Bangladesh University of Engineering &Technology

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Course Title : Instrumentation and Measurement

Course No : ME 361

ASSIGNMENT

X-RAY MACHINE

Date of Submission : 04.06.2013

Prepared By -

Name : 1. Koushik Paul

2. Md. Zahirul Ahsan

Student ID : 0910121

0910122

Level : 3

Term : 1

Section : C
Introduction:
X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a
wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range
30petahertz to 30 exahertz (3×1016 Hz to 3×1019 Hz) and energies in the range 100 eV to 100 keV.
The wavelengths are shorter than those of UV rays and longer than those of gamma rays.

History:
In many languages, X-radiation is called Röntgen radiation, after Wilhelm Röntgen, who is
usually credited as its discoverer, and who had named it X-radiation to signify an unknown type of
radiation. Spelling of X-ray(s) in the English language includes the variants x-ray(s) and X ray(s).

1896 plaque published in "Nouvelle Iconographie de la Salpetrière", a medical journal. In the left a hand deformity, in
the right same hand seen using radiography. The authors designated the technique as Röntgen photography.

On 8 Nov, 1896, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (accidentally) discovered an image cast from his
cathode ray generator, projected far beyond the possible range of the cathode rays (now known as
an electron beam). Further investigation showed that the rays were generated at the point of
contact of the cathode ray beam on the interior of the vacuum tube, that they were not deflected
by magnetic fields, and they penetrated many kinds of matter.

A week after his discovery, Rontgen took an X-ray photograph of his wife's hand which
clearly revealed her wedding ring and her bones. The photograph electrified the general public and
aroused great scientific interest in the new form of radiation. Röntgen named the new form of
radiation X-radiation (X standing for "Unknown"). Hence the term X-rays (also referred as Röntgen
rays, though this term is unusual outside of Germany).

Types of X-ray:
X-rays with photon energies above 5-10 keV (below 0.2-0.1 nm wavelength) are called hard
X-rays, while those with lower energy are called soft X-rays. Due to their penetrating ability hard X-
rays are widely used to image the inside of objects, e.g. in medical radiography and airport security.
As a result, the term X-ray is metonymically used to refer to a radiographic image produced using
this method, in addition to the method itself. Since the wavelengths of hard X-rays are similar to the
size of atoms they are also useful for determining crystal structures by X-ray crystallography. By
contrast, soft X-rays are easily absorbed in air and the attenuation length of 600 eV (~2 nm) X-rays in
water is less than 1 micrometer.

Components:
Coolidge tube :
• C: filament/cathode (-)

• A: anode (+)

• Win and Wout: water inlet and outlet of the cooling device

The Crookes tube was improved by William Coolidge in 1913. The Coolidge tube, also called
hot cathode tube, is the most widely used. It works with a very good quality vacuum (about 10−4 Pa,
or 10−6 Torr).

In the Coolidge tube, the electrons are produced by thermionic effect from a tungsten
filament heated by an electric current. The filament is the cathode of the tube. The high voltage
potential is between the cathode and the anode, the electrons are thusaccelerated, and then hit the
anode.

Coolidge side-window tube (scheme)

There are two designs: end-window tubes and side-window tubes.

End window tubes usually have "transmission target" which is thin enough to allow X-rays to
pass through the target (X-rays are emitted in the same direction as the electrons are moving.) In
one common type of end-window tube, the filament is around the anode ("annular" or ring-shaped),
the electrons have a curved path.(half of a toroid)

What is special about side-window tubes is:

• An Electrostatic Lens to focus the beam onto a very small spot on the anode
• The anode is specially designed to dissipate the heat and wear resulting from this intense
focused barrage of electrons. Some anodes are:

• Mechanically spun to increase the area heated by the beam.(Medical "rotating anode")

• Cooled by circulating coolant. (indirectly on most rotating anodes)

• The anode is precisely angled at 1-20 degrees off perpendicular to the electron current so as
to allow escape of some of the X-ray photons which are emitted essentially perpendicular to the
direction of the electron current.

• The anode is usually made out of tungsten or molybdenum.

• The tube has a window designed for escape of the generated X-ray photons.

The power of a Coolidge tube usually ranges from 0.1 to 18 kW.

Rotating anode tube:

• A: Anode

• C: cathode

• T: Anode target

• W: X-ray window

By thinning the tube, the anode can then be rotated by electromagnetic induction from a
series of stator windings outside the evacuated tube.

Because the entire anode assembly has to be contained within the evacuated tube, heat
removal is a serious problem, further exacerbated by the higher power rating available. Direct
cooling by conduction or convection, as in the Coolidge tube, is difficult. In most tubes, the anode is
suspended on ball bearings with silver powder lubrication which provide almost negligible cooling by
conduction.

A recent development has been liquid gallium lubricated fluid dynamic bearings which can
withstand very high temperatures without contaminating the tube vacuum. The large bearing
contact surface and metal lubricant provide an effective method for conduction of heat from the
anode.

The anode must be constructed of high temperature materials. The focal spot temperature
can reach 2,500 °C (4,530 °F) during an exposure, and the anode assembly can reach 1,000 °C (1,830
°F) following a series of large exposures. Typical materials are a tungsten-rhenium target on a
molybdenum core, backed with graphite. The rhenium makes the tungsten more ductile and
resistant to wear from the impact of the electron beams. The molybdenum conducts heat from the
target. The graphite provides thermal storage for the anode, and minimizes the rotating mass of the
anode.

Increasing demand for high-performance Computed tomography (CT) scanning and

angiography systems has driven development of very high performance medical X-ray tubes.
Contemporary CT tubes have power ratings of up to 100 kW and anode heat capacity of 6 MJ, yet
retain an effective focal spot area of less than 1 mm2.

Properties:
X-ray photons carry enough energy to ionize atoms and disrupt molecular bonds. This makes
it a type of ionizing radiation and thereby harmful to living tissue. A very high radiation dose over a
short amount of time causes radiation sickness, while lower doses can give an increased risk of
radiation-induced cancer. In medical imaging this increased cancer risk is generally greatly
outweighed by the benefits of the examination. The ionizing capability of X-rays can be utilized
incancer treatment to kill malignant cells using radiation therapy. It is also used for material
characterization using X-ray spectroscopy.
 Attenuation length of X-rays in water showing the oxygen absorption edge at 540 eV, the
energy-3 dependence ofphotoabsorption, as well as a leveling off at higher photon energies due
toCompton scattering. The attenuation length is about four orders of magnitude higher for hard X-
rays (right half) compared to soft X-rays (left half).

Hard X-rays can traverse relatively thick objects without being much absorbed or scattered.
For this reason X-rays are widely used to image the inside of visually opaque objects. The most often
seen applications are in medical radiography and airport security scanners, but similar techniques
are also important in industry (e.g. industrial radiography and industrial CT scanning) and research
(e.g. small animal CT). The penetration depth varies with several orders of magnitude over the X-ray
spectrum. This allows the photon energy to be adjusted for the application so as to give sufficient
transmission through the object and at the same time good contrast in the image.

X-rays have much shorter wavelength than visible light, which makes it possible to probe
structures much smaller than what can be seen using a normal microscope. This can be used in X-ray
microscopy to acquire high resolution images, but also in X-ray crystallography to determine the
positions of atoms in crystals.

Working Principle:
X-rays have awavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to
frequencies in the range 30petahertz to 30 exahertz (3×1016 Hz to 3×1019 Hz) and energies in the
range 100 eV to 100 keV. The wavelengths are shorter than those of UV rays and longer than of
gamma rays.

X-rays interact with matter in three main ways, through photoabsorption, Compton
scattering, and Rayleigh scattering. The strength of these interactions depend on the energy of the X-
rays and the elemental composition of the material, but not much on chemical properties since the
X-ray photon energy is much higher than chemical binding energies. Photoabsorption or
photoelectric absorption is the dominant interaction mechanism in the soft X-ray regime and for the
lower hard X-ray energies. At higher energies the compton effect dominates.

Interaction with matter: X-rays interact with matter in three main ways, through
photoabsorption, Compton scattering, and Rayleigh scattering. The strength of these interactions
depend on the energy of the X-rays and the elemental composition of the material, but not much on
chemical properties since the X-ray photon energy is much higher than chemical binding energies.
Photoabsorption or photoelectric absorption is the dominant interaction mechanism in the soft X-
ray regime and for the lower hard X-ray energies. At higher energies the compton effect dominates.

Photoelectric absorption: The probability of a photoelectric absorption per unit mass

is approximately proportional to Z3/E3, where Z is the atomic number and E is the energy of the
incident photon.[11] This rule is not valid close to inner shell electron binding energies where there
are abrupt changes in interaction probability, so called absorption edges. However, the general
trend of high absorption coefficients and thus short penetration depths for low photon energies and
high atomic numbers is very strong. For soft tissue photoabsorption dominates up to about 26 keV
photon energy where Compton scattering takes over. For higher atomic number substances this limit
is higher. The high amount of calcium (Z=20) in bones together with their high density is what makes
them show up so clearly on medical radiographs.

A photoabsorbed photon transfers all its energy to the electron with which it interacts, thus
ionizing the atom to which the electron was bound and producing a photoelectron that is likely to
ionize more atoms in its path. An outer electron will fill the vacant electron position and the produce
either a characteristic photon or an Auger electron. These effects can be used for elemental
detection through X-ray spectroscopy or Auger electron spectroscopy.

Compton scateering: Compton scattering is the predominant interaction between X-

rays and soft tissue in medical imaging. Compton scattering is an inelastic scattering of the X-ray
photon by an outer shell electron. Part of the energy of the photon is transferred to the scattering
electron, thereby ionizing the atom and increasing the wavelength of the X-ray. The scattered
photon can go in any direction, but a direction similar to the original direction is a bit more likely,
especially for high-energy X-rays. The probability for different scattering angles are described by the
Klein–Nishina formula. The transferred energy can be directly obtained from the scattering angle
from the conservation of energy and momentum.

Rayleigh scattering: Rayleigh scattering is the dominant elastic scattering mechanism

in the X-ray regime.The inelastic forward scattering is what gives rise to the refractive index, which
for X-rays is only slightly below 1.
 Sources: Since X-rays are emitted by electrons, they can be generated by an X-ray tube,
a vacuum tube that uses a high voltage to accelerate the electrons released by a hot cathode to a
high velocity. The high velocity electrons collide with a metal target, the anode, creating the X-rays.
In medical X-ray tubes the target is usually tungsten or a more crack-resistant alloy ofrhenium (5%)
and tungsten (95%), but sometimes molybdenum for more specialized applications, such as when
softer X-rays are needed as in mammography. In crystallography, a copper target is most common,
with cobalt often being used when fluorescence from iron content in the sample might otherwise
present a problem.

The maximum energy of the produced X-ray photon is limited by the energy of the incident
electron, which is equal to the voltage on the tube times the electron charge, so an 80 kV tube
cannot create X-rays with an energy greater than 80 keV. When the electrons hit the target, X-rays
are created by two different atomic processes:

1. X-ray fluorescence: If the electron has enough energy it can knock an orbital electron
out of the inner electron shellof a metal atom, and as a result electrons from higher energy levels
then fill up the vacancy and X-ray photons are emitted. This process produces an emission spectrum
of X-rays at a few discrete frequencies, sometimes referred to as the spectral lines. The spectral lines
generated depend on the target (anode) element used and thus are called characteristic lines.
Usually these are transitions from upper shells into K shell (called K lines), into L shell (called L lines)
and so on.

2. Bremsstrahlung: This is radiation given off by the electrons as they are scattered by the
strong electric field near the high-Z (protonnumber) nuclei. These X-rays have a continuous
spectrum. The intensity of the X-rays increases linearly with decreasing frequency, from zero at the
energy of the incident electrons, the voltage on the X-ray tube.

So the resulting output of a tube consists of a continuous bremsstrahlung spectrum falling

off to zero at the tube voltage, plus several spikes at the characteristic lines. The voltages used in
diagnostic X-ray tubes range from roughly 20 to 150 kV and thus the highest energies of the X-ray
photons range from roughly 20 to 150 keV.

Both of these X-ray production processes are inefficient, with a production efficiency of only
about one percent, and hence, to produce a usable flux of X-rays, most of the electric power
consumed by the tube is released as waste heat. The X-ray tube must be designed to dissipate this
excess heat.

Short nanosecond bursts of X-rays peaking at 15-keV in energy may be reliably produced by
peeling pressure-sensitive adhesive tape from its backing in a moderate vacuum. This is likely to be
the result of recombination of electrical charges produced by triboelectric charging. The intensity of
X-ray triboluminescence is sufficient for it to be used as a source for X-ray imaging. Using sources
considerably more advanced than sticky tape, at least one startup firm is exploiting tribocharging in
the development of highly portable, ultra-miniaturized X-ray devices.

A specialized source of X-rays which is becoming widely used in research is synchrotron

radiation, which is generated by particle accelerators. Its unique features are X-ray outputs many
orders of magnitude greater than those of X-ray tubes, wide X-ray spectra, excellent collimation, and
linear polarization.

Detectors: X-ray detectors vary in shape and function depending on their purpose.
Imaging detectors such as those used for radiography were originally based on photographic plates
and laterphotographic film but are now mostly replaced by various digital detector types such as
image plates or flat panel detectors. For radiation protection direct exposure hazard is often
evaluated using ionization chambers, while dosimeters are used to measure the radiation dose a
person has been exposed to. X-ray spectra can be measured either by energy dispersive or
wavelength dispersive spectrometers.

Medical uses:
Since Röntgen's discovery that X-rays can identify bone structures, X-rays have been used for
medical imaging. The first medical use was less than a month after his paper on the subject. In 2010,
5 billion medical imaging studies were done worldwide. Radiation exposure from medical imaging in
2006 made up about 50% of total ionizing radiation exposure in the United States.

Advantages:
X-rays are essential medical tools for doctors. However, the prevalence of new technology
and the risks associated with X-rays have caused many health professionals to re-think the their use.
X-rays are ionized forms of radiation that penetrate living tissue. Doctors found they could use X-rays
and imaging technology to give a detailed view of a patient's skeletal system and some tissues. X-
rays are still used today, however, alternative imaging technologies such as Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) or Computed Tomography (CT) scans are now gaining popularity in the medical
community.

One advantage of X-rays is that they are cheaper than similar medical procedures. If a
patient requires a medical scan, an X-ray costs health insurance plans less than a MRI or a CT scan. It
is also cheaper for a hospital or a doctor's office to maintain a X-ray machine than an MRI or CT scan
machine.
 An advantage to X-rays is that they are easier to use than MRIs or CT scans. Emergency
rooms often have portable X-ray machines to help patients coming in. If a patient requires a MRI or
CT scan, either an appointment must be set up or the patient must be transported to a hospital that
has this technology readily available.

Disadvantages:
One disadvantage of X-rays is that they do not give detailed images of the body. MRI or CT
scans are excellent tools if the doctor is trying to find a medical issue with organs, bone, the brain,
and tissues. X-rays do not give any sort of medical data for organs or tissues, only an image of bones.
MRIs and CT scans can show far more bone detail than X-rays. For example, a CT scan is capable of
creating a 3-D image of bone structures for a doctor while an X-ray creates a 2-D image sheet.

Radiation exposure is probably the biggest concern patients have with X-rays. However, it
should be noted that CT scans do utilize the same form of energy to create images. A recent report
from New England Journal of Medicine stated that CT scans can also cause increased tissue damage
and even cancer when a patient is overexposed over a period of time. MRIs utilize magnetic energy
against hydrogen, an element that is predominate in the human body, to create an image. Overall,
while X-rays do provide an excellent medical service, exposure to X-rays over a long period of time
can lead to tissue damage.

Diagnostic X-rays (primarily from CT scans due to the large dose used) increase the risk of
developmental problems and cancer in those exposed. X rays are classified as a carcinogen by both
the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer and the U.S.
government. It is estimated that 0.4% of current cancers in the United States are due to computed
tomography (CT scans) performed in the past and that this may increase to as high as 1.5-2% with
2007 rates of CT usage.

Experimental and epidemiological data currently do not support the proposition that there is
a threshold dose of radiation below which there is no increased risk of cancer.] However, this is
under increasing doubt.] It is estimated that the additional radiation will increase a person's
cumulative risk of getting cancer by age 75 by 0.6–1.8%. The amount of absorbed radiation depends
upon the type of X-ray test and the body part involved. CT and fluoroscopy entail higher doses of
radiation than do plain X-rays.

To place the increased risk in perspective, a plain chest X-ray will expose a person to the
same amount from background radiation that we are exposed to (depending upon location) every
day over 10 days, while exposure from a dental X-ray is approximately equivalent to 1 day of
environmental background radiation. Each such X-ray would add less than 1 per 1,000,000 to the
lifetime cancer risk. An abdominal or chest CT would be the equivalent to 2–3 years of background
radiation to the whole body, or 4–5 years to the abdomen or chest, increasing the lifetime cancer
risk between 1 per 1,000 to 1 per 10,000. This is compared to the roughly 40% chance of a US citizen
developing cancer during their lifetime. For instance, the effective dose to the torso from a CT scan
of the chest is about 5 mSv, and the absorbed dose is about 14 mGy. A head CT scan (1.5mSv,
64mGy) that is performed once with and once without contrast agent, would be equivalent to 40
years of background radiation to the head. Accurate estimation of effective doses due to CT is
difficult with the estimation uncertainty range of about ±19% to ±32% for adult head scans
depending upon the method used.

The risk of radiation is greater to unborn babies, so in pregnant patients, the benefits of the
investigation (X-ray) should be balanced with the potential hazards to the unborn fetus. In the US,
there are an estimated 62 million CT scans performed annually, including more than 4 million on
children. Avoiding unnecessary X-rays (especially CT scans) will reduce radiation dose and any
associated cancer risk.

Medical X-rays are a significant source of man-made radiation exposure. In 1987, they
accounted for 58% of exposure from man-made sources in the United States. Since man-made
sources accounted for only 18% of the total radiation exposure, most of which came from natural
sources (82%), medical X-rays only accounted for 10% of total American radiation exposure; medical
procedures as a whole (including nuclear medicine) accounted for 14% of total radiation exposure.
By 2006, however, medical procedures in the United States were contributing much more ionizing
radiation than was the case in the early 1980s. In 2006, medical exposure constituted nearly half of
the total radiation exposure of the U.S. population from all sources. The increase is traceable to the
growth in the use of medical imaging procedures, in particular computed tomography (CT), and to
the growth in the use of nuclear medicine.

Dosage due to dental X-rays varies significantly depending on the procedure and the
technology (film or digital). Depending on the procedure and the technology, a single dental X-ray of
a human results in an exposure of 0.5 to 4 mrem. A full mouth series may therefore result in an
exposure of up to 6 (digital) to 18 (film) mrem, for a yearly average of up to 40 mrem.