X-Ray Machine

INTRODUCTION
X-rays make up X-radiation, a form of high-
energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have
a wavelength ranging from 0.03 to 3 nanometres,
corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to
30 exahertz (3×1016 Hz to 3×1019 Hz) and energies in the
range 100 eV to 200 keV.
When the X-rays hit the film, they expose it just as light
would. Since bone, fat, muscle, tumors and other masses all
absorb X-rays at different structures inside the body because
of the different levels of exposure on the film.
History and background
On November 8, 1895, German physics professor Wilhelm
Röntgen stumbled on X-rays while experimenting with
Lenard tubes and Crookes tubes and began studying them.
He took a tube similar to fluorescent light bulbs, removed all
the air and filled it with a special gas.
When he passed a high electric voltage through it, the tube
gave off a fluorescent glow. Roentgen then covered the tube
with heavy black paper and once again passed electricity
through it and noticed a barium coated screen across the lab
began to glow. He named the new ray X-ray, because in
mathematics "X" is used to indicated the unknown quantity.
Three major elements of an X-ray machine
1.Vacuum tube:
An X-ray tube is a vacuum tube that converts electrical
input power into X-rays. The availability of this controllable
source of X-rays created the field of radiography, the
imaging of partly opaque objects with penetrating radiation.
In contrast to other sources of ionizing radiation, X-rays are
only produced as long as the X-ray tube is energized.
X-ray tube
2.High voltage transformer
The high voltage transformer is a step-up transformer. There
will be more winding on the secondary side compared to the
primary side. The ratio of windings is referred to as the
turns ratio. The only difference between the primary and
secondary waveforms is the amplitude. The turn ratio for
most X-ray high voltage transformers is between 500 and
1000. The primary voltage is measured in volts, and
secondary in kilovolts.
3.Operating console
It is an apparatus in X-ray machine that allows to control the
X-ray tube current and voltage.
The console controls:
 Line compensation
 kVp
 mA
 Exposure time
X-ray machine
Conventional radiography
Conventional radiography involves the use of x-rays; the
term “plain x-rays” is sometimes used to distinguish x-rays
used alone from x-rays combined with other techniques (eg,
CT).
Working of Conventional radiography
For conventional radiography, an x-ray beam is generated
and passed through a patient to a piece of film or a radiation
detector, producing an image. Different soft tissues
attenuate x-ray photons differently, depending on tissue
density; the denser the tissue, the whiter (more radiopaque)
the image. The range of densities, from most to least dense,
is represented by metal (white, or radiopaque), bone cortex
(less white), muscle and fluid (gray), fat (darker gray), and
air or gas (black, or radiolucent).
Computed radiography
Computed radiography (CR) is the digital replacement of
conventional X-ray film radiography and offers enormous
advantages for inspection tasks – the use of consumables is
virtually eliminated and the time to produce an image is
drastically shortened.
Working of Computed radiography:

In computed radiography, when imaging plates are exposed

to X-rays or gamma rays, the energy of the incoming
radiation is stored in a special phosphor layer. A specialized
machine known as a scanner is then used to read out the
latent image from the plate by stimulating it with a very
finely focused laser beam. When stimulated, the plate emits
blue light with intensity proportional to the amount of
radiation received during the exposure. The light is then
detected by a highly sensitive analog device known as a
photomultiplier (PMT) and converted to a digital signal using
an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The generated digital
X-ray image can then be viewed on a computer monitor and
evaluated. After an imaging plate is read, it is erased by a
high-intensity light source and can immediately be re-used -
imaging plates can typically be used up to 1000 times or
more depending on the application.
Digital radiography
Digital radiography is a form of radiography that uses x-ray–
sensitive plates to directly capture data during the patient
examination, immediately transferring it to a computer
system without the use of an intermediate
cassette. Advantages include time efficiency through
bypassing chemical processing and the ability to digitally
transfer and enhance images. Also, less radiation can be
used to produce an image of similar contrast to conventional
radiography.Instead of X-ray film, digital radiography uses a
digital image capture device. This gives advantages of
immediate image preview and availability; elimination of
costly film processing steps; a wider dynamic range, which
makes it more forgiving for over- and under-exposure; as
well as the ability to apply special image processing
techniques that enhance overall display quality of the
image.
Digital radiography
Applications of X-ray

 Orthopantomogram:all teeth

 Mammogram:breast tissues

 Fluroscopy for real time images