Ionisation- Principles

and techniques
Dr Sonali Soumyashree
BPT, MPT(Neurology)
Lecturer, GDGU
• Ionization. Ionization or ionisation, is the process by which an atom
or a molecule acquires a negative or positive charge by gaining or
losing electrons, often in conjunction with other chemical changes.
Types of Ionization:
1) Sequential (classic) ionization)
2) Non-sequential ionization
1) Sequential (classic) ionization)
• Positive ionization – It happens with the release of an electron and
the photon’s energy is higher or equal to the removing energy (if
equal, the electron stays in the same place but in a “free state”; if
energy it’s higher, the electron is released with some kinetic energy).

• Negative Ionization – it happens when the electron loses some

energy. The type of energy lost depends on the levels before and after
the ionization.
2) Non-sequential ionization

• Violates several laws of classical physics – when it’s combined an

electric field of light with tunnel ionization
Sources of ionization

Natural sources (86%)

• Gamma rays of earth
• Cosmic rays
• Decay of Uranium in the Earth

Artificial sources
• X-ray machines
• Discharge of radioactive waste from nuclear industries
• Chernobyl accident
• Nuclear weapons tests
Biological effects

• Ionizing radiation has a biological damaging effect on all living

organisms. 
• The extent of damage depends on:
• amount of absorbed energy 
• the type of radiation
• the composition of the irradiated object such as an organ or tissue.
• A dose of ionizing radiation that can cause death in an organism is
known as lethal dose. 
• There are three levels of the lethal doses:

• High sensitivity: bone marrow stem cells, spermatogonia,

granulosa cells surrounding the ovum
• Medium sensitivity: liver, thyroid, connective tissue, vascular
endothelium
• Low sensitivity: nerve cells, sense organs
 Exposure
Acute radiation exposure (Determinist effects)
• It is a single, extremely high exposure of ionizing radiation (0,1Gy).
• the severity of this effect corresponds to the amount of dose received.
• Below the threshold level, radiation exposure does not have any effect.
• Above the threshold level however, the severity of the effect will
strengthened as the dose increases.
• This radiation damages living tissues by giving energy to atoms and
molecules of the cells and then damaging DNA, RNA and proteins,
breaking and producing chemical bonds, and creating free radicals.
• Radiation Sickness - is associated with acute radiation exposure and is
accompanied by a characteristic set of symptoms like
-vomiting,
-diarrhoea,
-fatigue,
-headache,
- inflaming of mouth and throat,
-hair loss,
-burning, and
-permanent skin darkening&bleeding spots under the skin.
Chronic radiation exposure (Stochastic effects)
• small radiation exposures that is spread over a long period of time causing
stochastic effects,
• Seen in cosmic radiations
• This type of exposure may increase the risk of premature ageing, cancer
and mutations.
E.g-  Radiation Dermatitis-X-rays can, along with radiotherapy, cause
radiation dermatitis
• It is an inflammation of the skin associated with extended radiation
exposure.
• When affected with radiation dermatitis, the skin may appear red, itchy,
peeling and sometimes blistered.
Principles of ionization
The three principle level of ionization are 
• the Photoelectric effect,
• the Compton Effect, and 
• Pair-Production.
• The photoelectric effect of ionization involves
• the complete absorption of the photon energy during the process of
knocking an electron out of orbit.
• This process primarily occurs with low energy photons ranging in energy
between 10 Kev and less than 500 Kev.
• Here an ion pair is created in the
interaction between the radiation
photon and the atom
• During this process, when the photon
liberates the electron, all of the
photon’s energy is transferred to
create the ion pair and total absorption
has occurred.
•  there is a binding force that the holds
the electron in its orbital shell. The
amount of energy required to create
the ion pair must be at least equal to
this binding force.
• If during the ionization process, only part of the photons energy is
needed to liberate the electron, the rest of the energy is transferred
to the electron in the form of speed (velocity).
• Now that all of the photon's energy is accounted for, the photon
ceases to exist and total absorption has occurred
• When the energy of the photon is used, there is nothing left to cause
further ionization
Compton effect (sometimes referred to as Compton Scatter).
•  In this form of interaction, the initial photon energy is higher than that of
the Photoelectric effect.
• The primary difference is that not all of the photon energy will be utilized
in liberating and accelerating an electron. There is also energy left over to
cause further ionization.
• The Compton effect may occur when photon energies range from
approximately 50 Kev to 3 Mev.
• At relatively low energies, the Photoelectric effect is the dominant form
of interaction, and it becomes less predominant as energy levels increase.
• It has been determined that the Compton effect starts slowly and
becomes more dominant at energies above 100-150 Kev.
 The orange Sine Wave represents an incident photon. The Black sphere
represents an electron. When the photon impacts the electron, a photon
becomes scattered and has a different wavelength.

• In the Compton effect process of ionization, not all of the photon energy is
absorbed during the liberation of the electron.
• This excess energy takes on the form of a new photon having longer
wavelength (less energy) than that of the original photon.
• In addition, the new photon moves through the material in a new path.
This is where the term scatter derives from.
• The new photon will continue to interact with the material and its energy
may be absorbed in the same manner as the original photon.
• The third process of ionization is known
as pair-production.
• In this process, the initial photon energy is
very high, normally occurring at energies
of 1.02 Mev and above.
• As the photon energy approaches the
nucleus of the atom, it is changed into an
electron -positron pair.
• The electron and positron move in
different paths away from each other.
• A positron is nuclear in origin, possessing a
positive charge, and mass equal to that of
an electron
Techniques of medical ionization
• Radiology
1. In radiology, X-rays, ultrasound (etc.) are used and given to the body of the
patient externally. They are produced and interact with tissues in the
patient’s body either through absorption or scattering.
2. This procedure is one of the most important, as it is widely available. Its
low in cost leads to its use as the first tool in the diagnosis of several
diseases.
3. Disadvantage: the interaction between the human tissue and ionizing
radiation might bring some dangerous problems like the deposit of some
radiation in the patient which can be destructive to all living tissues and it
can damage de DNA, causing mutations.
• Radiography
1. Ionizing radiation was used, in the first place, as an imaging technique
through the use of x-rays, between a range of 0,01 to 10 nm.
2. Radiography uses X-rays to study the density between the tissues, and
this difference gives us the image.
3. X-rays are generated in an X-ray tube. These rays pass through the
patient and are filtered by a device called X-ray filter (aluminium).
4. Radiographs work on the principle that bone absorbs the x-rays by
photoelectric processes, soft tissue does not.
5. In the bones, radiography allows us to see fractures, tumours,
demineralization, like osteoporosis; in dentistry, caries.
6. The X-rays helped to the appearance of computer tomography.
• Computed tomography (CT) – X-Rays
1. This technique gives us the attenuation coefficient.
2. The imaging device splits the patient into a 3D set of Voxels. Each 2D
plane of voxels (coronal, sagittal or transverse) is called a tomogram.
3. Computed axial tomography are used to combine X-rays beams from
different angles producing the tomogram, enabling the achievement of
detailed images of soft tissues.
4. These rays are directed by a collimator and sent through a patient. Some
of them are absorbed, attenuated, and the others pass through a detector
on the other side.
5. A software measure the attenuation, forming an image based on the
differences of the values of the X-ray absorbance, between the tissues.
6. The device is constituted by a slip ring arrangement which rotates 360º
around the person, like a helical or spiral scan.
• Fluoroscopy
1. It's possible to obtain real-time moving images of internal structures
of a patient by this technique, where it uses a fluoroscope (which
has an X-ray source and a fluorescent screen).
2. Fluoroscope is the device used in interventional surgeries, in which
medical images are needed to the placement of medical devices,
such biopsy needles, catheters.
3. low intensity X-rays beams are used as the patient has to be
protected against the radiation
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
1. MRI is used to visualize the inside body with detail.
2. With this technique we can measure the concentration of hydrogen.
As the density of hydrogen protons varies between the tissues, we can
have a contrast and then we can obtain an image of the studied tissue.
3. Many of those protons are in the water. Bones of the skull don’t have
many protons, so they are shown up dark, as well as, the sinus
cavities.
• Nuclear medicine
1. Nuclear medicine is the medical and laboratory speciality that takes
up the nuclear properties of radioactive and stable nuclides to
evaluate metabolic, physiologic and pathologic conditions of the
body. 
2. In this type of imaging, small amounts of radiopharmaceuticals are
injected into patients or have patients to inhale or ingest those.
3. These radionuclides & pharmaceutical compounds are posteriorly
distributed through the body (specific organs or cellular receptors). As
the half-life of the radionuclide decreases, the fraction of the total
decay occurs, leading to the emission of gamma rays and,
consequently, to the image acquisition.
• Positron emission tomography (PET)
1. This is a technique where is usually used glucose, because it easily
crosses highly selectively blood barriers.
2. This biologically and active molecule (containing radio nuclides) is
injected in the patient body.
3. The patient has to wait about 30 – 45 minutes. During this time the
concentration of these nuclides will increase in the tissues of interest.
4.  The radioisotopes decay and emit positrons (e+). These positrons go
in the tissue losing energy and then interact with an electron, realising
gamma-photons - they are sent in opposite directions.
• Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)
1. SPECT is a nuclear medicine tomographic imaging technique using
gamma rays.
2. The main difference comparing to the PET is that it only requires
one single radiation, not a simultaneous double one (like in PET)
3. This causes poorer image sensitivity as well as cheaper prices,
because radioactive materials used have longer lifetime.
Therapeutic applications

• Ionizing radiation can be classified in 2 categories:

it can be external – used externally to a patient
it can be internal – used internally to a patient.
•There are several types of therapeutic applications using external sources:

1. Stereotactic radiation uses focused radiation beams targeting a well-defined tumour

using extremely detailed imaging scans. There are two types of stereotactic
radiation: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) – used in the brain or spine; and
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) – used in the body, such as the lungs.
Advantage: this treatment delivers the right amount of radiation to the cancer in a
shorter amount of time than common treatments. Plus, these treatments are given
with extreme accuracy, which limits the effect of the radiation on healthy tissues.

Disadvantage: they are only suitable for certain small tumours.

Internal sources (Brachytherapy)
• Radiation is given inside or next to the area that needs treatment.
• In this treatment the radiation just affects a very small area - that's an
advantage comparing to external radiation therapy.
• The duration is smaller than the other techniques, and this can
minimize the opportunity of diving and growing of cancer cells.