Radiology Flashcards
Why are radiographs useful?
- provide ability to see structures within the body. particularly mineralised tissues
- can show normal anatomy and pathology
- aid diagnosis, treatment planning and monitoring
Name 3 different types of intra-oral radiographs?
- periapical
- bitewings
- occlusal
Name 2 different types of extra-oral radiographs?
- panoramic
- lateral cephalograms
What are the Electromagnetic Radiation properties?
- no charge
- no mass
- always travel at the speed of light (3x10^8 ms^-1)
- can travel in a vacum
What is the electromagnetic spectrum?
different types of EM radiation which have different properties dependent on its (energy/wavelength/frequency)
Typically divided into 7 main groups
Name the 7 groups of the EM spectrum from highest energy to lowest energy?
- gamma ray
- x-ray
- ultraviolet
- visible
- infrared
- microwave
- radio
What is frequency a measure of?
- how many times the wave repeats per unit time
- measured in Hz
- one Hz = one cycle per second
what speed is all electromagnetic radiation?
3x10^8ms^-1
What happens if the frequency of EM radiation increases?
the wavelength must decrease and vice verse as S= F x W and speed is always 3x10^8
What is energy measured in?
electron volts (eV)
1V = energy gained by 1 electron moving across a potential difference of 1 volt
What is the range of x-ray photon energies?
124eV - 124keV
What is the difference between hard and soft x-rays?
hard x-rays = higher energies (>5keV) and able to penetrate human tissues
soft x-rays = lower energies and easily absorbed by tissues
How are x-rays produced?
- electrons are fired at atoms at a very high speed
- on collision the kinetic energy of these electrons is converted to EM radiation (ideally x-rays) and heat
- the x-ray photons are aimed at a subject
What is the mass of an atom?
Mass Number (A) = number of protons + neutrons
What is the atomic number of an atom?
Atomic number(Z) = number of protons
How do electrons fill spaces in there electron shells?
- try fill spaces in the inner shells first before moving to the next shell
What is the calculation for working out how many electrons each shell can hold?
2n^2 where n= shell number
- k=1, L=2 and so on
What is electrostatic force?
-ve charge of electrons are attracted to the overall positive charge of the nucleus holding the electrons within their shells
What is Binding Energy?
The amount of energy required to remove an electron from its shell ( must exceed the electrostatic force)
What electron shell has the greatest binding energy and why?
Electrons in K (inner most) shell have the highest binding energy as they are closer to the nucleus and have a greater electrostatic force
What effect does the atomic number have on the binding energy?
The higher the Z (more positively charged the nucleus) the greater the electrostatic force and the greater the binding energy
What would be the energy required to move an electron to a more outer or inner shell?
moving an electron to a more outer shell equals the difference in the binding energies of the 2 shells and if the electron drops to a more inner shell then this specific energy is released( possibly in the form of X-ray photons if sufficient energy)
X-ray production requires a unidirectional current but x-ray units are powered by mains electricity which is an alternating current. How is this problem solved?
X-ray units have generators which modify AC so that it mimics a constant DC which is a process know as rectification
What is a voltage?
The difference in electrical potential between 2 points in an electrical field and how forcefully a charge will be pushed through an electrical field
What is a transformer and what is there function in the X-ray unit?
- Alter the voltage from one circuit to another
- 2 are found in the x-ray unit
1. mains - x-ray tube (cathode-anode)
2. mains - filament
What is the difference between a step up and stepdown transformer in the x-ray unit?
Step up transformer - increases the potential difference across the x-ray tube (60-70kV) and current reduced to milliamps (MA)
step down transformer - decreases the action potential across filament (10V) and current 10 amps
What is the X-ray beam made of?
millions of x-ray photons travelling in straight lines diverging from the x-ray source
What effects the intensity of the x-ray beam?
number and energy of the photons ie the current in filament (mA) and potential difference across x-ray tube (kV)
What occurs to the intensity of the x-ray dose by increasing the distance of the object from the x-ray source?
intensity decreases as beam is divergent so less photons hit the object per unit ^2
What is inverse square law in relation to x-ray dose/intensity?
Intensity of X-ray beam is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the X-ray source & the point of measurement
Intensity 𝖺 = 1/distance^2
If a patient standing in the X-ray beam gets a dose of 4 grays at a distance of 1 metre (from the X-ray source), what will the dose be at 4 metres?
0.25Gy
What are the 2 main components of the cathode (-) in the x-ray tube head?
filaments and focusing cups
What is the filaments in the cathode made of?
coils of wire (tungsten)
how are electrons released from atoms in the filament (wire)?
thermionic emission
Why is tungsten used to make the filament?
- high melting point (3422 degrees)
- high atomic number (Z=74) therefore lots of electrons per atom
- malleable
What is the cathode focusing cup made of?
molybdenum
What is the function of the cathode focusing cup?
- negatively charged therefore repels electrons released at the filament
- shaped to point electrons at a small point on the anode target
Describe the cathode-anode relationship?
- high voltage electricity passes through x-ray tube (high potential difference between - cathode and + anode)
-electrons released at filament are aimed and attracted towards the positive anode accelerating to half the speed of light - increasing action potential increases acceleration and therefore the kinetic energy released upon colliding with the anode
What does the unit eV stand for and what does it measure?
- Electron volts
- measures the kinetic energy gained per electron as the accelerate from cathode to anode
What determines the amount of kinetic energy an electron gains travelling from the cathode to the anode?
-the potential difference across the x-ray tube
- eg if the potential difference is 70kV the kinetic energy gained per electron will be 70keV
What material is used for the anode target in an x-ray?
tungsten
Why is tungsten used for the anode target?
- high melting point
- produces x-ray photons of useful energies
What is the precise area on the anode target where electrons collide and x-rays are produced called?
focal spot
What is the function of the heat dissipating block which the anode target is embedded into?
- heat produce by collision at the anode target dissipates into the metal block and reduces the risk of overheating which could cause damage to the target
What is the heat dissipating block on the anode target made of?
copper
What is the penumbra effect?
blurring of the radiographic image due to a focal spot not being a single point (but rather a small area)
Why is the vocal spot on the anode angled?
- <1% of kinetic energy from the electrons is converted to X-ray photons whereas ~99% is converted to heat
↓ focal spot size = ↑ image quality but ↑ heat concentration
Solution: angled target
Increases the actual surface area where electrons impact
↑ better heat tolerance
Reduces the apparent surface area from where the X-ray beam
is emitted
↓ penumbra effect
What is the function of the glass envelope that surrounds the cathode and anode?
- supports cathode and anode
- maintains a vacuum (electrons unhindered by gas molecules)
- leaded glass to absorb x-ray photons not travelling in the desired direction ( has small un-leaded window for desired x-ray beam)
What is the function of the metal shielding in the x-ray tube head?
- absorbs x-rays
- usually lead
- window where x-ray beam exits
what is the function of the oil in the x-ray tube head?
dissipates heat produced by x-ray tube by thermal convection
What is the function of aluminium filtration in the x-ray tube head?
- Removes lower energy (non-diagnostic) X-rays from beam as Low energy photons would all be fully absorbed by patient’s tissues & increase patient dose but not contribute to image
What is the minimum thickness of aluminium required if x-ray photons are <70kV?
1.5mm
What does fsd stand for?
Focus to skin distance
What is the function of a spacer cone?
- dictates the fsd ensuring a consistent technique
- indicates the direction of the beam
What occurs if you increase the fsd?
- reduces divergence of beam therefore less magnification on image
- reduces intensity of x-ray beam
What is the required fsd when using > or = 60kV?
200mm
- measured from focal point on anode
What is the function of a collimator on the spacer cone and what are the benefits of using it?
- lead diaphragm attached to spacer cone which crops x-ray beam to match shape and size of x-ray receptor
- reduces patient dose
- convert circular cross section to rectangular cross section
- can reduce radiation surfaces by 50%
- reduces scatter improving image contrast
When using a size 2 receptor what area size should the rectangular collimator reduce beam area to?
50mm x 40mm but preferably < 45mm x 35mm
What percentage of the electrons bombarding target produces heat and why?
99%
- due to there being a much larger number of outer shell electrons in tungsten
- bombarding electrons reach tungsten outer shells and either
1. Comes into close proximity & is then decelerated & deflected
Note: both negatively charged
2. Collides & is deflected
- bombarding electrons lose kinetic energy which is released as heat
How is the heat dissipated in the x-ray tube head?
tungsten target - copper block- oil in tube head-air
How are x-rays produced at tungsten target?
- Bombarding electrons pass close to target nucleus, causing them to be rapidly decelerated and deflected
- this loss of kinetic energy is released as x-ray photons (1%)
What causes there to be X-ray photons at various different energies to be produced at the target?
- continuous radiation
- the greater the proximity of the electron to the nucleus of tungsten atom the greater the deceleration and deflection therefore the greater energy released
How are lower energy non diagnostic x-ray photons removed from the beam?
Aluminium filtration
Describe characteristic radiation?
- Bombarding electron collides with an inner-shell electron & either displaces it into a more peripheral shell (excitation) or removes it completely (ionisation)
- The remaining orbiting electrons rearrange themselves to re-fill the innermost shells
- When an electron “drops” to a lower shell it loses energy which is emitted as a photon of specific energy
- Values depend on the element involved (eg. tungsten)
In characteristic radiation what does the photon energy equate to?
- the difference in energies of the 2 shells involved when the electron drops to a lower shell
- the energy difference is different for each atom
What is the binding energy of the inner most (K) shell of tungsten?
69.5keV
- hence why x-ray tubes operate at 70kV
What two types of radiation make up the x-ray beam?
continuous radiation + characteristic radiation
what are the key differences in continuous radiation and characteristic radiation?
continuous
- Produces a continuous range of X-ray
photon energies
- Maximum photon energy matches the peak voltage
- Bombarding electron interacts with nucleus of target atom
Characteristic
- Produces specific energies of X-ray photon, characteristic to the element used for the target
- Photon energies depend on the binding
energies of electron shells
- Bombarding electron interacts with inner- shell electrons of target atom
What 3 ways can photons in a diagnostic x-ray beam interact with matter?
- Transmission (passes through matter unaltered)
- absorption (stopped by the matter)
- scatter ( changes direction)
What is attenuation?
reduction in x-ray intensity
What two factors cause attenuation of the x-ray beam?
Absorption (energy absorbed by tissue)
scatter (photon deflected by matter)
What primarily effects the number of photons in x-ray beam?
the current in the filament (mA)
What primarily effects the energy in the x-ray beam?
the potential difference across the x-ray tube (kV)
What two factors effect the intensity of the x-ray beam?
energy and number of photons
If there is minimal, partial and complete attenuation of the x-ray beam what colours would you see on the radiograph
minimal - black
partial - grey
complete - white
What are the 2 specific attenuation reactions photons in the x-ray beam can have with the subject it is directed at?
- photoelectric effect
- compton effect
Describe the photoelectric effect?
- photon in x-ray beam interacts with inner shell electron in subject resulting in complete absorption and creation of a photoelectron
- occurs when energy of the incoming photon is equal to or greater than the binding energy of the inner shell electron
- photon energy overcomes binding energy resulting in inner shell electron being ejected and now called a photoelectron
Does the photoelectric effect predominate in high or low energy photons and explain why?
- predominates in low level photons as tissues have relatively low binding energy