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Objectives
At the completion of this chapter, you should be able to
do the following:
1. Describe the general design of an x-ray tube.
2. List the external components that house and protect
the x-ray tube.
3. Identify the purpose of the glass or metal enclosure.
4. Discuss the cathode and filament currents.
5. Describe the parts of the anode and the induction
motor.
6. Define the line-focus principle and the heel effect.
7. Identify the three causes of x-ray tube failure.
8. Explain and interpret x-ray tube rating charts.

Outline
External Components Internal Components
Ceiling Support System Cathode
Floor-to-Ceiling Support System Anode
C-Arm Support System X-ray Tube Failure
Protective Housing Rating Charts
Glass or Metal Enclosure Radiographic Rating Chart
Anode Cooling Chart
Housing Cooling Chart

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X-ray tube is contained in a

protective housing and therefore
inaccessible.
There are two primary parts:
1. Cathode
2. Anode
 Each is an electrode, and any
FIGURE 6-1 Principal parts of a rotating anode electronic tube with two electrodes
x-ray tube. is a diode. (An x-ray tube is a special
type of diode)
 The x-ray tube is rarely seen by
radiologic technologists.

External Components
• Support structure
• Protective housing
• Glass or metal enclosure

Types of Support Systems:

1. Ceiling Support System
2. Floor-to-Ceiling Support System
3. C-arm Support System

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Ceiling Support
System
 It is the most frequently used.
 It consists of two perpendicular
sets of ceiling-mounted rails. This
allows for both longitudinal and
transverse travel of the x-ray
tube.
 Other positions can be chosen and
locked by the radiologic
technologist.
 Some ceiling-supported x-ray
tubes have a single control that
removes all locks, allowing the
tube to “float.”

Floor-to-Ceiling
Support System
 It has a single column with
rollers at each end, one
attached to a ceiling mounted
rail and the other attached to a
floor-mounted rail.
 A variation of this type of
support system is floor support
system.

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C-Arm Support
System
 Interventional radiology suites often are
equipped with C-arm support systems,
so called because the system is shaped
like a C.
 The image receptor is attached to the
other end of the C-arm from the x-ray
tube.
 Variations called L-arm or U-arm support
are also common.

Protective Housing
 When x-rays are produced, they are
emitted isotropically, that is, with equal
intensity in all directions.
 We use only x-rays emitted through the
special section of the x-ray tube called
the window.
 The x-rays emitted through the window
are called the useful beam.

 X-rays that escape through the

protective housing are called leakage
Protective housing guards against excessive
radiation; they contribute nothing in radiation exposure and electric shock.
the way of diagnostic information and
result in unnecessary exposure of the
patient and the radiologic technologist.

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Protective housing provides:

1. Mechanical support for the x-ray tube and protects
the tube from damage caused by rough handling.
2. Contains oil (Diala A Oil) that serves as both an
insulator against electric shock and as a thermal
cushion to dissipate heat.
3. Has cooling fans to air cool the tube or the oil in which
the x-ray tube is immersed.

Glass or Metal Enclosure

 An x-ray tube is an electronic vacuum
tube with components contained within
a glass or metal enclosure.
 It is relatively large, perhaps 30 to 50 cm
long and 20 cm in diameter.
 The glass enclosure is made of Pyrex
glass to enable it to withstand the
tremendous heat generated.

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Metal enclosure tubes maintain a constant electric potential

between the electrons of the tube current and the enclosure. Therefore, they have
a longer life and are less likely to fail. Virtually all high-capacity x-ray tubes now use
metal enclosures.

 The x-ray tube window is an area of the glass or metal

enclosure, approximately 5 cm2, that is thin and through
which the useful beam of x-rays is emitted.

INTERNAL COMPONENTS
 Cathode
1. Cathode
The cathode is the negative side of the x-
 Anode ray tube; it has two primary parts, a
filament and a focusing cup.
Filament
o A coil of wire similar to that in a kitchen toaster, but it is much smaller.
o The filament is approximately 2 mm in diameter and 1 or 2 cm
long.
o An x-ray tube filament emits electrons when it is heated.
o When the current through the filament is sufficiently high, the outer-
shell electrons of the filament atoms are “boiled off” and ejected from
the filament. This phenomenon is known as thermionic emission.

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Filaments are made of Thoriated

tungsten because;
1. Higher thermionic emission than
other metals
2. High melting point of 3410°C;
therefore, it is not likely to burn out like
the filament of a light bulb
3. Also, tungsten does not vaporize easily

 If it did, the tube would become gassy

quickly, and its internal parts would be
Tungsten vaporization with deposition
coated with tungsten.
on the inside of the glass enclosure is
 The addition of 1% to 2% thorium to the
the most common cause of tube
tungsten filament enhances the failure.
efficiency of thermionic emission and
prolongs tube life.

Focusing Cup
o The filament is embedded in a metal
shroud called the focusing cup.
o Because all of the electrons accelerated
from cathode to anode are electrically
negative, the electron beam tends to
spread out owing to electrostatic repulsion.
o Some electrons can even miss the anode
completely.
 The focusing cup is negatively charged
so that it electrostatically confines the
electron beam to a small area of the
anode.

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Focusing cup effectiveness

depends on:
1. Its size, shape, and charge
2. Filament size and shape
3. Position of the filament in the focusing
cup.

o Certain types of x-ray tubes called grid

controlled tubes are designed to be turned on
and off very rapidly.
o The term grid refers to an element in the tube
that acts as the switch.
o In a grid-controlled x-ray tube, the focusing cup is
the grid and therefore the exposure switch.

The x-ray tube current is

adjusted by controlling
the filament current.
 When the filament current is high
enough for thermionic emission, a
small increase in filament current
results in a large increase in x-ray tube
current.

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Fixed stations of 100, 200, 300 mA,

and so forth usually correspond to
discrete connections on the
filament transformer or to
precision resistors.
 When emitted from the filament,
electrons are in the vicinity of the
filament before they are accelerated to
the anode.
 Because these electrons carry negative
charges, they repel one another and
tend to form a cloud around the
filament.

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This cloud of electrons, called a

space charge, makes it difficult
for subsequent electrons to be
emitted by the filament because of
electrostatic repulsion. This
phenomenon is called the space
charge effect.
 Thermionic emission at low kVp and
high mA can be space charge
limited.

A further increase in kVp does

not result in a higher mA because
all of the available electrons
have been used. This is the
saturation current.
 When an x-ray tube is operated at
the saturation current, it is said to
be emission limited.

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Selection of focal spot is made with the

mA station selector on the operating
console:
 Small focal spots range from 0.1 to 1 mm
(used w/ approx. 300 mA or less)
 Large focal spots range from 0.3 to 2 mm
(used w/ approx. 400 mA and up)
 The small focal spot size is associated
with the small filament and the large
focal spot size with the large
filament
 An electric current is directed through the
appropriate filament

 The small focal spot is used when

better spatial resolution is required

 The large focal spot is used when

large body parts are imaged and
when other techniques that
produce high heat are required

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2.Anode
 The anode is the positive side of the
x-ray tube
 There are two types of anodes,
stationary and rotating
 Stationary anode x-ray tubes are used in
dental x-ray imaging systems, some
portable imaging systems, and other
special-purpose units in which high tube
current and power are not required
 General-purpose x-ray tubes use the
rotating anode because they must be
capable of producing high-intensity x-ray
beams in a short time.

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The anode serves three functions in an x-ray tube.

1. Electrical conductor
2. Mechanical support
3. Thermal dissipater
When the projectile electrons from the cathode
interact with the anode, more than 99% of their
kinetic energy is converted into heat. This heat
must be dissipated quickly.

Copper, molybdenum, and graphite are

the most common anode materials.
Adequate heat dissipation is the major
engineering hurdle in designing higher
capacity x-ray tubes.

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The target is the area of the anode

struck by the electrons from the cathode.
 In stationary anode tubes, the target
consists of a tungsten alloy embedded in the
copper anode.
 In rotating anode tubes, the entire
rotating disc is the target.
 Alloying the tungsten (usually with rhenium)
gives it added mechanical strength to
withstand the stresses of high-speed
rotation and the effects of repetitive
thermal expansion and contraction.

High-capacity x-ray tubes have

molybdenum or graphite
layered under the tungsten
target.
Both molybdenum and
graphite have lower mass
density than tungsten, making
the anode lighter and easier to
rotate.

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Rotating Anode
The rotating anode x-ray tube allows
the electron beam to interact with a
much larger target area; therefore, the
heating of the anode is not confined to one
small spot, as in a stationary anode tube.

 Heat capacity can be further improved by

increasing the speed of anode rotation.
 The anode stem usually is made of
molybdenum because it is a poor heat
conductor.
 It is narrow so as to reduce its thermal
conductivity.

o Most rotating anodes revolve at 3400 rpm

(revolutions per minute).
o The anodes of high-capacity x-ray tubes
rotate at 10,000 rpm.

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How does the anode rotate inside an enclosure with no

mechanical connection to the outside?

An electromagnetic induction motor is

used to turn the anode. An induction motor
consists of two principal parts separated from
each other by the glass or metal enclosure.
 The part outside the glass or metal enclosure,
called the stator, consists of a series of
electromagnets equally spaced around the neck of the
tube.
 Inside the enclosure is a shaft made of bars of
copper and soft iron fabricated into one mass. This part
is called the rotor.

Line-Focus Principle
The focal spot is the area of the target from which x-rays are emitted. Radiology requires
small focal spots because the smaller the focal spot, the better the spatial resolution
of the image. Unfortunately, as the size of the focal spot decreases, the heating of the
target is concentrated onto a smaller area. This is the limiting factor to focal spot size.

Before the rotating anode was developed, another

design was incorporated into x-ray tube
targets to allow a large area for heating while
maintaining a small focal spot. This design is
known as the line-focus principle.
 Diagnostic x-ray tubes have target angles that
vary from approximately 5 to 20 degrees.

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Biangular targets are available that

produce two focal spot sizes
because of two different target
angles on the
anode.

The focal spot is the actual

x-ray source.

The shape of the focal spot

is double banana.

Heel Effect
One unfortunate consequence of the line-
focus principle is that the radiation intensity
on the cathode side of the x-ray field is
greater than that on the anode side.

 The smaller the anode angle, the larger

the heel effect.
 The heel effect results in smaller
effective focal spot and less
radiation intensity on the anode
side of the x-ray beam.

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Patient Positioning for Examinations That Can

Take Advantage of the Heel Effect
Examination Cathode side Anode side
PA Chest Abdomen Neck
Abdomen Abdomen Pelvis
Femur Hip Knee
Humerus Shoulder Elbow
AP T. spine Abdomen Neck
AP L. spine Abdomen Pelvis

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Off-Focus Radiation
X-ray tubes are designed so that projectile
electrons from the cathode interact with the
target only at the focal spot. However, some of
the electrons bounce off the focal spot and
then land on other areas of the target,
causing x-rays to be produced from outside
of the focal spot.

Off-focus radiation is undesirable:

1. It extends the size of the focal spot
2. Additional x-ray beam area increases patient
skin dose unnecessarily.
3. It can significantly reduce image contrast.

Off-focus radiation is reduced by designing a fixed diaphragm in the tube housing

near the window of the x-ray tube. This is a geometric solution. Another effective solution
is the metal enclosure x-ray tube. Electrons reflected from the focal spot are
extracted by the metal enclosure and conducted away.

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X-RAY TUBE FAILURE

With careful use, x-ray tubes can provide many years of
service. With inconsiderate use, x-ray tube life may be
shortened substantially. The length of x-ray tube life is
primarily under the control of radiologic technologists.

X-ray tube life is extended by using:

1. Minimum radiographic factors of mA, kVp, and exposure
time that are appropriate for each examination.
2. Faster image receptors.

Heat in the x-ray tube can be dissipated in one of

three ways:
1.Radiation is the transfer of heat by the emission of infrared
radiation. Heat lamps emit not only visible light but also infrared
radiation.
2.Conduction is the transfer of energy from one area of an
object to another. The handle of a heated iron skillet becomes hot
because of conduction.
3.Convection is the transfer of heat by the movement of a
heated substance from one place to another. Many homes and
offices are heated by the convection of hot air.

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RATING CHARTS
Radiologic technologists are guided in the use
of x-ray tubes by x-ray tube rating charts. It is
essential that technologists be able to read and
understand these charts even though many of
these charts are now digitally stored in the
operating console.

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1. Radiographic Rating Chart is the most important because it conveys which

radiographic techniques are safe and which techniques are unsafe for x-ray tube
operation.

FIGURE 6-26
Representative
radiographic rating
charts for a given x-
ray tube. Each chart
specifies the
conditions of
operation under
which it applies.
(Courtesy GE
Healthcare.)

Radiographic Rating Chart

 For a given mA, any combination of kVp and time
that lies below the mA curve is safe.
Any combination of kVp and time that lies
above the curve representing the desired mA is
unsafe.
 If an unsafe exposure was made, the tube might fail
abruptly.
 Most x-ray imaging systems have a microprocessor
control that does not allow an unsafe exposure.

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With reference to Figure 6-26, which of the

following conditions of exposure are safe,
and which are unsafe?
a. 95 kVp, 150 mA, 1 s; 3400 rpm; 0.6-mm focal spot Unsafe

b. 85 kVp, 400 mA, 0.5 s; 3400 rpm; 1-mm focal spot Unsafe

c. 125 kVp, 500 mA, 0.1 s; 10,000 rpm; 1-mm focal spot Safe

d. 75 kVp, 700 mA, 0.3 s; 10,000 rpm; 1-mm focal spot _?_
_?_
e. 88 kVp, 400 mA, 0.1 s; 10,000 rpm; 0.6-mm focal spot

_ a
. Unsafe

c . Safe

_ b. Unsafe

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2. Anode Cooling Chart

The anode has a limited capacity for storing heat. Although heat is dissipated to the oil bath
and x-ray tube housing, it is possible through prolonged use or multiple exposures to exceed
the heat storage capacity of the anode.

In x-ray applications, thermal energy is

measured in heat units (HUs) or Joules (J).
 One heat unit is equal to the product of
1 kVp, 1 mA, and 1 s.
 One heat unit is also equal to 1.4 J.
 Calories and British thermal units (BTUs) are
other familiar thermal energy units.

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3. Housing Cooling Chart

 The cooling chart for the housing of the x-ray
tube has a shape similar to that of the anode
cooling chart and is used in precisely the
same way.
 Radiographic x-ray tube housings usually have
maximum heat capacities in the range of several
million heat units.
 Complete cooling after maximum heat capacity
requires from 1 to 2 hours.

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Reference
1. Bushong SC. Radiologic Science for Technologist,
Physics, Biology, and Protection. 10th ed. (2013)
Elsevier, Inc. ISBN-13: 978-0-323-081351

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