2019- 2018 negatively charged concave reflector made of molybdenum. The focusing cup electrostatically focuses the electrons emitted by the filament into a narrow beam directed at a small rectangular area on the anode called the focal spot. is the area on the target to which the focusing cup directs the electrons from the filament. • The sharpness of the radiographic image increases as the size of the focal spot decreases. • The heat generated per unit target area, however, becomes greater as the focal spot decreases in size. ❖ To take advantage of a small focal spot while distributing the electrons over a larger area of the target, the target is placed at an angle to the electron beam. The projection of the focal spot perpendicular to the electron beam is smaller than the actual size of the focal spot. • the target is inclined about 20 degrees to the central ray of the x- ray beam. • This causes the effective focal spot to be almost , as opposed to the actual focal spot, which is about • Another method of dissipating the heat from a small focal spot is to use a rotating anode In this case the tungsten target is in the form of a beveled disk that rotates when the tube is in operation. • Bremsstrahlung is a German term that means "braking rays." • emitted when electrons are decelerated or "braked" when they are strike a metal target. • When bombarding electrons penetrate into the target, some electrons travel close to the nucleus due to the attraction of its positive charge. • The course of these electrons would be deflected, and a portion or all of their kinetic energy would be lost. • According to The principle of the conservation of energy: Final KE of electron = initial KE of electron - energy of X-ray photon Characteristic X-ray: • As the fast electrons strike the target a part of the electron energy will be absorbed within the target atoms. • Electrons from the inner shells of the atoms such as L – shell or K – shell may either shifted to a higher energy level causing excitation or leaves the atom causing in this case ionization. • When another electron fails immediately from the upper energy level such as M or L shell to fill the vacancy, it will give energy in the form of electromagnetic waves (photons). (characteristic X-ray) is a characteristic of the type of material from which the target is made. When the exposure time is doubled, the number of photons generated at all energies in the x-ray emission spectrum is doubled, but the range of photon energies is unchanged. Therefore changing the time simply controls the quantity of the exposure, the number of photons generated. 3. Tube voltage: Increasing the kVp increases the potential difference between the cathode and anode, thus increasing the energy of each electron when it strikes the target. This results in an increased efficiency of conversion of electron energy into x- ray photons, and thus an increase in: a. the number of photons generated. b. their mean energy c. their maximal energy. The increased number of photons produced per unit time by use of higher kVp results from the greater efficiency in the production of bremsstrahlung photons that occurs when increased numbers of higher-energy electrons interact with the target. D. Filtration: • Although an x-ray beam consists of a spectrum of x-ray photons of different energies, only photons with sufficient energy to penetrate through anatomic structures and reach the image receptor (usually film) are useful for diagnostic radiology. • Those that are of low energy (long wavelength) contribute to patient exposure (and risk) but do not have enough energy to reach the film. • to reduce patient dose, the less-penetrating photons should be removed. • This can be accomplished, in part, by placing an aluminum filter in the path of the beam. E. COLLIMATION: • A collimator is a metallic barrier with an aperture in the middle used to reduce the size of the x-ray beam. • Round and rectangular collimators are most frequently used in dentistry. • Dental x-ray beams are usually collimated to a circle 2.75 (7 Cm) in diameter. • A round collimator (see Fig. below) is a thick plate of radiopaque material (usually lead) with a circular opening centered over the port in the X-ray head through which the x- ray beam emerges. • Rectangular collimators (see Fig. below) limit the size of the beam to just larger than the x-ray film. It is important to reduce the beam to the size of the film to reduce further unnecessary patient exposure.
• INVERSE SQUARE LAW:
• The intensity of an x-ray beam at a given point (number of photons per cross-sectional area per unit exposure time) depends on the distance of the measuring device from the local spot. • For a given beam the intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source. • The reason for this decrease in intensity is that the x-ray beam spreads out as it moves from the source. As in the following equation:
• where I is intensity and D is distance.
• Therefore if a dose of 1 gray (Gy) is measured at a distance of 2m, a dose of 4Gy will be found at 1m, and 0.25Gy at 4m. A. COHERENT SCATTERING: Coherent scattering may occur when a low-energy incident photon (less than 10keV) passes near an outer electron of an atom (which has a low binding energy). • Coherent scattering resulting from the interaction of a low-energy incident photon with an outer electron, causing the outer electron to vibrate momentarily. After this, a scattered photon of the same energy is emitted at a different angle from the path of the incident photon, and the electron return to its place. B. PHOTOELECTRIC ABSORPTION: • This type of interaction is happened when the electron of the absorber atoms absorbs all the energy of x-ray photon.
• The electron uses part of this energy to escape from the atom.
• This electron deficiency (usually in the K shell) is instantly filled,
usually by an L shell electron, with the release of characteristic radiation (see Fig. below ).
• Whatever the orbit of the replacement electron, the characteristic
photons generated are of such low energy that they are absorbed within the patient and do not fog the film. • The escaped electron uses the other part of energy in ripping electrons from their atoms. • The photoelectric effect occur more in the intense electric field near the nucleus than the outer levels of the atom. • It is more in atoms with high atomic number(z). • C. COMPTON SCATTERING: • Compton scattering occurs when a photon interacts with an outer orbital electron. • About 62% of the photons that are absorbed from a dental x- ray beam are absorbed by this process. • Compton absorption occurs when an incident photon interacts with an outer electron, producing a scattered photon of lower energy than the incident photon and a recoil electron ejected from the target atom. • The path of the incident photon is deflected by its interaction and is scattered from the site of the collision. • The energy of the scattered photon equals the energy of the incident photon minus the sum of the kinetic energy gained by the recoil electron and its binding energy. • Scattered photons continue on their new paths, causing further ionizations. Similarly, the recoil electrons also give up their energy by ionizing other atoms.