An x-ray image is produced when a small amount of radiation passes through a body part and is captured to produce a black-and-white image.

Body parts that are difficult for x-rays to pass through, such as bone, appear white on the x-ray image. Body parts that the x-rays penetrate easily, such as the lungs or other areas filled with air, appear black. Soft tissue (like muscle), blood vessels and organs usually appear as various shades of gray on an x-ray image, depending upon what they are made of.

Once the x-ray radiation passes through the body, it is captured by an imaging plate, connected to a computer, which creates a visible image.

Using their specialized knowledge of the human body, the MRT will position you based on the area your physician or care provider has concerns about. You may be able to sit down and have your x-rays taken at a tabletop. You may be able to stand up while they take the images, or sometimes, they will require you to lie down on a table. No matter how the image is taken, your MRT will instruct you on how to move. They will walk you through how to change the position of your body to best capture the images. The time it takes for the exams are relatively quick. Most images take between 5 and 15 minutes to complete.

Yes. The x-rays delivered to a patient during a typical diagnostic imaging exam are the safest they have ever been. MRTs working in Radiologic Technology use the lowest possible dose of radiation to achieve a quality image. In addition, new techniques and equipment are constantly being developed to decrease the total amount of radiation received by the patient.

There are different types of radiation are all around us. Radiation comes from the atmosphere, the Earth’s crust and cosmic rays. There are even small amounts of radiation that comes from bananas! X-rays are a little stronger than these other examples and are used in medical settings. For comparison, just living life on this earth for a year, exposes you to an average of 3.3 millisieverts (mSv) of background radiation from the environment. A typical dental x-ray you may get is approximately 0.06 mSv.  A chest x-ray is approximately 0.08 mSv and a mammogram is almost 1.0 mSv. A CT scan can be anywhere from 1-10 mSv depending on the part of the body being imaged.

Any exposure to radiation can pose a safety risk. However, whenever a test or procedure using x-rays is ordered, your physician has considered the benefits of an x-ray examination. They decided that it outweighs the risk due to the amount of information they will get from the test. This information can help doctors visualize what is happening and can help create a treatment plan.

Computed tomography (CT) also uses x-rays, but images the anatomy in a different way. Here, the source of the x-rays rotates around the patient during a CT scan, capturing detail from many angles. This is known as cross-sectional imaging. Each rotation of the x-ray beam produces a single “slice” of anatomy, like the slices in a loaf of bread. A computer can stack all the slices to create a whole 3-dimensional image. Using this technology, physicians can view the inside the body’s structures, a feature not possible with general X-rays.