X-Ray Collimator Heads: What Can Go Wrong?

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X-Ray Collimator Heads What Can Go Wrong?
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By Vikki Harmonay
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If you have X-ray equipment, its important to
pay attention to maintenance schedules and
performance issues. One of the major components
in an X-ray unit is the collimator, which is
comprised of a series of mirrors, lights and lead
leaves (strips) that direct and filter an X-ray
beam. If any of these parts fail, they must be
repaired or replaced. So what are the common
problems with collimator heads and how do you
deal with them? Every X-ray unit has a light
bulb, lead glass enclosure and collimator leaves.
Whether you have a portable machine, C-arm or
general rad room, these elements of a collimator
head can fail.
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How A Collimator Works

• Inside the glass enclosure, the collimator lead
  strips guide the X-rays to the imaging surface.
• The collimator prevents the divergent beam from
  exposing the healthcare personnel and patient at
  the same time.
• A final image is cropped to focus on the body
  part that is being imaged, like a toe, finger or
  chest. A collimator can also cone down to the
  film size loaded in the chest stand and table
  buckys automatically.

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• There are four metal strips inserted around the
  edges of a collimator head, which are manually
  controlled by two knobs. One is for the vertical
  half and the other for the horizontal half.
• The leaves are arranged in a hexagonal or
  circular pattern to narrow the bean down to an
  inch diameter in both portable and stationery
  C-arms.

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What Can Go Wrong?

• Theres no light field and the collimator leaves
  will not open. This is usually caused by an X-ray
  tube thats misaligned to the chest board or
  table. You must make sure you center the tube to
  the chest or table bucky tray and make sure its
  locked into position. Youll need to adjust the
  tube carriage to either 40 or 72 inches by
  moving the tube along the railings until it
  clicks into place.
• The leaves become misaligned. If a leaf is
  misaligned, the X-ray image will be coned off
  or part of it will be cut off. In this situation,
  a qualified service engineer or member of the
  Biomed team will have to make the adjustments.
  You can also open the collimators during the
  exposure as a quick fix until it can be properly
  repaired.

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• The collimator head is loose. This is usually
  caused by mishandling. All you have to do is
  loosen the collimator screw while twisting the
  head. Dont force the head to more, though, as it
  will strip the screws. This will result in you
  having to replace the unit.

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Talk To An Expert
Still have questions about collimator heads?
Looking for an X-ray or medical imaging solution
for your clinic, hospital or practice? Talk to
the experts at Atlantis Worldwide. For almost 30
years Atlantis Worldwide has helped healthcare
operations find used or refurbished medical
imaging equipment that deliver the performance
they need at a much more affordable
price. Contact Us Today!
www.atlantisworldwide.com
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• Meet the author Vikki Harmonay

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