02 - Interaction of Radiation With Matter I
02 - Interaction of Radiation With Matter I
Particle interactions
Energetic charged particles interact with matter by electrical forces and lose kinetic energy via:
Excitation Ionization Radiative losses
Specific Ionization
Number of primary and secondary ion pairs produced per unit length of charged particles path is called specific ionization
Expressed in ion pairs (IP)/mm
Increases with electrical charge of particle Decreases with incident particle velocity
Specific ionization for 7.69 MeV alpha particle from polonium 214
Larger mass of heavy charged particle results in dense and usually linear ionization track Path length is actual distance particle travels; range is actual depth of penetration in matter
Bremsstrahlung
Bremsstrahlung
Probability of bremsstrahlung production per atom is proportional to the square of Z of the absorber Energy emission via bremsstrahlung varies inversely with the square of the mass of the incident particle
Protons and alpha particles produce less than one-millionth the amount of bremsstrahlung radiation as electrons of the same energy
Bremsstrahlung
Ratio of electron energy loss by bremsstrahlung production to that lost by excitation and ionization = EZ/820
E = kinetic energy of incident electron in MeV Z = atomic number of the absorber
Bremsstrahlung x-ray production accounts for ~1% of energy loss when 100 keV electrons collide with a tungsten (Z = 74) target in an x-ray tube
Neutron interactions
Neutrons are uncharged particles They do not interact with electrons
Do not directly cause excitation or ionization
They do interact with atomic nuclei, sometimes liberating charged particles or nuclear fragments that can directly cause excitation or ionization Neutrons may also be captured by atomic nuclei
Retention of the neutron converts the atom to a different nuclide (stable or radioactive)
Neutron interaction
Rayleigh Scattering
Incident photon interacts with and excites the total atom as opposed to individual electrons Occurs mainly with very low energy diagnostic x-rays, as used in mammography (15 to 30 keV) Less than 5% of interactions in soft tissue above 70 keV; at most only 12% at ~30 keV
Rayleigh Scattering
Compton Scattering
Predominant interaction in the diagnostic energy range with soft tissue Most likely to occur between photons and outer (valence) shell electrons Electron ejected from the atom; photon scattered with reduction in energy Binding energy comparatively small and can be ignored
Compton Scattering
E0 Esc Ee Esc E0 E0 1 (1 cos ) 2 m0 c
Compton Scattering
Laws of conservation of energy and momentum place limits on both scattering angle and energy transfer Maximal energy transfer to the Compton electron occurs with a 180-degree photon backscatter Scattering angle for ejected electron cannot exceed 90 degrees Energy of the scattered electron is usually absorbed near the scattering site
Compton Scattering
Incident photon energy must be substantially greater than the electrons binding energy before a Compton interaction is likely to take place Probability of a Compton interaction increases with increasing incident photon energy Probability also depends on electron density (number of electrons/g density)
With exception of hydrogen, total number of electrons/g fairly constant in tissue Probability of Compton scatter per unit mass nearly independent of Z
Photoelectric absorption
All of the incident photon energy is transferred to an electron, which is ejected from the atom Kinetic energy of ejected photoelectron (Ec) is equal to incident photon energy (E0) minus the binding energy of the orbital electron (Eb) Ec = Eo - Eb
Photoelectric absorption
Incident photon energy must be greater than or equal to the binding energy of the ejected photon Atom is ionized, with an inner shell vacancy Electron cascade from outer to inner shells
Characteristic x-rays or Auger electrons
Photoelectric absorption
Probability of photoelectric absorption per unit mass is approximately proportional to No additional nonprimary photons to degrade the image Energy dependence explains, in part, why image contrast decreases with higher x-ray energies
Z /E
Photoelectric absorption
Although probability of photoelectric effect decreases with increasing photon energy, there is an exception Graph of probability of photoelectric effect, as a function of photon energy, exhibits sharp discontinuities called absorption edges Photon energy corresponding to an absorption edge is the binding energy of electrons in a particular shell or subshell
Photoelectric absorption
At photon energies below 50 keV, photoelectric effect plays an important role in imaging soft tissue Process can be used to amplify differences in attenuation between tissues with slightly different atomic numbers, improving image contrast Photoelectric process predominates when lower energy photons interact with high Z materials (screen phosphors, radiographic constrast agents, bone)
Pair production
Can only occur when the energy of the photon exceeds 1.02 MeV Photon interacts with electric field of the nucleus; energy transformed into an electron-positron pair Of no consequence in diagnostic x-ray imaging because of high energies required
Pair Production