X-RAY PRODUCTION

By Dr. Abdullah Imran

The X-ray Tube

The X-ray Tube

Some basic concepts

Voltage / Potential difference
Is the force that convinces electrons to go from one place to another and release energy on the way The greater the voltage, the more energy is released PER ELECTRON kVp stands for Peak kilovolts

Some basic concepts

Energy
Is measured in terms of Joule (J) At the atomic level, 1 J is a very large amount of energy so a smaller unit is used called electronvolt or eV 1 eV is the amount of energy released by an electron when travelling under the influence of 1 volt 1 keV = 1000 eV

IMPORTANT
kVp is Peak kilovolts, a unit of voltage keV is kiloelectronvolts, a unit of energy DO NOT CONFUSE THESE TWO!

Some basic concepts

Filament current and tube current

Filament current
Is quite high, usually in the range of 4-6 amperes (A) Is directly controlled by the technician using the console Is used to heat the filament to eject electrons

Tube current
Is much smaller than the filament current, usually in the range of 200-400 milliamperes (mA)

Is INDIRECTLY controlled by altering the kVp and filament current Represents the NUMBER of electrons moving from the cathode to anode inside the vacuum tube

Some basic concepts

Nucleus
N Shell M Shell L Shell K Shell

Binding energy
It is the energy needed by an electron to escape the pull of the nucleus COMPLETELY

Binding energy

>

The larger the proton number the greater binding energy

Binding energy

>

>

The closer the electron to the nucleus, the greater binding energy

Binding energies of Tungsten

K Shell 69 keV L Shell 12 keV M Shell 3 keV N Shell 1 keV O Shell 0.1 keV

 Low energy particles are more stable than high energy particles It is the tendency of high energy particles to lose their energy in order to reach a more stable state

The Electron Beam

and what it is capable of

The story so far

The cathode has been heated and electrons are jumping out The anode is positively charged and exerting an attractive force on the electrons The electrons are flying towards the anode

Interaction of Electron Beam with Target

With outer electrons -> Heating With inner electrons -> Characteristic Radiation With Nucleus -> Bremsstrahlung Radiation

1. Heating
Infrared Radiation

Heating
99% of electron beam causes heating of the anode Yes. 99%. Efficient removal of heat from the anode is needed to prevent damage to its structure For details, contact Dr. Faisal

2. Characteristic Radiation

X-ray Photon

X-ray energy = K L = 57 keV

Characteristic Radiation

X-ray Photon

X-ray energy = K M = 66 keV

Characteristic Radiation
X-ray Photon

X-ray energy = K N = 68 keV

 Instead of a K shell electron, an L shell electron can also be knocked out In that case, electrons from the M, N shells will fill the gap and release their excess energy

Characteristic Radiation
Does not occur below a specific minimum value of kVp Depends on the binding energies of the different shells which in turn depends on the atomic number of the atom Has a fixed energy level which does not change upon changing the kVp or mA

 And finally Characteristic radiation is mostly useless for purposes of radiology

3. Bremsstrahlung Radiation

X-ray Photon

Bremsstrahlung Radiation
Means braking radiation or slowed-down radiation Occurs at ALL kVp The electron can lose none, some or all of its energy when slowing down Therefore, the energy of x-ray photon ranges from 0 to the value of kVp What is wrong with the last point?

Bremsstrahlung Radiation
kVp is NOT a unit of energy, it is a unit of voltage! If kVp is 150, then the energy of Brems x-ray will be any value above 0 up to a maximum of 150 keV

Things that are worse than X-rays

X-ray Emission Spectrum

250

Discrete Spectrum

Number of balls thrown

200

150 212 156 50 67 33 0 132

100

Ping Pong

Golf

Baseball

Softball

Basketball

250

Continuous Spectrum

Number of balls thrown

200

150

100

50

Ping Pong

Golf

Baseball

Softball

Basketball

250

Continuous Spectrum

Number of X-rays

200

150

100

50

X-ray Energy (keV)

Spectrum of Characteristic X-rays

K x-rays

Number of X-rays

L x-rays

X-ray Energy (keV)

Superimposition of Brems X-rays

K x-rays

Number of X-rays

L x-rays

X-ray Energy (keV)

General X-ray emission spectrum

Usually 1/3rd of kVp

Number of X-rays

Characteristic x-rays

Bremsstrahlung x-rays

Corresponds to the kVp

25

50

69

75

100

X-ray Energy (keV)

Factors affecting the spectrum

mA kVp Filtration Target material at the anode Voltage ripple

Changes in the spectrum

If the spectrum shifts to the right, the x-rays have greater energy thus greater penetration. QUALITY of x-rays increases. If spectrum becomes taller, there are more xrays being produced. QUANTITY of x-rays increases.

mA
400 mA

Number of X-rays

Higher mA
Increases the number of x-rays at all levels of the spectrum

200 mA

25

50

75

100

125

150

X-ray Energy (keV)

kVp
Number of X-rays Higher kVp
100 kVp

1. 2. 3.

Increases the number of x-rays Shifts the curve to the right Increases the number of characteristic x-rays but NO CHANGE in their position

75 kVp

25

50

75

100

X-ray Energy (keV)

Why does increasing kVp increase the number of x-rays produced?

Low energy electrons surround the cathode forming the electron cloud This negatively charged cloud resists new electrons from emerging High kVp exerts a greater attractive force on these lazy electrons Tube current is increased leading to more xrays

 Within diagnostic limits, a 15% increase in kVp causes the amount of x-rays to be almost doubled (equivalent to doubling the mA) Since these x-rays now also have higher energy, they pass through the patient resulting in decreased patient absorption

Filtration
2mm thick filter

Thicker Filter
1. Decreases the number of x-rays 2. Low energy x-rays are affected more 3. Peak of the curve shifts to the right (increase in the average energy of the beam)

Number of X-rays

4 mm thick filter

20

40

60

80

100

120

X-ray Energy (keV)

Target material of the anode

Voltage Ripple
Is due to the fluctuation in the voltage when AC is converted to DC Rectification is a process by which these fluctuations are reduced to give a relatively uniform voltage throughout

Alternating and Direct Currents

Normal AC

Normal DC

Rectification

Effect of voltage ripple on X-rays

Voltage Ripple
High frequency

Voltage Ripple
1. Better quality generator gives LESS voltage ripple 2. LESS voltage ripple increases the quantity AND quality of the x-rays 3. Curve becomes taller and shifts to the right

Number of X-rays

Three phase

Single phase

20

40

60

80

100

120

X-ray Energy (keV)

To summarize
Factor
mA kVp Thicker Filter INCREASING Atomic number of target DECREASING voltage ripple

Quality

Quantity

 Oh by the way, kVp and mA are the only two things that are routinely changed. The other parameters (filter, target anode and generator) are more or less permanent for a particular machine set up.

Summary
X-rays are produced when electrons in the electron beam interact with
inner shell electrons of the target (characteristic radiations) nucleus of the target (Bremsstrahlung radiation)

Summary
The number of X-rays for each energy level can be demonstrated on a spectrum called X-ray Emission Spectrum A number of factors, most prominently mA and kVp, can affect this spectrum in different ways, changing the quality and quantity of xrays.

Unfortunately, no mosquitoes were harmed during the making of this presentation. Except this one:

Thank you!