EEE 491 - Biomedical Engineering

X-Ray Imaging

Taha Ahmed
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MCQ Questions

1. Q Which type of x-rays are most commonly used in diagnostic imaging?

a Characteristic x-rays

b Gamma rays

c Bremsstrahlung x-rays

d Alpha particles

1. A (c)
2. Q What causes Bremsstrahlung x-rays to be emitted during x-ray production?

a The slowing of a projectile electron by the nuclear field of a target atom nucleus

b The absorption of gamma rays by the target element

c The emission of alpha particles by the target element

d The reflection of beta particles off the target element

2. A (a)
3. Q What is the function of the operating console in X-ray production?

a To control the number of electrons in the anode

b To convert kinetic energy into heat energy

c To control the quantity and quality of the X-ray beam

d To produce Bremsstrahlung X-rays

3. A (c)
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4. Q What is the difference between radiation quantity and radiation quality?

a Radiation quantity refers to penetrability of X-ray beam, and radiation quality

refers to the intensity of the X-ray beam

b Radiation quantity refers to the intensity of the X-ray beam, and radiation quality

refers to the number of X-rays

c Radiation quantity refers to number of X-rays or intensity of X-ray beam, and

radiation quality refers to penetrability of X-ray beam

d Radiation quantity refers to the penetrability of the X-ray beam, and radiation
quality refers to the quality of the X-ray beam
4. A (c)
5. Q What is half-value layer (HVL)?

a A measure of the intensity of the X-ray beam

b A measure of the penetrability of the X-ray beam

c A measure of the distance the X-rays travel through the tissue

d A measure of voltage of the anode

5. A (b)
6. Q What does kVp determine in x-ray imaging? A) B) C) D)

a The radiation quantity

b The intensity of x-ray beam

c The radiation quality

d The anode heat

6. A (c)
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7. Q How is kVp adjusted in an x-ray machine?

a By changing the anode heat

b By changing the half-value layer

c By increasing the current to the x-ray tube

d By selecting autotransformer connections with a knob, button, or touch screen

7. A (b)
8. Q What is thermionic emission?

a The release of electrons from a heated filament

b The measurement of the penetrability of an x-ray beam

c The process of increasing voltage to a chosen kilovolt peak

d The emission of characteristic x-rays when an outer-shell electron fills an inner-shell void

8. A (a)
9. Q How is the number of electrons emitted by a filament controlled?

a By the half-value layer (HVL) of the x-ray beam

b By the kVp of the x-ray beam

c By the filament current

d None of the above

9. A (c)
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10. Q A K-shell electron is removed from a tungsten atom and is replaced by an

L-shell electron. What is the energy of the characteristic x-ray that is emitted? given
that the K-shell electrons have binding energies of 69 keV, and L-shell electrons are
bound by 12 keV

a 9.12 × 10−15 J

b 9.12 × 10−19 J

c 4.56 × 10−15 J

d 4.56 × 10−19 J

KE = 69 − 12 = 57 KeV

∴ KE = 57 KeV × 1.6 × 10−16 J/KeV = 9.12 × 10−15 J

10. A (a)
11. Q In the previous question, calculate the velocity of the electron.

a 1.4 × 108 m/s

b 0.4 × 108 m/s

c 1.4 × 107 m/s

d 0.4 × 107 m/s

1
∵ KE = mv 2
2
s
2 × 9.12 × 10−18
∴v= = 1.4 × 108 m/s
9.10910−31

11. A (a)
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12. Q What is the purpose of the Automatic Exposure Control (AEC) device in
radiography?

a To control the voltage and current of the x-ray tube

b To measure the temperature of the filament in the x-ray tube

c To measure the quantity of radiation that reaches the image receptor

d To adjust the focus of the x-ray beam

12. A (c)
13. Q What are the two internal structures of an X-ray tube?

a Support structure

b Anode and cathode

c Glass and metal enclosure

d protective housing

13. A (b)
14. Q Which of the following is not a type of X-ray tube support system?

a Ceiling support

b Floor support

c Table support

d C-arm support

14. A (c)
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15. Q Which of the following is not part of the external structure of an X-ray tube?

a Support structure

b Protective housing

c Glass enclosure

d Anode and cathode

15. A (d)
16. Q Which of the following interactions of X-rays with matter involves the release
of a loosely bound electron from the outer shell of an atom?

a Coherent scattering

b Compton scattering

c Photoelectric effect

d Pair production

16. A (b)
17. Q As the energy of X-rays increases, what happens to the amount of Compton
scattering relative to photoelectric effect?

a Compton scattering decreases relative to photoelectric effect increases

b Compton scattering increases relative to photoelectric effect decreases

c Compton scattering and photoelectric effect remain constant

d None of the above

17. A (b)
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18. Q In Compton scattering , what happens when the atomic number of absorber
increases?

a Compton scattering increases

b Compton scattering decreases

c No effect on Compton scattering

18. A (c)

1 Compton (Incoherent) Scattering

Ei = Es (Eb + EKE ) (1)

where

Ei : energy of the incident x-ray

Es : energy of the scattered x-ray

Eb : electron binding energy

EKE : kinetic energy of the electron.

19. Q An x-ray photon with an incident energy of 200 keV undergoes Compton
scattering with an outer-shell electron of an atom. If the scattered photon has an
energy of 50 keV and the kinetic enery of the electron equals 3 keV, what is the
binding energy of the electron?

a 1 keV

b 2 keV

c 3 keV

d 4 keV
2. PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT 9

rearranging the previous equation

Eb = (Ei /Es ) − EKE
therefore
Eb = (200/50) − 3 = 1 keV
19. A (a)

2 Photoelectric Effect

Ei = Eb + EKE (2)

20. Q When does the photoelectric effect become less likely to occur relative to
Compton scattering?

a When x-ray energy is equal to electron binding energy

b When x-ray energy is much higher than electron binding energy

c When x-ray energy is much lower than electron binding energy

d None of the above

20. A (b)
21. Q How does the photoelectric effect change with increasing atomic number of
the absorber?

a Increases linearly

b Increases proportionately with the cube of the atomic number

c Decreases linearly

d Decreases proportionately with the cube of the atomic number

21. A (b)
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22. Q Assume that all x-ray interactions during mammography are photoelectric.
What is the differential absorption of x-rays in microcalcifications (Z = 20, ρ =
1550 kg/ m3 ) relative to fatty tissue (Z = 6.3, ρ = 910 kg/m3 ) ?

a 54.4: 1

b 17.1: 1

c 5.4:1

d 3.1:1

Differential absorption due to atomic number:

20 3
 
8000
= = 32 : 1
6.3 250
Differential absorption due to mass density
1550
= = 1.7 : 1
910
Total differential absorption
= 32 × 1.7 = 54.4 : 1
22. A (a)

3 Attenuation

I = Io exp(−αx) (3)

where

α : Attenuation coefficient

x : Path length
3. ATTENUATION 11

23. Q What is the definition of attenuation in X-ray imaging?

a The increase in number of x-rays remaining in an X-ray beam

b The reduction in number of x-rays remaining in an X-ray beam after penetration

through a given thickness of tissue

c The scattering of X-rays after penetration through a given thickness of tissue

d The absorption of X-rays after penetration through a given thickness of tissue
23. A (b)
24. Q Which of the following is the combined effect of both absorption and scattering
of X-rays?

a Transmission

b Reflection

c Refraction

d Attenuation

24. A (d)
25. Q Which unit is used to measure the quantity of radioactive material?

a Air Kerma (Gya)

b Sievert (Sv)

c Absorbed Dose (Gyt)

d Becquerel (Bq)

25. A (d)
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26. Q Which unit is used to measure the kinetic energy transferred from photons
to electrons during ionization and excitation?

a Air Kerma (Gya)

b Sievert (Sv)

c Absorbed Dose (Gyt)

d Becquerel (Bq)

26. A (a)
27. Q Which unit is used to measure the quantity of radiation received by radiation
workers and populations?

a Air Kerma (Gya)

b Sievert (Sv)

c Absorbed Dose (Gyt)

d Becquerel (Bq)

27. A (b)
28. Q What is the relationship between dose and duration of radiation exposure?

a They are inversely related

b They are directly related

c There is no relationship

d It depends on the type of radiation

28. A (b)
3. ATTENUATION 13

29. Q How does radiation exposure change as distance from the radiation source
increases?

a It remains the same

b It increases linearly

c It decreases linearly

d It decreases rapidly by inverse square law

29. A (d)
30. Q What type of material is commonly used for shielding in diagnostic radiology?

a Concrete

b Wood

c Lead

d Steel

30. A (c)
31. Q A radiation worker is exposed to 2.3 mGy2 / hr (230mR/hr) from a radiation
source. If the worker remains in that position for 36 minutes, what will be the total
occupational exposure?

a 82.8 mGy2

b 3.833 mGy2

c 2.21 mGy2

d 1.38 mGy2

36 min
Occupational exposure = 2.3 mGy2 /hr = 1.38 mGy2
60 min/hr
31. A (d)
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32. Q A fluoroscope emits 42 mGy2 /min(4.2R/ min) at the tabletop for every
milliampere of operation. What is the patient exposure in a barium enema examination
that is conducted at 1.8 mA and requires 2.5 minutes of fluoroscopic x-ray exposure
time?

a 189 mGya

b 105 mGya

c 1.7 mGya

d 3.15 mGya

 
42 mGya
Patient radiation exposure = (1.8 mA)(2.5 min) = 189 mGya
mAmin
32. A (a)
33. Q An x-ray tube has an output intensity of 26 mGy/mAs(2.6mR/mAs) at 100 −
cm source-to-image receptor distance (SID) when operated at 70kVp. What would
be the radiation exposure 350 cm from the target?

a 2.1 mGya /mAs

b 7.31 mGya /mAs

c 4.2 mGya /mAs

d 14.63 mGya /mAs

From inverse square law

I1 d22
=
I2 d21
d21
I2 = I1
d22
 2
100 cm
= (26 mGy2 /mAs)
350 cm
= (26 mGy2 /mAs) (0.082)

= 2.1 mGya /mAs

3. ATTENUATION 15

33. A (a)
34. Q What is the effective dose?

a The radiation dose to a single organ

b The equivalent dose to the whole body

c The dose at which radiation sickness occurs

d The dose at which acute radiation syndrome occurs

34. A (b)
35. Q Why is effective dose important in medical imaging?

a It helps determine the power of the radiation

b It helps determine the dose required for imaging to be effective

c It helps determine the overall risk of radiation exposure to the body

d It helps determine the effectiveness of radiation shielding

35. A (c)
36. Q How is the effective dose calculated?

a By measuring the dose to a single organ

b By taking an average of the doses to all organs and tissues

c By multiplying the radiation dose by the exposure time

d By calculating the attenuation of the radiation by shielding

36. A (b)
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37. Q
The following table tells the weighting factors for various tissues
Tissue Tissue Weighting Factor (Wt )
Gonad 0.20
Active bone marrow 0.12
Colon 0.12
Lung 0.12
Stomach 0.12
Bladder 0.05
Breast 0.05
Esophagus 0.05
Liver 0.05
Thyroid 0.05
Bone surface 0.01
Skin 0.01
A PA chest radiograph results in an entrance skin dose of 0.1 mGyt , an exit dose of
0.001 mGyt (1µGyt ), and an average tissue dose of 0.05 mGya (50µGyaa ). What is
the effective dose?

a 17.1µSv

b 23µSv

c 13.5µSv

d 5.5µSv

E =Σ (Di W) =6.0 lung

=(50)(0.12) lung +2.5 breast

+(50)(0.05) breast +2.5 esophagus

+(50)(0.05) esophagus +2.5 thyroid

+(50)(0.05) thyroid =13.5µSv

All other tissues receive essentially zero

dose.

37. A (c)