Rad Bio/ Radiation Protection Ch. 1/2/3

List two things the R.T can do before bringing the patient in the room to ensure good radiation protection practices

• properly ID the patient

• check the dr.’s orders

• lay out the lead shield so it’s not forgotten

List three things the R.T. can do while the patient is in the room to ensure good radiation protection practices for the patient

• Collimate

• Use lead shielding

• minimize repeats (get it right the first time!)

• Use high kVp/ low mAs when possible

• take an accurate hx (make sure the hx matches the exam) 

• follow protocol (don’t take extra images unless necessary)

List two things the R.T. can do while the patient is in the room to ensure good radiation protection for themselves

• wear a dosimeter

• increase their distance from the x-ray source

• limit the time spent in the room during the exposure

• wear lead shielding when in the exam room

• minimize repeats

• do not hold the patient

• stay behind the control panel barrier when exposing

List three possibilities that an x-ray photon can undergo when it interacts with matter

• Complete penetration without interaction

• Complete absorption (photoelectric interaction)

• Scattering (Compton or classical interaction)

List two forms of inherent filtration

• Glass in the tube

• oil around the tube

List the two by products of the compton interaction

Recoil electron and compton scattered photon

Coherent scattering

occurs when a low energy photon interacts with an atom but doesn’t ionize it. The electrons are raised to a higher energy and thus vibrate. As the electrons settle back to their appropriate binding energies, a secondary photon is released with an energy that equals that of the incoming photon

Photoelectric interaction

occurs when an incoming photon possesses just enough energy to ionize the inner shell of the atom with which it interacts. The incoming photon uses all of its energy in the ionization process and is thus completely absorbed

Compton Scattering

occurs when an incoming x-ray photon interacts with an outer shell electron and ionizes the atom. Thus, part of the energy of the incident photon is absorbed and part of it is released as a secondary photon, usually traveling in a different direction than the incident photon and with less energy

Characteristic radiation

occurs when an electron from an outer shell drops to fill a vacancy in an inner shell

Auger effect

occurs in place of characteristic radiation emission. Instead, the energy left over after the outer shell electron fills the vacancy in the inner shell is transferred to another electron of a nearby atom, thus ejecting the electron