Chapter 6

Control of Secondary
and
Scattered Radiation
 CONTROL OF SECONDARY
AND SCATTERED RADIATION
 There are various types of
auxiliary radiographic equipment
that can be used to control the
secondary and scattered radiation.
 These include filters,
diaphragms, cones, and grids.
 FILTERS
 are thin sheets of material (copper,
aluminum) placed between the tube and
the patient, through which the x-ray must
pass before they reach the film. They
absorb some of the soft/weak,
undesirable radiation, depending upon
the material they are made of.
 FILTERS
 All filters absorb radiation of all
wavelengths. They absorb, however,
relatively more of the soft rays (longer
wavelengths). The filter therefore removes
the rays that can cause skin reactions or
damage and which are subject to greater
scattering because of their limited energies.
 FILTERS
 Part of the filter is permanently built into the
tube head - the inherent filter. this includes the
glass wall of the tube, the oil surrounding the
tube and the wall of the tube head. These
materials are thinned over the area penetrated by
the x-ray beam (the x-ray window or port). The
inherent filtration amounts to approximately the
equivalent of 0.5 mm. of aluminum.
 FILTERS
 Directly in front of the x-ray window is a
channel for adding other filters. These are made
of aluminum for radiography (and of aluminum,
copper, tin, and even lead for radiotherapy). For
patient safety, you should always maintain an
additional 2.0 mm. aluminum filter which,
together with the inherent filtration, gives a total
filtration of 2.5 mm. of aluminum.
 FILTERS
 The introduction of 1 mm of
aluminum filtration reduces the
dosage to the patient by 60%, and
2mm. of aluminum reduces the
dosage to the skin by 80% at 50Kv
and 70% at 100 kV.
 DIAPHRAGMS
 These are no longer in use today. Diaphragms
are flat sheets of lead with various size and
shape apertures in their centers. The size of the
aperture used will be determined by the size of
the area being examined and the film-anode
distance. The diaphragm is placed in a slot
between the patient and the tube and used as a
mask, very much like a custom made collimator.
 CONES
 Cones may be used in place of the diaphragm
and are placed in the same slot that the
diaphragm is used in. Cones are metal tubes and
there are three basic types. A flare cone is one
in which the aperture in the end facing the
patient is larger than the end attached to the tube
head. It allows for a larger field than the cylinder
cone. Remember that the beam exiting through a
cylinder cone may bounce off the cylinder cone
and thereby give weaker rays to the patient
 CONES
 A cylindrical cone (or cylinder) is one in
which the aperture is the same throughout its
length. A cylindrical extension cone is
actually one cylinder within another slightly
larger cylinder. The inner cylinder is attached
to the tube head and the outer cylinder can be
extended to contact the skin of the patient.
This is used in spot-film work exclusively.
 CONES
 Diaphragms and cones serve to limit the x-ray
field to the part which is being radiographed by
cutting down the field size. They also cut down
on the quantity of soft tissue exposed and thus
reduce the amount of scattered radiation and
reducing film fog. Since scattered radiation
accounts in part for the radiographic effect
produced, primary exposure must be increased
(20% in a 3 inch field).
 GRIDS
 are devices that are placed behind the
patient and in front of the film to minimize
the amount of secondary radiation from the
soft tissues reaching the film. The grid
appears to be a solid piece of metal but is
actually composed of lead strips alternating
with a radiolucent material (wood or
bakelite).
 GRIDS
There are two basic types
of grids:
Focused
 Unfocused
 GRIDS
 A grid is unfocused when all the lead strips are
parallel to each other and perpendicular to the
grid surface.
 A grid is focused when all the lead strips
except those in the center are inclined at an
angle towards the center (they are actually on
radius of a circle whose center is the focal spot
of the tube when the correct distance is used).
 GRIDS
 Using a parallel or unfocused
grids gives us the ability to
change distances. This may not
be as good a remover of scatter
as the focused, but it gives us
more freedom.
 GRIDS
 The focused grid can be used in only one
way - the side on which the lead strips are
closer must face the tube and the proper
distance for the grid should be used. If the
focused grid is used backwards or at an
improper distance, the radiation at the edges
of the film will be absorbed and the film
will be blank at these places.
 Grid Radius
 is the distance from the center of the grid
to a point where the projected planes of
the focused strips of the grid would meet.
 Grid radii of 30, 36, 40 and 48 inches are
in use. Although a 40 inch grid radii is
the most common used today, most
people don’t use focused grids at all.
 Grid Radius
 The focal spot of the tube should be at the
focus of the grid; then the divergent beam
of the primary rays is parallel to the lead
strips and a minimum of them will be
absorbed by the strips. In an unfocused grid
the radius would be infinity. The focused
grid will be marked “tube side” on the side
that must face the tube.
 Grid Ratio
 is the ratio of the height of the lead
strips to the width of the space
between them. Various ratios
include, but are not limited to, 8:1,
10:1, 12:1, 16:1. The most common
grid ratios are 8:1 and 10:1.
 Grid Efficiency
 refers to the amount of maximum absorption of
secondary radiation as compared with minimal
absorption of primary radiation. When the
secondary radiation is materially reduced without
any appreciable absorption of primary radiation,
the efficiency is high. Classically, the higher the
grid ratio, the more efficient the grid as it
decreases the amount of obliquely scattered rays
by four times.
 Stationary Grids
 AKA “Wafer” grids or Leisholm grids
 produce x-rays that have very fine white lines on
them. These are the area of the film that are
blocked from receiving any x-ray by the lead
strips.
 To eliminate these “grid lines” the moving grid
or Potter-Bucky diaphragm was developed by
Potter in 1913.
 Potter-Bucky
 The Potter-Bucky has all the characteristics of
the stationary grid with the addition of a system
to move the grid across the film when the
exposure is being made. When this happens no
part of the film is entirely deprived of radiation,
and there are no grid lines of the finished film.
The Bucky is often connected into the timing
circuit of the x-ray machine, but it is a
mechanical device, depending upon the
electricity only for its release.
 Potter-Bucky
 It should be remembered when calculating an
exposure that the M.A.S. required when using a
Bucky or grid will be four times the amount
required without it, but the increase in contrast
and detail will make it worth using. Never x-ray
a part thicker than 10 or 11 centimeters without
using a bucky or grid due to the large amount of
scattered radiation that needs to be eliminated.
 Grids
 Today, stationary grids are being
used as the lead lines are made so
thin that they are invisible to the
naked eye. Stationary grids are being
produced at up to 140 lines per inch
and do an excellent job in absorbing
scatter.
THE INVERSE SQUARE LAW

 The Inverse Square Law states that

the intensity of radiation decreases
in proportion to the square of the
distance.
 Remember that x-ray travels in a
straight line diverging from a point.
THE INVERSE SQUARE LAW
 When using 40” and 72” it is easy to see that
this is a basic doubling of the distance. When
shooting at 72” you are shooting an area four
times larger than that shot at 40”. Therefore,
you need to increase the MAS by four times to
compensate. When using four times more MAS
you should collimate down four times more so
that the patient does not receive more radiation.