Xray machine how does it work

As the X-ray enters your body, it passes through your skin, muscles, and organs, as this type of soft tissue cannot absorb the energy of the X-ray. This appears dark on the film as it is now exposed. However, bone absorbs X-ray energy and does not expose the film. This area appears light or white on the film. This is how an X-ray image is created! X-rays are primarily used in the medical and dental field. Some of the more common X-rays are done for broken bones and fractures, swallowed items, damage to bones from arthritis, and lung infections.

X-rays are also used in a CT scanner, or computed tomography. This modality uses multiple X-rays during one scan, to give a layer-by-layer image. X-rays are also being used in non-medical areas, like airport security and by NASA in outer space.

Our board-certified and fellowship-trained radiologists are dedicated to improving your health and quality of life through the benefits of digital imaging, including early and accurate diagnosis of your condition. Give us a call today at to schedule an appointment with one of our board-certified and fellowship-trained radiologists.

ACR accreditation is the gold standard in medical imaging. Independent Imaging is an ACR-accredited facility that also supports a number of initiatives to improve image quality, safety, and patient care. As electrons fall from higher orbitals to these lower energy levels, the extra energy is released as a photon.

Since this drop is large, it releases a high-energy photon or an X-ray. This is how normal X-rays are produced and function, but in cases where soft tissue, like human organs, need to be examined, then contrast media needs to be added. Contrast media are liquids that absorb X-rays and collect in soft tissues. To examine blood vessels, doctors will inject this media into veins.

Oftentimes in these cases of soft tissue viewing, doctors will also use Fluoroscopes to see the image in real-time and can even capture videos using these devices. To collect the actual image from an extra, doctors use a film or sensor on the other side of the patient. These films work nearly identical to normal photographic film, and the sensors are particularly sensitive to X-rays. Through all of this imaging, doctors can deduce a wide array of important medical data from X-rays.

Even with the significance of X-rays, they can still be dangerous in high-doses as they are a form of ionizing radiation. This means that when an X-ray hits an atom, it can actually knock electrons off to form an ion or an electrically charged atom.

The free electrons then collide with other atoms to create more ions. Ions can cause unnatural chemical reactions within the body resulting in mutations in a patient's DNA. This mutation can then become cancerous. It's this reason that doctors sparingly use X-rays, or at least use them only when absolutely necessary. In low doses, X-rays are nothing to be afraid of and can be a life-saving medical technology in the modern era.

If you don't want to get an X-ray because you are worried about the potentially harmful effects, there are few solutions.

In many cases, ultrasounds may work to examine any ailments under the skin, but not always. Ultrasound also referred to as sonography, is essentially your best option when trying to avoid x-rays. These imaging techniques work by sending sound-waves with higher than audible frequencies through your body. For example, fluoroscopy is used to view the movement of the beating heart, and, with the aid of radiographic contrast agents, to view blood flow to the heart muscle as well as through blood vessels and organs.

This technology is also used with a radiographic contrast agent to guide an internally threaded catheter during cardiac angioplasty, which is a minimally invasive procedure for opening clogged arteries that supply blood to the heart. Radiation therapy in cancer treatment: X-rays and other types of high-energy radiation can be used to destroy cancerous tumors and cells by damaging their DNA. The radiation dose used for treating cancer is much higher than the radiation dose used for diagnostic imaging.

Therapeutic radiation can come from a machine outside of the body or from a radioactive material that is placed in the body, inside or near tumor cells, or injected into the blood stream. Click here for more information on radiation therapy for cancer. When used appropriately, the diagnostic benefits of x-ray scans significantly outweigh the risks.

X-ray scans can diagnose possibly life-threatening conditions such as blocked blood vessels, bone cancer, and infections. However, x-rays produce ionizing radiation—a form of radiation that has the potential to harm living tissue.

This is a risk that increases with the number of exposures added up over the life of the individual. However, the risk of developing cancer from radiation exposure is generally small. In general, if imaging of the abdomen and pelvis is needed, doctors prefer to use exams that do not use radiation, such as MRI or ultrasound. However, if neither of those can provide the answers needed, or there is an emergency or other time constraint, an x-ray may be an acceptable alternative imaging option.

Children are more sensitive to ionizing radiation and have a longer life expectancy and, thus, a higher relative risk for developing cancer than adults. Parents may want to ask the technologist or doctor if their machine settings have been adjusted for children.

Click on the following links for information about risks for specific procedures:.