24

Notebook # 7

Automatic Exposure Controls

Automatic exposure control (AEC) can be referred to as a phototimer. A
phototimer can also be called an automatic exposure device (AED). AECs
function is to eliminate the need for the radiographer to set an exposure time.
AEC also measures the quantity of radiation and breaking the timer circuit when
a dose sufficient to produce the desired exposure has been reached. When
using the AEC it is important to know the location of the ionization chamber
and the direct positioning of tissue over that location are achieved. Ionization
chambers measure the exposure to the receptor and are designed specifically
for AEC. When you use a 3 chamber configuration there is a common
relationship between them. The center chamber will be at the center of the
image receptor and the right and left chambers will be slightly higher. It is
important to know the location, size, and shape so what you can do is shoot an
image without a body part and expose is at a very low kVp and you will get the
maximum contrast. AEC has consoles that permit various combinations of the
ionization chambers to be activated in order to control the exposure. For
example, say the right and left chambers need to work together in order to
control the exposure or all 3 (right, left, center) cells need to be active. There
are 7 different combinations you can use for a 3 chamber. When this occurs,
averaging happens which is when a signal is sent to a special amplifier that
sums up the voltages received from each cell and divides it by the number of
cells that have been activated. When the exposure for diagnostic is reached,
the exposure is terminated by the amplifier. When there is one or more cell that
is activated, the then cell receiving the most radiation will contribute the most
electrical signal and have most influence on the overall exposure. AEC systems
permit the adjustment of the amount of radiation necessary to send the
exposure termination signal. Some examples of the typical AEC density labels
are -3,-2,-1, 0,1,2,3. There are major controls that operate large exposure
changes and then there are minor controls that operate easier adjustments.
Density controls shouldnt be used to compensate for patient part thickness or
kVp changes. The AEC produces a diagnostic exposure for whatever tissue is
placed directly over the chamber and with good positioning skills this will
result in great quality. AEC problems with subject density and contrast
density occur when an unexpected density is present or when there is a poor
density than what was expected. For example, if there is fluid in the lungs it
causes an increased subject density and contrast so the AEC stays on longer

24

making the lung overexposed for a diagnosis. Collimation of the beam is very
important because if the beam is collimated from an active chamber than the
chamber operates as if the tissue is really dense causing an overexposed
image. When using a wide collimation, it can create problems because the full
beam will produce scatter radiation that can undercut the patient and cause the
AEC to terminate the exposure. Minimum response time is 0.001 seconds and
as mA is decreased it permits a longer AEC exposure time. Back up time
establishes the maximum exposure time. The time should be set at 150
percent of the anticipated manual exposure time. If back up time is short it
terminates the exposure and is underexposed.

References
Carlton, Richard R., and Arlene M. Adler. Principles of Radiographic Imaging. 5th ed.

24

https://www.google.com/search?
q=AEC+for+diagnostic+imaging&biw=1242&bih=565&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=
X&ved=0ahUKEwj-r6_Sos3QAhUB0YMKHWuEALIQ_AUICCgD#imgrc=5vT_tH_pixrssM
%3A