Basic Circuitry

Electrification

 This occurs because of the movement of

negative electric charges.

This can be produced in 3 Ways

 Contact – electrification by contact occurs when

2 objects come in contact so that charges can
move from one object to another so charges are
distributed evenly between objects.

 Friction – Electrification that occurs when one

object is rubbed against another and due to
differences in the number of electrons available
on each electrons travel from one to the other.

 Induction – Induction charging is a method used

to charge an object without actually touching
the object to any other object.

 It is a process of electric fields acting on one

another without contact.
  Potential Difference – the energy released in
the transfer of a unit quantity of electricity from
one point to another.

 Has a unit of Volts (V).

 Current – The rate of flow of electric charge.

 Has a unit of ampere (A).

 Resistance – the property of a circuit elements

that impedes the flow of electrons.

 Has a unit of Ohms.

 Ohms Law – States that the current passing

through a conductor is directly proportional to
the potential difference and inversely
proportional to the resistance.

Formula : V= IR

 Electric current – refers to the flow of electrons

and occurs in many types of objects.

Types of Electric Current

 Direct Current
 Resistance – the property of a circuit element
 Electrons flowing in one direction along the
that impedes the flow of electricity.
conductor.
 The amount of resistance of a particular
 The flow of electric charges in one direction.
conductor depends on four things :
 Produced from sources such as batteries , solar
1. Materials – Some material allow the free flow
cells.
of current they have an abundance of free
 Alternating Current – Current in which electrons where other materials have
electrons oscillate back and forth. tremendous resistance because they have
virtually no free electrons.
 The movement of electric charge periodically
reverses direction. 2. Length of the conductor – Resistance is directly
proportional to the length of the conductor.
 Comes from the source such as power plant.
Long conductor has more resistance than
 Also known as the 60 Hz current this means short.
that the voltage goes to positive to negative
3. Cross Sectional area – A conductor with a large
then back to positive 60 times per second.
cross sectional area has a lower resistance
than the one with a small sectional area
because there is a greater external area on
which electrons can travel.

4. 4. Temperature – with metallic conductor the

resistance becomes greater if the
temperatures of the conductor rises.
  Circuit Breaker - A circuit breaker is an
automatically operated electrical switch
Magnetism designed to protect an electrical circuit from
damage caused by excess current from an
 The force where objects are attracted or
overload or short circuit. Its basic function is to
repelled to one another.
interrupt current flow after a fault is detected.
 Due to the motion of electrical charges.

 Force of attraction or repulsion between

The Transformer
various substance especially those made of
iron and other elements. Transformer
Protective Devices  Consist of a coil of wire wrapped around a
close core.
 Proper Grounding - The process of connecting a
circuit or system to an electrical ground to carry  The circuit containing the 1st coil ( that is
current safely away in the event of connected to the available electric energy
an electrical surge or an internal fault that source) is called the Primary Coil.
connects a high voltage source to the exterior of
 The circuit containing the second coil ( from
the device.
which comes the modified electric energy), is
called the Secondary coil.
  This is a device that changes the intensity of
alternating voltage and current by mutual
induction.

 This is an electromagnetic device which

changes an alternating current AC from low
voltage to high voltage or vise versa without
the loss of an appreciable amount of electric
energy.

 Its main function is to change the magnitude of

an alternating voltage.

 Classification of Transformers Principle of Operation of a Transformer

1. Step-up Transformer  When an Ac current flows in the primary coil, it
creates a magnetic field within the core and
 This type of transformer is used to increase the
this magnetic field induces a current in the
incident voltage.
secondary coil.
 The number of turns in the secondary coil is
 Current only flows in the secondary circuit
larger than the number of turns in the primary
when the magnetic field is changing. No
coil.
secondary current will flow while the magnetic
 The output voltage is higher than the input field in the core is in steady state.
voltage.
 Alternating current AC is used in transformer
 The turn ratio is greater than 1. because it is produced by a potential difference
that changes continuously in magnitude and
polarity.

 Current flows in one direction while the

voltage is positive and in opposite direction
while the voltage is negative. This is one of the
characteristic of AC that is voltage changes
continuously so it causes changing magnetic
field.

 Step-down Transformer

 This type of transformer is used to decrease

the incident voltage.

 The number of turns in primary coil is larger

than the number of turns in the secondary coil.

 The output voltage is lower than the input

voltage.

The turn ratio is less than 1.

  . Open Core Transformer  An electrical transformer with only one
winding.
 An iron core inserted into a coil of wire carrying
an electric current.  Often used to step up or down between
voltages in the 110-120 volt range and voltages
3. Closed Core Transformer
in the 220 -240.
 A type of iron core that provide continuous path
 Capacitor
for the magnetic flux so that a small fraction of
the magnetic energy is lost by leakage.  An electric circuit element used to store charge
temporarily, consisting in general of two
 Build about a square of core of ferromagnetic
metallic plates separated and insulated from
material.
each other by dielectric.

 A device use to store and release electricity

usually as a result of chemical reaction.

 Rectifier

- an electronic device that allows the current to

flow in only one direction.

- Converts AC to DC.

- During the negative cycle current can only flow

from anode to cathode.

- Electrons must travel from cathode to

. Shell-type transformer anode , DC keeps electrons travelling in the
 The most advance type of transformer used as correct direction cathode to anode.
a commercial or power transformer.
 Rectification
 This is the most efficient of the three
transformers. - Is accomplished with diodes.

 It is the most currently used transformer. - A process of converting alternating

current to direct current.

 Voltage rectification is required to ensure that

electrons flow from cathode to anode only.

 Diode

An electronic device containing two electrodes

( negative electrode cathode and positive electrode
anode ).

General Types of Rectifiers

1. Vacuum tube rectifier

- An evacuated glass tube with a small coil of

5. Autotransformer
wire.
 Sometimes called autostep-down transformer.
 - A device controlling electric current through a corresponding to the inverse voltage is
vacuum in a sealed container. reversed so that the anode is always positive.

- Best example x-ray tube. - Same in half wave except there is no dead
time.
. Solid State Rectifier
- Half the exposure time is needed for full wave
- A device built entirely from solid materials and
than half wave.
in which the electrons or other charge carriers
are confined entirely within the solid material. - Full wave rectified x-ray machine contains at
least four diodes.
- Much faster and more reliable but are usually
more expensive. - This allows 120 pulses of x-ray per second.

- Example : thyristor – a silicon controlled

rectifier this is a solid state switching device for
semi conductors to convert AC in one of two
directions controlled by an electrode.

 Unrectified voltage – appears as the voltage

waveform supplied to the primary side of the
high voltage transformer.

 Half-wave rectification

- Is a condition in which the voltage is not

allowed to swing negatively during the
negative half of its cycle.

- Photons are produced and emitted during

positive cycle.

- One or two diode are placed in the circuit that

stops the negative flow of electrons.

 Self rectified
Advantages and disadvantages :
- X-ray tube serves as the vacuum tube rectifier
- The principal disadvantages are the efficiency
and is not use in medical unit.
of radiation production due to pulsating
Advantage : Disadvantage : waveform.

1.Small in size 1. Limited x-ray tube rating. - Not providing enough voltage to produce x-ray
for portion of the time and inability to select
2.Light in weight. 2. Poor insulation short exposure times.
3.Inexpensive 3. possibility of reverse current
which shortens tube life.

4.Simple to operate.

5.Easy to transport.

 Full Wave rectification

- Contains at least four diodes in the high

voltage circuit and the negative half cycle
BASIC X-RAY CIRCUITRY THREE MAIN COMPONENT OF AN X-RAY IMAGING
SYSTEM
• The function of the x-ray imaging system is to
provide a controlled flow of electrons intense • X-RAY TUBE
enough to produce an x-ray beam appropriate
• OPERATING CONSOLE
for imaging.
• HIGH VOLTAGE GENERATOR
• There are two main uses for x-ray energy
The types of X-ray Unit are Identified According to :
1. Diagnostic
1. Energy of the x-ray they produced. ( either high
2. Therapeutic
or low energy depending on the examination
• The examination table intended)

- Maybe flat or curved but must be uniform in 2. The way the x-ray are used.( Diagnostic or
thickness and as transparent to x-rays as therapeutic)
possible.
X-ray machine are usually operated at :
- Usually made of carbon fiber.
• Kilovoltage ranging from 25-150 kVp.
- Carbon fiber table top is strong and absorbs
• Tube currents from 100-1,200 mA.
little radiation ( radiolucent)
Operating Console
It helps reduce patient dose.
- Used to control the voltage applied to the x-
• Fluoroscopic x-ray tube
ray tube, the current through the tube and the
- Located under the examining table. exposure time.

• Radiographic x-ray tube - The part of the x-ray machine that the
operator controls its operation.
- Attached to an overhead movable crane
assembly that permits easy positioning of the - Components of the system most familiar to
tube and aiming of the x-ray beam. radiologic technologist.

• Bucky Tray Basic controls of operating console

- Holds the cassette and Grid. • On/Off switch

- Located under the table. • mA meter

- Discovered by Gustave Bucky and Hollis Potter • mA selector

and known as the Potter and Bucky tray.
• kV meter

• kV selector

• Exposure timer

• Rotor

• Exposure switch

• Line voltage compensator

• Line voltage compensator

- Measures the voltage provided by the x-ray

unit and adjust the voltage to prescisely 220V.
 - Most machine operates at 220 V. While some - The tube current is controlled through a
will work with 110V or 440V. separate circuit called Filament circuit.

- More modern units automatically adjust for Exposure Timers

the incoming power so meter is not provided.
- For any given radiographic examination the
- Often overlooked by the operator and result in number of x-rays reaching the image receptors
improper exposure. is directly related to the tube Current and Time
that the tube is energized.
Autotransformer
- The timer circuit is separated from the other
- Has a single winding and is designed to supply
main circuits.
precise voltage to the filament circuit and to the
high voltage circuit of the system. - It consist of a mechanical or electronic device
whose action is to make or break the high
- Designed to supply voltage of varying
voltage across the tube on the primary side of
magnitude to several different circuits of the
the high voltage section.
machine including filament circuit and high
voltage circuit. Examples of Timers :

- The power for the x-ray imaging system is 1. Mechanical timers

delivered 1st to the autotransformer.
2. Synchronous timers
kVp Adjustment
3. Electronic timers
- Most console will have one or two knobs that
4. mAs timers
change the taps on the autotransformer for
major and minor kVp. 5. Phototimer
- Modern units have LED readout kVp. 2 types of phototimers
- Setting the kVp will determine the voltage 1. Photomultiplier tube – converts light energy to
applied to the step-up transformer in the high electrical energy and must be calibrated to
voltage section of the machine. produce a given optical density on the
radiograph.
- Major kVp adjustment – by 10
2. Ionization Chamber – a flat parallel plate
- Minor kVp adjustment – by 2 or 5.
ionization chamber positioned between the
- kVp determines the quality of the x-ray beam. patient and the image receptor.

kVp meter 3. Used on most modern x-ray units.

- Actually reads the voltage not the kVp. 4. Commonly referred to as automatic exposure
control or AEC
- It determines the number of kVp applied to the
x-ray tube. 5. Widely used in medical radiography.

• mA control 6. With AEC operator can select:

- The tube current, the intensity, the no. of Desired film density
electrons crossing from cathode to anode per
Spinning top timer
second is measured in milliamperage.
- A simple mechanical device that can be used to
- The quantity of electrons is determined by
check the accuracy of x-ray timer in half wave
filament temperature.
and full wave rectified units.
 Control Factor Electrical Device
- The top is a flat disk metal with a small hole
and Location in
drilled near one edge.
circuit
- It is placed above an x-ray film or cassette and
made to spin while a short exposure is made. kVp Selection kVp Level Autotransforme
Solid State radiation detector r ) between
incoming line
- Used for exposure time check and replaced the and exposure
spinning top. switch)
- Also called semiconductor radiation detector.
mA Filament Variable
- A semiconductor material such as Silicon or Current resistor( in
Germanium crystal constitute the detecting filament circuit
medium. between
incoming line
BASIC X-RAY CIRCUIT
and step-down
• Main circuit - supplies power to the x-ray tube transformer)
so that x-rays are produced.
Time Length of Timer circuit(
1. Main switch – the switch that generates power
Selection exposure Between
to the x-ray tube.
exposure switch
2. Exposure switch – a device that permits current and step-up
to flow through the circuit. transformer)
3. Timer – device used to end the exposure at an
Rotor Switch Speed of Stator(separate
accurately measured pre set time.
rotating circuit from
PARTS OF THE FILAMENT CIRCUIT anode stator of anode
motor)
• Filament circuit – supplies power to the
filament of the x-ray tube so that the filament
supplies enough electrons by thermionic Exposure Moment of Switch (between
emission. Switch exposure autotransformer
and timer
1. Main breaker – This is where the AC comes circuit)
from to power the circuit.

2. Exposure switch – when you push the button to

start the exposure this switch opens to start the
exposure.

3. Autotransformer – this is where series of taps

are located so that kVp can be adjusted.