What is the effect of excessive kilovoltage on scatter radiation?

Excessive kilovoltage (kV) during an imaging procedure significantly influences the amount of scatter radiation produced. When the kilovoltage is increased, the energy of the x-ray beams becomes higher. This leads to increased penetration through the tissues and results in a higher volume of scatter radiation.

Higher energy x-ray photons have a greater likelihood of interacting with matter within the body, and these interactions primarily contribute to scatter. As a result, increasing kilovoltage enhances the amount of scatter that is generated, which can degrade the quality of the image by reducing its contrast.

In medical imaging, this understanding is crucial, as managing scatter radiation is fundamental to obtaining clear and diagnostic images. Therefore, it is critical to balance kilovoltage settings to optimize image quality while minimizing unnecessary scatter radiation.