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08 February 2012

Answer to Question #6664 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Medical and Dental Equipment/Shielding — Equipment

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

I was just told that scatter radiation is only produced by the patient. I work in a cardiac catheterization laboratory and my understanding is that scatter is caused by the primary beam hitting the collimator, table, patient, detector, or anything else that it interferes with in its path.

You are correct. Anything in the primary x-ray beam can cause scatter radiation, with the patient causing the most. According to Shapiro, ". . . scattered radiation originates primarily in the body of the patient. This radiation can also undergo subsequent scattering from the walls and other objects in the examination room."

Ken "Duke" Lovins, CHP

Reference
Shapiro J. Radiation protection: a guide for scientists and physicians. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University; 1990: 94.

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