Il corso si propone la conoscenza dei principi fisici necessari per la comprensione del funzionamento della strumentazione utilizzata in radiodiagnostica e in radioterapia.
X-ray production and properties: fundamentals. X-ray tube design. The X-ray spectrum. Electrical characteristics. The supply generator. Control circuits. Exposure control.
Interactions of X- and gamma radiation with matter. Photon attenuation and absorption coefficients. Interactions with atom. Subject contrast. Radiation dose. Detectors.
Analog images. Vision. Image detector surface. Image quality factors. Scatter and grids. Image quality measurement.
The digital image. Signal input. The image matrix. Digital image quality. Digital image processing. Digital image detectors: computed radiography. Direct radiography. Digital fluorography.
Computed tomography. Basic sequential scanner design. Single slice helical/spiral computed tomogaphy. Multislice spiral computed tomography. Computed tomography. radiation dose.
Magnetic resonance: principles. The proton in a magnetic field. Relaxation time constants. Pulse sequences. T1 and T2 signal measurement. Magnetic resonance imaging.
Dowsett David J., Kenny Patrick A., Johnston R. Eugene, The Physics of Diagnostics Imaging, CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group.
Lecture notes provided during the course.