MI X-Ray 02

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Jimma Institute of Technology

School of Biomedical
Engineering
Medical Imaging Modalities

Lecture Four

Radiography: X-ray Machine


Objectives
• To highlight the main working principles of X-ray machines.

• To identify the main parts of an X-ray machine.

• To familiarize students with the production of X-rays.

• To present students with the phenomena of x-ray-tissue interaction.

• To introduce students the specialized x-ray imaging techniques, Mammography and

Fluoroscopy.
Recap
• X-ray production

• Main parts of X-ray :


- X-ray tube

- Console

- High Voltage generator

Why do we use oil in X-ray tube?

The purpose of oil in an x-ray tube is to provide insulation and cooling for the high
voltage components. The oil helps to prevent electrical arcing and dissipates heat
generated during the x-ray production process.
Tube
Interactions
• Possible tube interactions Heat is an excitation
rather than an ionization
• Heat
– Most kinetic energy of projectile e-
is converted into heat
– Projectile e- interact with the outer-
shell e-
of
the target atoms but do not transfer
enough energy to the outer-shell e-
to ionize.
Tube Interactions

• x-rays

• X-rays = Characteristic (20%)

• Bremsstrahlung (80%)
Characteristic Radiation

• The incident electron interacts with the K-shell electron.

• The K-shell electron is removed leaving a vacancy in the K-shell.

• An electron from the adjacent L-shell (or possibly a different shell) fills the vacancy.

• A characteristic x-ray photon is emitted with an energy equal to the difference between

the binding energies of the two shells.


Characteristic Radiation
• It is called characteristic because it is characteristic of the target element in

the energy of the photon produced.

• X-ray tube voltages must exceed 69.5 kV for W targets, 20 kV for Mo targets, and

23 kV for Rh targets to produce K characteristic x-rays.


Characteristic Radiation

Only K-
characteristic
x-rays of
tungsten are
useful for
imaging
Characteristic Radiation

• It has discrete
energies based on the
e- binding energies
of tungsten
Bremsstrahlung Radiation
• Bremsstrahlung radiation arises from energetic electron interactions with an

atomic nucleus of the target material.

• In a "close" approach, the positive nucleus attracts the negative electron, causing

deceleration and redirection, resulting in a loss of kinetic energy that is converted to an x-

ray.

• The X-ray energy depends on the interaction distance between the electron and the

nucleus; it decreases as the distance increases.


Bremsstrahlung Radiation
• It can be produced at any
projectile e-value
• Major factors that affect X-ray
production efficiency are
– the atomic number of

the target material and


– the kinetic energy of the incident
electrons
Bremsstrahlung Radiation
• Bremsstrahlung x-rays have a range of energies and form a continuous emission spectrum
Interaction of X-ray with matter
Interaction of X-ray with matter

• Several modes of interaction of x-rays with matter:

– Scattering

» Thompson or Rayleigh scattering,

» Compton scattering)
– Photoelectric absorption (transfer its energy to atoms of the target material)

– Pair production
Rayleigh Scattering
• It is the collision of a photon with an electron such that the photon is deflected into a
new direction…elastic scattering

• The energy of an incident photon same as the scattered photon


Compton scattering

• The incident photon transfers parts of its energy to an outer shell “free” electron,
ejecting it from atom.
• Dominant type of interaction in material with lower atomic numbers,(human tissue) (Z=7.5)
Compton scattering
• The energy of the scattered
photon is

• The wavelength of the scattered photon increases over


the incident photon, and thus its energy decreases.

• Compton scattering is the major source of tissue damage


due to X-rays. For these reasons, this phenomenon is very
undesirable
Photoelectric effect
• All of the incident photon energy is transferred to
an
electron, and eject the electron from the atom.
Photoelectric effect

• If this electron has a binding energy Eb, then this is the


amount of energy required to remove the electron from
its shell.
• If E>Eb, then the remainder of the energy ends up as
kinetic energy.

• The moving electron is the photoelectron.


Pair production
• Occurs when a photon of high energy (>1.02MeV)
interacts with a nucleus.
Different modes of interaction
Attenuation of photons in matter
• At low photon energies (<26 keV), the photoelectric effect dominates the attenuation processes
in soft tissue.

• When higher energy photons interact with low Z materials (e.g., soft tissue), Compton
scattering dominates.

• Rayleigh scattering occurs with low probability, 10% of the interactions in mammography and
5% in chest radiography.
• Only at very high photon energies (>1.02 MeV), pair production contribute to attenuation.
Attenuation of photons in matter
Attenuation of photons in matter
Linear attenuation coefficient
• The linear attenuation coefficient is the sum of the individual
linear attenuation coefficients for each type of interaction:

• linear attenuation coefficient is proportional to the density of the material.

– For instance
Attenuation of photons in matter
Mass attenuation coefficient
• For a given thickness, the probability of interaction is
dependent on the number of atoms per volume.
• This dependency can be overcome by normalizing the linear attenuation coefficient for the
density of the material, called the mass attenuation coefficient:
Half value layer
• The thickness of material required to reduce the intensity of an x-or gamma-ray
beam to one-half of its initial value.
Mean free path
• One cannot predict the range of a single photon in
matter.
• However, the average distance a photon traveled before
interaction is called the mean free path (MFP) of the
photon beam,
Example 1

1. A narrow beam containing 2000 monoenergetic photons is reduced to 1000


photons by a slab of copper 0.01m thick.
– What is the total linear attenuation coefficient of the copper slab for these photons?

– What is the HVL?


Solution

The HVL of a monoenergetic beam of


x
or γ-rays in any medium is
Example 2

2. A 2mm thickness of material transmits a 25% mono-energetic beam of photons, calculate


the HVL of the beam and mean free path of a photon.
Planer Radiography
Planer Radiography/Projection imaging

• The acquisition of a 2D

image of the patient's 3D

anatomy
Basic principles
Instrumentation of Planer Radiography
• Basic components of a planar X-ray radiography system are:
– X-ray tube
– a collimator
• reduce the patient dose and amount of Compton scattered X-rays,

– an anti-scatter grid
• reduce further the contribution of scattered X-rays to the image,

– a detector
• converts the energy of the transmitted X-rays into light
X-ray tube collimator assembly
X-ray Detectors
• Traditional x-ray film

– Screen-film radiography

• Digital detectors

– Computed radiography

– Digital radiography
Screen-film cassette
• The screen-film detector system used for general
radiography consists of
– a cassette,

– one or two intensifying screens,

– a sheet of film.

• The film is a sheet of thin plastic with a


photosensitive emulsion coated onto one or both sides.
A typical screen film cassette and its cross-section
Intensifying Screens
• Screens are made of a scintillating material, which is called a phosphor.

• When x-rays interact in the phosphor, visible or ultraviolet (UV) light is emitted.

– a radiographic transducer - converts x-ray energy into light.

• It is the light given off by the screens that principally causes the

film to be darkened.
Principles Intensifying Screens
Screen cassette with x-ray interaction

• QDE (quantum absorption efficiency) of a screen is defined as


the
fraction of incident X-ray photons interact with it.
X-ray film
• Base
 Support
 Polyester plastic
 Consistent thickness

• Emulsion
 Active layer
 Gelatin containing the film crystals
 Silver halide (silver bromide (AgBr)) which when exposed to light, produces a silver
ion (Ag+) and an electron.
 The electrons get attached to the sensitivity specks and attract the silver ion.
 Subsequently, the silver ions attach and clumps of metallic silver (black) are formed
X-ray film
The Latent Image
• The silver halide grains, fixed in a thin gelatin film, oxidize

when exposed to photons.


• Chemical development of the exposed film precipitates the fine silver particles,
making them opaque to visible light.
• Careful attention to exposure time and development produces a degree of blackening
across the film which varies with the original variation in photon flux and thus produces
a 2D latent image.
X-ray film processing
Development
which transform the silver halide grains of the film into metallic silver
Fixing
Remove the unexposed halide crystals on the film.
Washing
Submerging the film in clean water further removes all the developing
chemical.
Drying
After it has dried, the film can be more easily viewed
X-ray film processing

(A) Schematic distribution of silver halide grains. The gray areas indicate
latent image produced by exposure. (B) Partial development begins to produce
metallic silver (black) in exposed grains. C) Development completed. (D)
Unexposed silver grains have been removed by fixing.
Computed Radiography(CR)
• CR differs from analog in that the CR cassette contains a phosphor plate
instead of a sheet of film
Computed Radiography
• When the x-ray energy is absorbed by the BaFBr :Eu phosphor, the absorbed energy excites
electrons associated with the europium atoms,

• The excited electrons become mobile, and some fraction of them

interact with a so called F-center.


• The F-center traps these electrons in a higher-energy, metastable state, where they can remain
for days to weeks.
• The number of trapped electrons per unit area of the imaging plate is proportional to the
intensity of x-rays incident at each location during the exposure.
Imaging plate
CR Reader
– The next step is
the cassette is
placed into reader
and processor unit.
– The plate is
scanned with a
very small laser
beam.
CR Reader
– The laser beam stimulates
the plate causing light to
be produced.
– The light that is produced
is proportional to the x-ray
exposure to that specific
spot.
Reading Phase
• The light is amplified and
converted to electrical
signals by photomultiplier
tubes (PMT) and digitized.

• The digital data is stored as


a digital image.
Digital Radiography(DR)
• Unlike CR, DR does not need a separate read-out device.
X-
RAYS
DR

DETECTORS

ADC
11011101
X-
RAYS
CR
CR PLATE

SCANNER

ADC
11011101
Digital radiography detectors

• There are two types of digital radiography (DR) detectors,

– Indirect

– Direct

• Indirect-conversion is most commonly used,


– X-ray energy is first converted into light by a CsI:TI scintillator, and
then the light is converted into a voltage using a two-dimensional
array of photodiodes.
1.Indirect

• X-rays convert into light by cesium Iodide

(CsI)

• Photodiode/silicon/ convert photon into digital

signal output

• The digital signal is then read out by thin

film transistors(TFTs) and the image data

file is sent to a computer for display.


Indirect flat panel detector
Indirect flat panel detector
2. Direct
Amorphous selenium (a-Se) FPDs are known as “direct” detectors a-Se absorbs X-ray
photon
X-ray photons are converted directly into charge.
X-ray photons create electron-hole
As the holes are replaced with electrons, the resultant charge pattern in the selenium layer is

read out by a TFT array

X-Ray → A-Se → electronic signal → TFT → DATA(no light transforming procedure)


2. Direct
• Eliminates the intermediate step of converting X-ray energy

into light,
• Uses direct absorption of the X-ray photons to produce an
electrical signal.
• Materials such as amorphous selenium (alloyed with arsenic) have been
used.

• X-ray absorption is not as efficient as for CsI:Tl


Digital Detectors
Scattered radiation in Projection Radiography
Scattered radiation in Projection Radiography
Contrast
Contrast
Anti-scatter grid

• Anti-scatter grid is composed of a series of lead grip

strips aligned with the x-ray source.

• They are used to reduce the amount of scattered

radiation reaching the detector by utilizing geometry

• Grid is placed between patient and detector


Anti-scatter grid

• Grid ratio: the ratio of the height to the width

of the interspaces (not the grid bars) in the grid.

• Grid ratios of 8: 1, 10: 1, and 12: 1 are most

common in general radiography, and a grid ratio

of 5: 1 is typical in mammography.
Anti-scatter grid

• The grid is essentially a one-dimensional collimator, and

increasing the grid ratio increases the degree of collimation.


• Higher grid ratios provide better scatter cleanup, but they also result in greater
radiation doses to the patient.
• A grid is quite effective at attenuating scatter that strikes the grid at large angles
(where 0 degrees is the angle normal to the grid), but grids are less effective for
smaller-angle scatter.
Parameters that
describe anti-scatter grid properties
Example
Specialized X-ray imaging
techniques
1. Mammography
2. Fluoroscopy
3. Digital Subtraction Angiography
Reference
[1] From different power points prepared by stuff of Biomedical
department of Addis Ababa Tegbare-id polytecnical college and from
Google search.
[2] Ed Hutton, Basic X-ray Course handout,Managing Director
Engineering World Health, Radiographic Equipment Servicing
[3] Russell L. Wilson , CRT, RT(R), X-ray Principles & Physics Laboratory
[4] WIKIPEDIA, X-ray generator,
www.en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_generator, sited on March 30,
2019

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