Diagnostic X-Ray Shielding

Pinaki Banerjee

Generation of X-rays
X-rays can be generated by bombarding a metal target with high energy electrons.

Medical use of X-rays
Medical X-rays are characterised both by the tube current and by the accelerating voltage applied to the electrons. The tube current (mA) dictates the flux of electrons striking the target and hence the number of X-rays produced, the accelerating voltage (kVp) dictates the energy of the resulting X-rays and hence their penetration.

Hazards of X-rays
Taken together the mA and kVp of the X-ray source contribute to the radiation dose. X-rays are ionising radiation that is they are of suffi ciently high energy to be able to strip electrons from atoms. In the human body this process leads to the formation of free radicals, which in these health-conscious days are known as an undesirable presence in the body.

X-ray Protection
As we have already said, X-ray radiation can be absorbed by solid matter. The degree of absorption can be simply described by the Beer-Lambert law.

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