Browse site A – Z

Your views

Your Views

Your feedback is vital to us as we continue to increase the quality of our services.

Your views

Date: 19 April 2024

Time: 18:25

X-ray radiation qualities

For calibrating diagnostic X-ray instruments, RRPPS produces the radiation qualities and irradiation conditions which are in accordance with the stated requirements of CEI/IEC 61267: 2005, Medical Diagnostic X-ray Equipment - Radiation Conditions for Use in the Determination of Characteristics.

A limited number of these beam qualities are included as standard; others are available by prior arrangement only.

Table 1 - Standard Radiation Qualities RQR: radiation qualities in radiation beams emerging from the X-ray tube assembly

Standard radiation qualityX-ray tube voltage (kV)Half-value layer (mm AI)
RQR 2 40 1.4
RQR 3 50 1.8
RQR 4 60 2.2
RQR 5 70 2.6
RQR 6 80 3.0
RQR 7 90 3.5
RQR 8 100 4.0
RQR 9 120 5.0
RQR 10 150 6.6

 

Table 2 - Standard Radiation Qualities RQC: radiation quality in radiation beams emerging from the irradiated object simulating the patient

Standard radiation qualityApproximate X-ray tube voltage (kV)Normal first half-value layer (mm AI)
RQC 70 8.4

 

Table 3 - Standard Radiation Qualities RQT: radiation qualities used for the determination of characteristics in CT applications

Standard radiation qualityX-ray tube voltage (kV)Half-value layer (mm AI)
RQT8 100 6.9
RQT9 120 8.4
RQT10 150 10.1

As part of our quality assurance and measurement traceability procedures, the radiation qualities specified by the IEC are cross referenced against the measured X-ray spectrum end point (peak photon energy), obtained using a hyper pure germanium detector.
 
Further details may be obtained from our paper "Development of a Calibration Facility for Test Instrumentation in Diagnostic Radiology", S.Green, J.E.Palethorpe, D.E.Peach & D.A.Bradley, published in Radiation Protection Dosimetry No 67, July 1996, pp41-46. For more information see external links.

Links

External websites will open in a new browser window.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is not responsible for the contents or the reliability of external websites and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. Listing should not be taken as endorsement of any kind. We cannot guarantee that links to other websites will work all of the time, and we have no control over the availability of external web pages.

We're improving the accessibility of our websites. If you can't access any content or if you would like to request information in another format, please view our accessibility statement.