Computed Tomography Technologist Practice Exam

Question: 1 / 615

What is beam hardening?

A situation where all x-ray photons pass through the patient.

When lower energy x-ray photons are absorbed, leaving behind only high energy beams.

Beam hardening refers to the phenomenon in computed tomography where lower energy x-ray photons are absorbed by the patient's tissues as the x-rays pass through. This absorption leads to an increase in the average energy of the remaining x-ray photons, leaving behind predominantly higher-energy beams.

As x-rays travel through the material, photons with lower energy are more likely to be absorbed or scattered, which contributes to the alteration of the x-ray beam's energy spectrum. This effect can impact image quality and radiation dose, making it an important consideration in CT imaging protocols. Understanding beam hardening is crucial for technologists as it can lead to artifacts in images, which they need to recognize and account for in their imaging processes.

Overall, recognizing how beam hardening affects image quality enables technologists to make more informed decisions about exposure parameters and patient safety during CT examinations.

Get further explanation with Examzify DeepDiveBeta

A tool to enhance image sharpness.

The technique used for reducing the radiation dose to the patient.

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