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PHY3 DJanuary 2005

This document contains a physics exam question with multiple parts about medical physics topics. Part A asks about graphing the intensity of an X-ray beam with distance from the source and calculating intensity at different distances. Part B asks about comparing alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Part C asks about estimating blood volume after injecting a radioactive tracer. Part D asks about calculating ultrasound wavelength in tissue and whether it would be suitable for eye investigations. Part E asks about operating voltage of an X-ray tube, what happens to electron energy, features of the X-ray tube's target anode, and whether the X-rays produced would be suitable for diagnostic or therapeutic use.

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35 views

PHY3 DJanuary 2005

This document contains a physics exam question with multiple parts about medical physics topics. Part A asks about graphing the intensity of an X-ray beam with distance from the source and calculating intensity at different distances. Part B asks about comparing alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Part C asks about estimating blood volume after injecting a radioactive tracer. Part D asks about calculating ultrasound wavelength in tissue and whether it would be suitable for eye investigations. Part E asks about operating voltage of an X-ray tube, what happens to electron energy, features of the X-ray tube's target anode, and whether the X-rays produced would be suitable for diagnostic or therapeutic use.

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api-3726022
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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PHY3 JANUARY 2005 - TOPIC D – MEDICAL PHYSICS 1

Topic D - Medical Physics

4. (a) On a copy of the axes opposite sketch a graph showing how


the intensity I of an X-ray beam varies with distance r from a
point X-ray source in air. (2)
If the X-ray intensity is 7.0 MW m-2 at a distance of 0.20 m from
the source, calculate the intensity at a distance of 2.0 m
from the source. (3)

(b) Complete a copy of


the table opposite to
compare α, β and γ
radiation by ticking in
the appropriate boxes. (4)

Beta radiation can be


either positive or negative.
Phosphorus, 3215P,
decays to sulphur, S, by
β - emission. Sodium, 2411Na,
decays to neon, Ne, by β + emission.
The equations opposite show these two decays.
Complete a copy of these equations by adding the missing
nucleon and proton numbers. (3)

(c) A known quantity of a radionuclide which can label red blood cells is injected into a patient.
Describe what further steps are needed to estimate the patient's blood volume.
You may be awarded a mark for the clarity of your answer. (5)

(d) Calculate the wavelength in soft tissue of an ultrasound pulse of frequency 6.0 MHz (speed of
sound in soft tissue = 1540 m s-1). (3)
Would ultrasound of this frequency be suitable for eye investigations? Explain your answer. (1)
Show that the reflection coefficient for ultrasound at a boundary between muscle and blood is
approximately 1 x 10-3.
Data: Specific acoustic impedances:

The reflection coefficient at a boundary between brain tissue and blood is approximately 1 x 10-5.
Use this value to explain why ultrasound can be used to investigate blood flow in muscle but not in
the brain. (2)

(e) Each accelerated electron in an X-ray tube has an energy of 120 keV.
State the value of the operating voltage of this X-ray tube. (1)
Explain what happens to most of the energy of these electrons. (1)
State two features of the target anode in an X-ray tube. (2)
This tube produces X-rays with energies of the order of tens of keV.
Would these X-rays be more suitable for diagnostic or therapeutic use? Explain your answer. (2)

(Total 32 marks)

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