Gy)
Note: General radiography is 5 micro Gy.
Instead of the pyrex glass window used in general radiography, mammography uses…
A beryllium window
How does the focal spot differ in mammography compared to general radiography?
Smaller focal spot than used in general radiography
How does the grid ratio differ in mammography compared to general radiography?
Lower grid ratio (5:1) than used in general radiography (10:1)
How does the optic density differ in mammography compared to general radiography?
Higher optic density than used in general radiography
How do the view boxes differ in mammography compared to general radiography?
Brighter (3000 cd/m^2) than in general radiography (1500 cd/m^2)
How do processing times differ in mammography compared to general radiography?
Longer processing times than in general radiography
What is used to reduce scatter in mammography?
- A grid
- Air gap without grid (for mag views)
What is the focal spot used for mag views in mammography?
0.1 mm (smaller than the 0.3 mm used for general mammography)
What changes for mag views in mammography?
- Air gap instead of grid
- Smaller focal spot (0.3 mm -> 0.1 mm)
- Lower mAs (100 mAs -> 25 mAs)
- Increased exposure time (1 sec -> 3 sec)
What target/filter should you use for larger/dense breasts?
Rh/Rh or Mo/Al
What target/filter should you use for intermediate density breasts?
Mo/Rh
What target/filter should you use for low density breasts?
Mo/Mo
What target/filter combination should never be used?
Rh/Mo
Note: Rh produces characteristic xrays of 21 kEv, which would get filtered by a molybdenum filter (K edge of 20 KeV).
MQSA requirement for PPV1 (abnormal screener call back)
Benchmark 4.4% (acceptable range is 3-8%)
MQSA requirement for PPV2 (recomendations for biopsy)
Benchmark 25.4% (acceptable range is 15-40%)
Note: The acceptable range increases if there is a palpable mass (to 25-50%).
MQSA requirement for PPV3 (percentage of biopsies performed that show cancer)
Benchmark 31% (acceptable range is 20-45%)
Note: The acceptable range increases if there is a palpable mass (to 30-55%).
What body is tasked with MQSA enforcement?
FDA
MQSA QA frequency for processor quality control
Daily
MQSA QA frequency for darkroom cleanliness
Daily
MQSA QA frequency for viewbox conditions
Weekly
MQSA QA frequency for phantom evaluation
Weekly
MQSA QA frequency for repeat analysis
Quarterly
MQSA QA frequency for compression test
Semi-annually (twice yearly)
MQSA QA frequency for darkroom fog
Semi-annually (twice yearly)
MQSA QA frequency for screen-film contrast
Semi-annually (twice yearly)
What is the appropriate target range for MQSA recall rate for a medical audit?
5-7%