NOTEBOOK 15

1. Turn on the generator, where power is supplied to the x-ray machine,

which produce the high voltage. The generator allows control of the xray voltage (kVp), x-ray tube current (mAs), and exposure time.
2. The electrons travel to the line compensator
Where it adjusts the control or fluctuation in the electrical supply.
3. Current then travels to the autotransformer which is the kilovoltage
(kV) selector on the machine.
The autotransformer has only one winding that controls the
voltage that is applied to the x-ray tube.
4. Goes to the step-up transformer
Where the alternating current hits the primary coil to the
secondary coil where the voltage steps up to desired kilovoltage
(kV).
5. Current is then pushed through to the secondary side of the circuit.
6. After the step-up transformer, the electrical current reaches the 4
diode rectifier where the current is changed from AC to DC.
(Alternating current to Direct current)
7. Pushing the current in one direction towards the cathode
8. In the cathode tube you will find the focusing cup which directs the
flow of electrons in one direction towards the focal spot.
9. A rotor switch is activated to start the anode rotation and full heat is
applied to the filament.
10.
On the anode side, is where the focal spot/target interactions
occur.
Projectile electrons interact with the orbital electrons or the
nuclear field of the target atoms.
11.
This results in 3 waysi. Converting electron kinetic energy to thermal energy (heat). This
is known as heat production. There is a 1% chance of x-ray
photons being produced in this interaction, 99% of it is heat.
ii.
Converting it to electromagnetic energy forming production of xrays photons. The most common way is Bremsstrahlung
interaction. Where the interaction of electrons and change in
direction, never actually interacting with the nucleus, just the
nucleus force field. 100% Bremsstrahlung at anything below
70kVp, 85% anything above 70kVp.
iii.
Characteristic interaction is a collision of high-energy incident
electron which brakes after the interaction of the inner shell
occurs, resulting in cascade effect, producing several x-ray
photons at different lower level energies. 15% of the whole x-ray
production, only occurring at anything about 70kVp.

NOTEBOOK 15
12.

Also happening at the target is the anode heel affect.

This is where electrons are attenuated causing radiation intensity
on the cathode side of the x-ray beam to be higher than on the
anode side. X-rays are more numerous (intense) on the cathode
side of the tube. Intensity decreases toward the anode side. The
difference between intensities of each side of the anode can be
45%.

If the intensity at the central ray is 100%, intensities can range

from 75% on the anode side to as much as 120% on the cathode
side; each x-ray table has an established "head end" denser
(thicker) body parts should be positioned at the cathode end.
13.
After all these target interactions occur, now the x-ray photons
that were produce are shot down in the direction of the effective focal
spot
14.
The photons are filtered through inherent filtration where the
low-energy, unwanted photons are removed.
This filtration is built into the tube, as well as added filtration
which is aluminum that also built in, the two are combined. The
main idea of the filtration and take away those unwanted lowenergy photons are to reduce the patient dose.
15.
Photons now exit the tube being absorbed into the patient for the
image or produced into scatter radiation.
Techniques with a higher kVp and a lower mAs will transmit more
of the photons and produce a lot of Compton scatter.
Techniques that have a lower kVp are more likely to be absorbed
by the patient, causing Compton scatter and Photoelectric
Interactions.
16.
The electrons that were not produced into photons are recycled
back through the x-ray circuit through the filament circuit.
17.
First hitting the mA meter.
A variable resistor that adjusts resistance represented by the mA
stations on the control panel.
18.
Then going through the step-down transformer where Amperage
becomes Milliamperage.

REFERENCE PAGE
https://quizlet.com/68002980/xray-tube-flash-cards/