Lecture No.

03 RT-FA-22

Exposure Factors
Instructor: Javeria Khan

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Exposure Factors
These are the tools that radiographers use to create high-quality
radiographs.
Proper exposure of a patient to x-radiation is necessary to produce
a diagnostic radiograph.
The factors that influence and determine the quantity and quality
of x-radiation to which the patient is exposed are called exposure
factors

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The exposure factors are
kilovolt peak (kVp),
current (mA),
Optical density (OD),
source to-image receptor distance (SID),
Contrast

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Kilovolt Peak (kVp)
A higher quality x-ray beam is one with higher energy that is thus
more likely to penetrate the anatomy of interest.
The kVp has more effect than any other factor on image receptor
exposure because it affects beam quality.

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Kilovolt Peak (kVp)
With increasing kVp, more x-rays are emitted, and they have higher
energy and greater penetrability.
Increasing kVp increases the quality of an x-ray beam.
Unfortunately, because they have higher energy, they also interact
more by Compton effect and produce more scatter radiation, which
results in reduced image contrast.

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Kilovolt Peak (kVp)
The primary control of radiographic contrast is kVp.
Therefore, high kVp results in reduced image contrast.

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Kilovolt Peak
For each anatomical part, there is an optimum kVp
For example, all examinations of the knee might require 60 kVp
For most x-ray examinations of the spine and trunk of the body,
the optimal kVp is approximately 80 kVp.
Approximately 70 kVp is appropriate for the soft tissue of the
abdomen.
For most extremities, the optimum would be approximately 60
kVp.

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Milliamperes (mA)
The mA selected determines the number of x-rays produced and
therefore the radiation quantity.
Recall that the unit of electric current is the ampere (A)
With a constant exposure time, mA controls the x-ray quantity
and therefore the patient radiation dose.

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Milliamperes
The mAs value determines the number of x-rays in the primary
beam
it principally controls radiation quantity and it does not influence
radiation quality.
The mAs setting is the key factor in the control of OD on the
radiograph.
mAs controls OD.

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Milliamperes

Doubling of the mAs doubles the x-ray quantity.

Only the x-ray quantity is affected by changes in mAs.
As the mAs value is increased, the radiation quantity increases;
therefore, the number of x-rays arriving at the image receptor
increases, resulting in higher OD and higher patient radiation
dose.

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Optical Density
Optical density is the degree of blackening of the finished
radiograph.
and can be present in varying degrees, from completely
black, in which no light is transmitted through the
radiograph, to almost clear (white).

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Optical Density
In medical imaging, many problems involve an image being “too
dark” or “too light.”
A radiograph that is too dark has a high OD caused by
overexposure. This situation results when too much x-radiation
reaches the image receptor.
A radiograph that is too light has been exposed to too little x-
radiation, resulting in underexposure and a low OD.
Overexposure and underexposure can result in unacceptable image
quality, which may require that the examination be repeated.

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Optical Density
Optical density can be controlled in radiography by two major
factors: mAs and SID.
OD increases directly with mAs, which means that if the OD is to be
increased on a radiograph, the mAs setting must be increased
accordingly.

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Contrast
The function of contrast in the image is to make anatomy more
visible.
Contrast is the difference in OD between adjacent anatomical
structures
Contrast, therefore, is perhaps the most important factor in
radiographic quality.

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Contrast

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Contrast
Contrast on a radiograph is necessary for the outline or border of a
structure to be visible.
Contrast is the result of differences in attenuation of the x-ray beam
as it passes through various tissues of the body.
The soft tissues of the psoas muscle and kidneys exhibit much less
contrast, although details of these structures are readily visible.
The contrast resolution of the soft tissues can be enhanced with
reduced kVp but at the expense of higher patient radiation dose.

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Contrast
High contrast radiographs produce short gray scale.
They exhibit black to white in just a few apparent steps.
Low-contrast radiographs produce long gray scale and
Have the appearance of many shades of gray.

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Contrast

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Contrast
kVp is the major factor used in controlling radiographic contrast.

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SID

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