Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • JOHNS (Harold - Elford - Johns, - John - Robert - Cunningham) - Phys (Bookos - Org) - P Íginas-145-154

    Uploaded by

    Cássia Barros
    10 views10 pages

    Original Title

    JOHNS [Harold_Elford_Johns,_John_Robert_Cunningham]_Phys(Bookos.org)-páginas-145-154

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    10 views10 pages

    JOHNS (Harold - Elford - Johns, - John - Robert - Cunningham) - Phys (Bookos - Org) - P Íginas-145-154

    Uploaded by

    Cássia Barros

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 10
    Chapter 8 THE QUALITY OF X RAYS (HALF-VALUE LAYER) . 8.01 QUALITY r the last chapter methods for measuring an amount of radiation were described. In this chapter, methods for describing the kind of radiation in the beam will be presented. Since in radiology one is interested in the penetration of the beam into or through the patient, it is logical to de- scribe the nature of the beam in terms of its ability to penetrate some material of known composition. Quality is expressed in terms of the half- value layer. The half-value layer (HVL) is the thickness of some standard ma- Aerial required to reduce a beam to half its original value as measured by a device calibrated to read exposure in roentgens. Over the range 120 to 400 kV, half value layers are usually given in mm of copper, while below 120 kV aluminum is used. ‘The specification of the quality of a beam in terms of HVL is really a very crude specification, since it tells very little concerning the number and energy of the photons present in the beam. A complete specification of the quality requires a knowledge of the amount of energy present in each energy interval as indicated in Figure 2-13, For most purposes, such a complete specification is not necessary because the biological effects of X rays are not very sensitive to the energy of the radiation. For this rea- son, the specification of the quality in terms of HVL is usually sufficient, 8.02 EFFECTS OF FILTERS ON AN X RAY BEAM When monoenergetic electrons bombard a thick target the spectral d tribution of the unfiltered beam is the straight dashed line A of Figure 8-1 described by equation 2-5. This distribution would not be suitable for deep therapy because the low energy photons would not penetrate to the tumor and would merely increase the dose to the superficial layers of the body; neither would it be useful in diagnostic radiology since none of the low energy photons would penetrate through the patient to reach the imaging device but they would contribute to the dose. The unwanted low energy radiation may be removed from the beam by the use of appro- priate filters Curve B results when beam A js filtered by 1 mm aluminum. Curve C results when beam B is filtered by an additional 0.25 mm tin, It will be seen that this reduces the energy fluence practically to zero in the region 270 Effects of Filters on an X Ray Beam 271 a 7 Amm AisO25mm Sn {ng sio5rm cu s025mmn Se 4 2| fmm Als0.25 mm Co atm Sa Energy fence per energy interval (J/m?keV) 30 700 80 200 Photon energy (keV) mee Figure 8-1. Graph showing how the spectral distribution of radiation generated by 200, keV electrons bombarding a thick W target changes with filtration. Dashed line A, un: filtered beam. Curves B, C, D, and E are obtained from A by calculating the attenuation produced by the indicated layers of A, Cu, and Sn. ° from 30 to 40 keV but allows a band of radiation to pass through the filter just below the K absorption edge of tin at 29.2 keV. Above 29.2 keV the tin absorbs strongly by the photoelectric process but just below this energy the photons have insufficient energy to eject the K electrons, so the photoelectric absorption is small. (For details of the attenuation co- efficient in the region of an absorption edge see Figure 5-5). In addition, the photons that strongly interact with the tin by a photoelectric process above 29.2 keV will produce tin atoms with holes in the K shell and when these holes are filled, the characteristic radiation of tin at energies from 25 to 29 keV will be produced. This characteristic radiation will add to curve C as indicated by the spikes on the curve below the absorption edge. The radiation below 28.2 keV may be fered out by placing a thin layer of copper between the tin filter and the patient as shown by curve D. The copper absorbs strongly in the region below 29.2 keV and so re- moves most of the spike in curve C. In addition, the copper strongly absorbs the characteristic radiation of tin. It is usual to place a thin layer of aluminum next to the copper to absorb the charactetistic radiation from the copper. Composite filters of this kind are called Thoraeus filters (12, T3). Iv is important that they be arranged in the proper order as EDEL EONS with the highest atomic number material nearest the x ray tube; other- wise, the characteristic radiation will not be stopped. A more penetrating beam E can be obtained by further filtration of D. 8.03 THE MEASUREMENT OF HALF-VALUE LAYER The half-value layer of an x ray beam can be obtained by measuring the exposure rate of an x ray machine for a series of different attepua, tors placed in the beam. The components should be arranged as ind cated in Figure 8-2. The sensitive volume of the exposure meter should be' positioned with a clamp at point C on the axis of the beam, The de- tector should be at least 50 cm from the end of the treatment cone or beam-defining system of the unit so that radiation scattered from B is avoided. In addition, the x ray beam should be directed in such a way in the room that detector C is at least 50 cm from any scattering objects such as the floor or the walls in} i xroy'uve | fl J Seesigetive aS >> “& Position Limiting "| for filters diaphragm Small treatment cone End of cone which may be Added present _ copper - * or aluminum a DD 1 | 1 50cm | | | ormore; ) | | | 1g Detector | Ae DLT c so «ment for accurate measure. a vee ema aac pe The beam from the machine should be reduced in size until it is about 5 by 5 cm at the detector. Care should be taken to ensure that the detec. {or is in the center of this 5 by 5 cm field, When the x ray machine is Provided with a light localizer and continuously adjustable diaphragms, The Measurement of Half-Value Layer 273 centering of the detector is easily carried out. One way to check the align- ment is to mount a fluorescent screen just beyond the detector and mo- mentarily turn on the x ray machine. Standing well to the side of the unit one can quickly observe whether or not the shadow of the detector is centered in the field. Too small an x ray field should not be used to avoid the possibility of part of the detector being outside the field. The x ray unit is provided with a slot at A into whieh filters may be positioned. A clamp should be arranged on a retort stand to hold addi- tional attenuators of aluminum or copper at position B. A series of such attenuators about 5 by 5 cm in area should be assembled. Care should be taken to insure that the aluminum or copper attenuators are of uni- form thickness and do not contain impurities as do many alloys that may “look like” copper or aluminum. ‘The exposure rate in R/min should be determined for a series of at- tenuators placed at B, while the kV and ma of the tube are held as con stant as possible. Results of a typical experiment are given in Figure 8-3. In Chapter 5, it was noted that an exponential attenuation curve should appear as a straight line when plotted on semilog paper. The curve of Figure 8-3 is not linear because the beam of radiation from the X ray machine is not monoenergetic. Each layer of attenuating material acis very much like the filters described in section 8.02 and progressively changes the quality of the beam. However, under heavy filtration, the softer components are almost completely removed and the radiation transmitted is more nearly monochromatic and the attenuation curve approaches a straight line. Examination of Figure 8-3 shows that the HVL of the unfiltered beam is 0.35 mm Cu (0.35 mm Cu reduces the exposure rate from 68 R/min to 34 R/min). If 1.0 mm of copper is used as the filter, then an extra 1.3 mm is required to reduce the exposure rate by one-half (20 R/min to 10 R/min) so the HVL has been increased to 1.3 mm Cu, By further filtra- tion the HVL may be increased still more to yield an HVL of 2.7 mm Cu for 4 mm Cu filtration. A few of the possible filter and HVL combinations are shown in the insert to Figure 8-3. For each filtration, the exposure rate relative to that obtained with 1.0 mm Cu filtration is given, It should be noted that by operating the machine with HVL 2.7 mm Cu, the expo- sure rate is only 27% of the value that may be obtained with HVL 1.3 mm Cu, After obtaining the data of Figure 8-3 the user would decide on the filter to be used in the routine operation of the machine and the appro- priate filter or filters would be locked into place in the filter slot. The beam from the machine with the filter at A (Fig. 8-2) might now be slight- ly different from the beam with the filter at B because of the influence of scattered radiation from the cone or material on the end of the cone. ae Ame ENyscs of Radiology Fitration HW === rm Exposure Relative Ci ie te Exposure rate Rinin Figure 8.3. Experimentally for 200 kV radiation, show. ing how the HVL may be de- si + termined for a number of fil Frliration mm Cu) wa trations, To check this possibility, three measurements should be made: first with no added filter at B, the second and third with thicknesses just less and just more than the expected HVL allowing one to determine the HVL by interpolation. Effect of Scatter on HVL Measurements If scattered radiation is not avoided, very erroneous values for the HIVL may be obtained. To illustrate this, an experiment was performed on a 250 kV unit and the results are summarized in Figure 8-4. A detec- tor was placed on the axis of the beam at a point P, 100 cm from the source. Measurements were first made using a small field at the detector (about 5 by 5 em) with the attenuator first at position A and then with it against the detector at position B. In the first case, curve A, is obtained; in the second, By, These curves are very different, the beam in B, being apparently much more penetrating than in A, since more radiation is transmitted through any given thickness. This discrepancy arises from the effects of scattered radiation. With the attenuation at A, a negligible fraction of the scattered radiation from the attenuator reaches the de- tector, while at B, because of its close proximity to the detector, a large fraction of the scattered radiation reaches P. These two conditions are determined attenuation curve The Measurement of Half-Value Layer 275 referred to as attenuation experiments in “good geometry” and in “bad geometry.” The geometry may be changed again by altering the field size as il- lustrated in the lower part of the insert of Figure 8-4. With a field size of 30 by 30 cm at P curves, A, and B, were obtained. B, gives what appears to be an even more penetrating beam than B, because now the detector sees even more scattered radiation from the attenuator. The half-value layers that may be read off Figure 8-4 range from 2.0 to 2.8 mm of copper (see numbers affixed to graph at the 50% level) The correct half-value layer is the minimum value, 2.0, obtained in the experiment in which the scattered radiation from the attenuator was avoided. 100} Relative exposure rote 30 Filtration mm Cu sae Figure 8-4. Diagram (o illustrate how different apparent half-value layers may be ob- tained for the same beam by using different arrangements of field size and attenuator position in making the measurements. Effect of Detector on HVL Measurement The measurement of HVL requires the availability of an exposure meter calibrated to read in roentgens, that is an ion chamber with walls equivalent to air (see Chapter 7). A perfect exposure meter would for example give the same reading for I roentgen of radiatiori regardless of whether it were produced by 10 or 1000 keV photons or any energy be- tween these. If the measuring device does not have such a “flat” response a EIEN ORY for the spectrum of radiations in the beam, will be in error, since the spectrum and hence the HVL measurement the response will be de- pendent on the amount of attenuator added during the HVL determina. tion. An extreme example of this situation is s performed on a 130 kV x ray where an attenuation experiment w: illustrated in Figure 8-5 beam used in CT scanning (see Chapter 16). Two sets of measuremens were carried out. One set—using a correct ly calibrated air wall detee- tor— gave an HVL of 5.7 mm Al; the second set—obtained using a high Pressure xenon chamber as the detector—gave an incorrect HVL of 86 mim Al. The air wall detector gives a reading proportional to the energy absorbed in air while the xenon detector gives a reading essentially pro portional to the energy fluence of the beam. The difference bet een the {wo curves is a striking illustration of the effects of “detector response” on the measured HVL. 109) | | | | Awol tector | exposure) op a a Frttin mm A a HVL and Filters for Therapy Figure 8.5. Graph showing that the measured attenuae tion of a beam from a 130 kV x ray machine depends upon the type of detector used in the experiment. The HVL of the beam is 5.7 not 8.6 mm of Al When 200 to 400 kV machines were used in radiotherapy, the precise determination of the HVL was essential be the depth dose distribution achieved, Tod, use the HVL determined lay HVL. determinations for this range of energies are less important. In the 100 to 140 kV range, an HVL determination is still necessary. These beams are usually Altered with Aland are operated at an HVL of 2.0 to 3.0 mm Al. They are used rficial cumors. to treat sups Cobalt 60 and cesium 137 emit essentially monocnergetic radiation so filters are not required. Although the specification of the HV L of acebale beam as 1.1 cm of Pb is true, it is not a useful statement; it is much more The Measurement of Half-Value Layer 277 relevant to specify the average energy of the emitted radiation as 1.25 Mev. Linacs in the energy range 4 to 20 MeV and betatrons at 20 to 30 MeV produce continuous distributions of radiation from about 1 MeV to their peak energy. Examination of Figure 5-11 will convince the reader that for this energy range there is no good filter material. The attenuation co- efficient for lead passes through a minimum value at 3 MeV. A lead filter therefore discriminate against both the low and the high energy radi- ation from a linac and will transmit radiation at 3 MeV. A filter made with high Z material therefore will make the beam less useful. A medium Z material such as Cu has an attenuation coefficient essentially constant with energy, so filters of such materials will have no preferential filtering effect and will only reduce the intensity of the beam. A low atomic num. ber filter of carbon or aluminum will reduce the low energy radiation slightly more than the high energy radiation; hence, if a filter is to be used it should be of such material. There is a difficulty, however, since these have small density and thick layers would be required, Such ma chines are therefore usually used without a filter The specification of the quality of these high energy beams is not easy. Certainly the specification of the HVL in copper or lead is useless since a beam that contains the useful high energy photons, which can penetrate into water, would be more easily stopped in lead than lower energy less useful photons. High energy beams from linear accelerators and beta- trons should be specified in terms of the penetration of the beam in water. Unfortunately, however, no consensus has emerged as to how the quality of such beams should be described. High energy beams from betatrons and linacs are sharply “peaked” along the axis (see Fig. 2-16) so flattening filters are required. They should be made of low atomic number material (Chapter 4) so that the desirable high energy photons will not be removed. HVL and Filters in Diagnostic Radiology Unless care is taken, a diagnostic x ray examination may involve chough radiation to be a real hazard to the patient. Often the judicious use of filters can reduce the dose to the patient without any deleterious cffect on the diagnostic value of the radiograph. In general, enough filters should be used to remove low energy photons, which cannot reach the imaging device and which only serve to increase the dose to tissues where the beam enters the patient, All diagnostic x ray machines used in routine examinations should be equipped with a total filtration (in- herent plus added) of 3 mm Al permanently locked into place. These will have an HVL of 1 to 3 mm Al dependent on kV. For xeroradiography at 45 to 50 KV, the total filter should be 1.5 mm Al, while for special mammography studies using 30 kV with film as the detector, the total ate ate ihyscs of Radiology filter should be 0.5 mm Al. These beams usually have HVL values less than I mm Al. It is obvious that photons with insufficient energy to pass through the patient can serve no useful purpose and should be removed from the beam. It is not so obvious that high energy photons should also be re- moved. This will be dealt with in section 8.05. 8.04 EQUIVALENT PHOTON ENERGY . In certain investigations, it is convenient to express the quality of an x ray beam in terms of the equivalent photon energy hv derived from a knowledge of the half-value layer. The type of x ray beam used in radi- ology is always heterogencous, consisting of many different energies; however, we can refer to it as having an equivalent photon energy hv if monoenergetic radiation of this energy has the same HVL as the ra tion in question. The relationship between hv and HVL is shown in Fig- ure 8-6. It was obtained from the total mass attenuation coefficients given in the appendix. For example, from Table A-4g we note that Ci (density 8.96 g/cm’) has a /p = 0.455 cm*/g at 100 keV. Hence SO = 4.08 em g w= 8.962, x 0. 0.693/4.08 cm~' = 1.70 mm Cu (eq. 5-3) ‘Thus a heterogeneous beam with HVL 1.70 mm Cu has an equiv- alent photon energy hi = 100 keV. This point is marked P in Figure 8-6. HVL | 7 | echo! | be | at ‘ 8°. [avumioum ry i / ! fos des 4 : aftA | © cet sos nea Fev ° Bi 2000 Eqivlert photon enerayFutkeV) Ps Figure 86. Graph showing the relation between half-value ‘energy, calculated from the total attenuation coefficients give yer and equivalent photon in the appendix. Measured Spectral Distributions 279 8.05 MEASURED SPECTRAL DISTRIBUTIONS For many years, experimentally determined spectral distributions were not available, and it was necessary to rely on empirical formula such as equation 2-6, which was used to plot Figure 8-1. In the 1940s Greening (G6, G7), using an air wall ion chamber, carefully measured the trans: mission through known thicknesses of copper and aluminum and by appropriate mathematical manipulation determined the spectral distri- bution. A more direct approach was made possible with the develop- ment of the Nal scintillation spectrometer and more recently with the germanium lithium drifted, Ge(Li), spectrometer described in detail in Chapter 9. In these devices individual photons are detected, and the volt- age output pulse is proportional to the energy of the detected photon. ‘The voltage pulses are sorted for size in a pulse height analyzer and re- corded in 400 or more different channels, each channel corresponding toa particular photon energy. The number of counts in a channel gives a measure of the number of photons with a particular energy. The Ge(Li) detector yields remarkable resolution, allowing one to see the two Ka and two KB lines from tungsten (see curve D of Fig. 8-7). The resolution achievable with it is much better than with Nal (see Fig. 14-5) but there is one practical difficulty. Ge(Li) crystals cannot be made large and deep enough to fully absorb photons with more than about 150 keV. In contrast, Nal crystals can be grown to some 30 cm in diame- ter and up to 10 cm thick. The one-to-one correspondence between photon energy and output depends upon the fofal absorption of the pho- tons incident on the device. For this reason Ge(Li) crystals are ideal for investigating diagnostic x rays but less useful in studying the more ener- getic radiations from therapy installations. Since these spectrometers detect every photon emitted and since a second photon cannot be analyzed as to energy until the previous one has been processed, there is a finite counting rate of about 2000 c/s that cannot be exceeded. ‘To reduce the counting rate to a small enough value, the spectrum must be observed through a very small pinhole (0.5 mm) at a distance of some 10 meters. The small pinhole can itself intro- duce artifacts unless great care is taken, and the large distance of 10 meters is awkward, to say the least, and will require appreciable air at- tenuation corrections, One way to overcome the counting rate problem is to first scatter the beam to be studied by a foil and then measure the scattered beam in the spectrometer. This was the technique used by Yaffe (YD) to obtain the data of Figure 2-13. Although this scattering technique overcomes the counting rate problem, it degrades the resolution, The individual ka lines are well resolved in Figure 8-7 but are combined into a single peak in Figure 2-13. Although in principle the measurement of an x ray spectrum is easy, there are a number of rather complex correc- (680 Ehe ihysics of Radology tions that must be applied to the measured spectrum to obtain the true incident spectrum (S11). Special Filters of High Atomic Number for Diagnostic Radiology The germanium detector is an ideal device to help in the design of an optimum beam for certain special techniques in diagnostic radiology. A band of radiation whose energy is matched to the imaging device is re- quired. Each imaging device, whether a film screen-combinati image amplifier, has a maximum response to a particular band of radia- tion, usually in the range 30 to 70 keV. Photons with energies above 70 to 80 keV penetrate the patient but are not efficiently absorbed in the detector and so reduce the contrast in the image. These should be re- moved. The way this may be done is illustrated by the spectra of Figure 8-7, obtained with a germanium detector in our laboratory (D4), ibution A is obtained with the tube excited at 70 kV constant po- tential with an inherent filtration of about 1 mm Al. The kilovoltage is close to the K edge, so essentially no K lines appear. By adding a filter of holmium—a rare earth—a band of radiation just below its K edge (56 keV) is isolated, as illustrated by curves B and C. This band of radia- tion is heavily absorbed by contrast agents such as iodine (K edge 33 keV) and barium (K edge 37 keV) making the beam useful in angio contrast studies or in intravenous pyelograms. 7OKV, constant potential ORV, constant poentit cium ters ‘Tungten fers, ‘ No odes fier No oses ‘iter Photons energy interval a a a) Photon energy(keV) = Figure 8-7. Curves A, B, C: spectra obtained with the x ray tube excited at 70 kV con- stant potential using no added filter, 0.127 mm, and 0.254 mm holmium respectively Curves D, E, F: spectra generated at 80 kV constant potential with no added filter, 0.026 ‘mm, and 0,052 mm of tungsten respectively. Types of Spectral Distributions 281 Curves D, E, and F show how a tungsten filter used with a tube excited at 80 kV can produce a useful band of radiation in the 30 to 70 keV range. Experiments by Villagran (V2) show that with such filters matched to the proper kilovoltage, patient dose can be reduced to half with no loss in diagnostic information. More studies of this kind are required to select the right combinations of kV, filter thickness, and filter material for each type of image receptor. This will be discussed further in Chap- ter 16 8.06 TYPES OF SPECTRAL DISTRIBUTIONS ‘The curves of Figure 8-7 illustrate one way to present data concerning a beam. There are, however, several other ways in which spectral distri- butions may be presented, which are useful in certain situations. A few of these will be dealt with here. Photon Fluence per Energy Interval Curve A in Figure 8-8 gives the number of photons per unit area per energy interval at | meter from the focal spot. The actual measurements were carried out at a distance of 10 m from the focal spot and the count- ing rate was observed through a pinhole of diameter 0.51 mm. Point P curve A shows that there were 3.5 X 10° photons per m? in the energy interval 39.5 to 40.5 keV. The photon fluence is represented by ® (phi), and since it is a function of hv we represent it by (hr). Since the or- dinate is the portion of the photon fluence between hv and hy + dhe, wwe represent this by the derivative d¢(hv)/dhy. The total area under the curve of Figure 8-8 is the total number of photons given by of Numerical integration shows that the area under this curve is 1.57 x 10" photons/m?. The student may show that this is reasonable by noting that a rectangle of height 2 x 10" photons/keV + m? and width 80 keV en- dloses about the same area. (8-1) Energy Fluence per Energy Interval The data of Figure 8-8 can be presented in a different form. If we multiply the ordinate at each value of hv by hv, the energy of the photon, we obtain the differential energy fluence represented by W (psi). Thus, dahy) dhv dv(hy) dhy This is plotted as curve B. It has the same general shape as curve A but the multiplication of each ordinate by hv shifts the distribution towards onan The Physics of Radiology st cl. 3 bao? ealglesy & ‘ ‘ 0! 2 g 8 3-—— = 2 - sey Soom . sect ; nt oe Sires | 8s =} 2 . Bs | ee ge? i ae Ss a g38 cea aS eiseae) 1028"30 40-8080 70 80 SOO Photon energy (keV) “ Figure 8-8. Curve A: Photon fluence per energy interval at 1 meter from a 100 kV com stant potential x ray source. Measurements were made with a Ge(Li) detector placed 10 meters from the source behind a 0.51 mm pinhole in lead, The Ke, and Key at 59.321 and 57.984 keV are off scale. The KB; is really a mixture of Ky and KA, at 67.143 keV, While the KBs is a mixture of several lines with an average of 69.199 keV. Curve B: Same basic data converted to energy fluence per keV interval. Curve B’ is obtained from B by attenuation with 7.2 mm AI. Curve C: Same basic data as curve A but presented as an exposure distribution in roentgens per keV interval, Curve C’ contains half the area of curve G showing that the HVL = 4.5 mm Al the high energy end of the spectrum, The area under this curve is ye fava fp. dbtho) Wa [ = J Jah dhe = f be SS dhy (8-2) and gives the total energy fluence in the beam. For our example this area is 13.4 Jim®. The reader may show that this is about right by noting that a rectangle of height 0.2 J/keV m? and width 70 keV encloses the same area Exposure per Energy Interval In order to relate these spectra to an HVL measured with an ex- Posure meter, we need to determine the differential exposure, dX (hy)/ Types of Spectral Distributions 283 dhy, corresponding to the differential photon fluence, d

    You might also like