1.

Sodium thiosulfate
Without fixing, the remaining silver halide would darken and cause fogging of the
image. Fixation is commonly achieved by treating the film or paper with a
solution ofthiosulfate salt. Popular salts are sodium thiosulfate—commonly
called hypo—and ammonium thiosulfate—commonly used in modern rapid
fixer formulae.

2. Latent image

A latent image is an invisible image produced by the exposure to light of a

photosensitive material such as photographic film. When photographic film is
developed, the area that was exposed darkens and forms a visible image.

3. Base fog
The reasons for fog in radiographic films are reviewed. Fog can be caused by
chemical reactions forming catalytic development centers in the emulsion layer,
by unwanted exposure to radiation, or by the attack of the developer on silver
halide crystals lacking catalytic development centers.

4. Halation
An anti-halation backing is a layer found in most photographic films. It is usually
a coating on the back of the film base, but sometimes it is incorporated between
the light-sensitive emulsion and the base. The light that passes through the
emulsion is absorbed by the anti-halation layer.

5. Processing film
Various reasons for faulty radiographs

1) Errors in operating the machine.

2) Errors in techniques.

3) Errors in processing & mounting.

6. Phototimer
 An electronic device in radiography that measures the radiation that has passed
through the patient and terminates the x-ray exposure when it is sufficient to
form an image.

7. Thermionic emission
The process by which free electrons are emitted from the surface of a metal
when external heat energy is applied is calledthermionic
emission. Thermionic emission occurs in metals that are heated to a very high
temperature.

8. Rare earth metals

The rare-earth elements are cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er),
europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium (Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu),
neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm),
scandium (Sc), terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and yttrium (Y).

 The tungsten cathode needs to be heated for thermionic emission to take

place. Thus a 10 voltage potential difference and 3-6 amperes of filament
current is supplied, which forms the filament circuit. This should not be
confused with tube current which determines the flow of electrons from the
cathode to the anode.

 Space charge refers to the collection of electrons which are emitted

from the metal surface, after the application of tube current, at a short
distance away from the metal surface.These electrons collect and form a
cloud of charge around the metal surface. This space charge limits the
further emission of electrons from the surface and is referred to as the space
charge effect.

 Size and shape of the focal spot is determined by the size and shape of the
electron beam when it strikes the anode 1.

Size and shape of the electron beam is determined by:

 dimensions of the filament tungsten coil

 construction of the focusing cup
 position of the filament in the focusing cup
The focal spot sizes commonly employed are:

 0.3mm and 0.6mm, usually for mammography

 1.0mm and 1.2mm, usually for general radiography
The effective focal length of a focal spot can be calculated using:

Effective focal length = Actual focal length x sin θ

where θ is the anode angle

 Anode heel effect refers to the lower field intensity towards the anode in
comparison to the cathode due to lower x-ray emissions from the target
material at angles perpendicular to the electron beam.

 Tube ratings are the defined input parameters (kVp, mA, exposure) that can
be safely used during its operation without causing damage to the x-ray
tube itself and unique to each individual x-ray tube model.When the electron
beam strikes the target material in the anode only 1% of the kinetic energy
of the electrons is converted into x-rays whilst the rest is converted into
thermal energy. Increasing the kVp, mA, or exposure time increases the
thermal energy produced per examination. Thermal energy is dissipated in
the anode and surrounding x-ray tube. If too much heat is created (or not
enough is dissipated), excess residual thermal energy will damage the anode
and tube. By creating tube ratings the operator can ensure that the
parameters set are appropriate for the examination whilst minimising the
risk of damage to the x-ray tube.

 Beam collimators are 'beam direction' devices used in the x-ray tube
housing, along with an arrangement of mirrors and lights, in such a way that
the light and x-ray fields match each other. They are made of lead shutters
which completely absorb the photons, and thus reduce the patient dose as
well as focus the radiation accordingly to the area of interest. They allow
different projections of x-ray fields.

 Grids are placed between the patient and the x-ray film to reduce the
scattered radiation (produced mainly by the Compton effect) and thus
improve image contrast.

 Types
focused grids (most grids): strips are slightly angled so that they focus in space
parallel grid: used for short fields or long distances
moving grids (also known as Potter-Bucky grids): eliminates the fine grid lines
that may appear on the image when focused or parallel grids are used.
 grid ratio, which is the ratio of the height of the lead strips to the distance
between two strips (the interspace). The higher the grid ratio, the better the
image contrast but at a cost of increased patient dose. Grid ratio of 8:1 is
generally used for 70-90 kVp technique and 12:1 is used for >90 kVp
technique.
 Cassettes are rigid holders used in conventional and computed
radiography (CR) for the screen film system and imaging plate respectively.

The back side of the cassette has a rubber or felt for adequate contact between
screen film system or with the imaging plate. The front is made of low atomic
number material (e.g. plastic or carbon) and the back is made of high atomic
number material (e.g. lead) to reduce backscatter.

In case of conventional radiography, two screens are mounted on each side of the
cassette, except in mammography, where a single screen is mounted on the back
side. These cassettes have to loaded with film in the darkroom unlike the
cassettes used in CR which can be loaded with imaging plate in the light.

 Intensifying screens are used in the x-ray cassette to intensify the effect of
the x-ray photon by producing a larger number of light photons. It decreases
the mAs required to produce a particular density and hence decreases the
patient dose significantly. In cassettes, which use double emulsion films, two
screens are used, mounted on both sides of the cassette. In mammography,
however, a single screen on the back side and a single emulsion film is
used.The thickness of an intensifying screen is about 0.4 mm.

 Layers
 base
 reflecting layer/absorptive layer
 phosphor: absorbs the x-ray photon and converts it to visible light that is
recorded by the film
o calcium tungstate (CaWO4): blue light
o lanthanum oxybromide (LaOBr): blue light
o gadolinium oxysulfide (Gd2O2S): green light
 protective layer

 Spectral matching
It is important to note that the color of the light emitted (wavelength) must
match the light sensitivity of the film used. This is known as spectral matching:

 conventional films: sensitive to ultraviolet and blue lights

 orthochromatic films: sensitive to ultraviolet, blue and green lights

 Artifacts can present in a variety of ways including abnormal shadow noted

on a radiograph or degraded image quality and have been produced by
artificial means from hardware failure, operator error and software
(post-processing) artifacts. There are common and distinct artifacts
for film, computed and digital radiography.

Common artifacts (film and computed/digital radiography)

 motion artifact
o due to patient movement resulting in a distorted image
 image compositing (or twin/double exposure)
o superimposition of two structures from different locations due to
double exposure of same film/plate
 grid cut-off
 radiopaque objects on or external to the patient (e.g. necklaces, piercing,
buttons, hair (e.g. pony tail, hair braids etc.).
 debris in the housing
o debris in the housing caused by the collimator tube can cause
small trapezoidal regions, indicative of lead shavings
