Image Quality

Question	Answer
kV	Kilovoltage controls the energy (penetrating power) of the x-ray beam
mA	Milliamperage controls the quality or number of x-rays produced
ms	Exposure time controls the duration of the exposure usually in milliseconds
CONTRAST	the difference in density between adjacent areas of a radiographic image
DENSITY	the amount of "blackness" on the processed radiograph
What is the primary controlling factor of DENSITY?	mAs controls the quantity of x-rays emitted from the x-ray tube AND the duration of exposure
What's the primary controlling factor of CONTRAST?	kV higher kV = lower contrast lower kV = higher contrast
Annode Heel Effect	The patient should be positioned so the thicker portion of the body (part) is at the CATHODE end of the x-ray tube The thinner part of the body (part) should be positioned under the ANODE
What happens to your image if the CR is not centered on the grid?	The image will be laterally off center
What happens to your image if the GRID is off-level?	Image will be blurred

Resource summary

	Created by RadTech Fairy over 9 years ago