REAL-TIME RADIOGRAPHY

FLUOROSCOPY
The screen consists of fluorescent
crystals, which emit light in
proportion to the intensity of the
impinging radiation.
The radiographic image can then be
viewed, with appropriate measures
taken to protect the viewer from
radiation.
Radiation safety dictates viewing
through leaded glass or indirectly
The main problem with
by mirrors.
fluoroscopes is the low level of
light output from the fluorescent
Other methods have been
screen.
developed to improve safety and to
amplify the images from
fluorescent screens.
 INTENSIFIER TUBE
One of the early systems (1950s)
involved the development of
image-intensifier tubes.

low-brightness fluorescent-
screen image into a high-
brightness visible-light image

These early image intensifiers

were originally developed for
medical purposes

Consequently, industrial radiography with these devices was restricted to

aluminum, plastics, or thin sections of steel.
By the mid-1970s, further improvements in real-time radiography.
Includes high-energy x-ray sensitivity for image intensifiers,
improved screen materials, digital video processing for image
enhancement, and high-definition imaging with microfocus X-ray.
Modern Image Intensifiers
 Scintillating material, such as
cesium iodide (CsI), and fixed to a
photocathode.

To avoid lateral dispersion of the light, CsI is grown as needle-

shaped elements.
This structure causes the scintillating screen to act as a fiber-optical
faceplate.

Light generated in one crystal needle does not spread laterally, hence
does not cause deterioration of resolution of the system.
 CONTRAST SENSITIVITY
Detection efficiency
1. By reducing the energy
2. By increasing the thickness
A cobalt-60 source with an activity of
(100 Ci) generates 60,000 photons/sec/
per square mm at 1 m
After passing through a 100 mm (4 in.)
thick steel specimen, the radiation is
attenuated in intensity by a factor of
15.
only 4000 photons/sec/square mm
are available for imaging.
The detection efficiency of the CsI
entrance screen approx.2%. This
reduces the photon intensity to 80/sec/
square mm.
Which limits the attainable contrast
resolution.
The spatial resolution
1. Defined by the size and thickness
of the detectors (or grain
size of fluorescent crystals),
2. the raster scan of the television
system,
3. the intensity of the radiation.

Curve A shows a spatial resolution of

about four line pairs/mm at 10 R/h
without television monitoring.

Curve C shows the typical

resolution of an image intensifier
with television monitoring.
 REAL-TIME RADIOGRAPHY
Comparing Film and Real-Time Radiography

Real-time images are lighter Film images are darker in

in areas where more X-ray areas where more X-ray
photons reach and excite photons reach and ionize
the fluorescent screen. the silver molecules in
the film.
Special Radiographic
Techniques

IN-MOTION RADIOGRAPHY
 The unsharpness (U ) can be calculated from the formula:
m

where t is the thickness; w is the width of the radiation beam at

the source side of the specimen,and d is the source-specimen
distance.
Rotary Radiography of Annular Specimens