Systems and Components - Video Lesson

There's not much in life that's quite as exciting as studying the systems and components of CT scanning. So you're in luck. That's the topic of this lesson. The physics and mathematics of CT image production are extraordinarily complicated, but the general concept is actually pretty simple. The X-ray tube rotates around the patient collecting hundreds of views, also called projections of the same anatomic region in the patient. Each projection or view represents a different perspective of the same anatomy. And when we compile all of these views together, they form a digital reconstructed slice. The basic steps of image production in CT are actually very similar to digital radiography. In step one, the x-ray tube directs an x-ray beam towards the patient. Step number two, the x-ray beam is partially attenuated by the patient. Step three, the remnant photons are collected by the radiation detectors. And step four, the detectors create an electrical radiation reading. Step