CAMRT Radiography Practice Exam

If the AEC cell was not correctly changed after performing a PA chest x-ray, how will the lateral appear?

1. Overexposed (dark)

2. Underexposed (light)

3. Perfectly exposed

4. Unclear

The correct answer is: Underexposed (light)

When performing radiologic imaging, particularly with Automatic Exposure Control (AEC), it is crucial to ensure the correct settings and configurations are used for each type of exam. If the AEC cell was not properly adjusted after a PA chest x-ray, it could lead to incorrect exposure settings being applied for the subsequent lateral chest x-ray. In this scenario, if the AEC was set for the PA chest, which requires a different exposure than the lateral view, the lateral x-ray may receive insufficient exposure. This occurs because the AEC is designed to automatically adjust based on the thickness and characteristics of the anatomical region being imaged. As a result, the lateral chest x-ray would likely appear underexposed, resulting in a lighter image. Underexposure can make it difficult to visualise internal structures clearly, potentially obscuring important diagnostic details. Therefore, the key takeaway is that failing to adjust the AEC settings appropriately can lead to significantly impact the quality of the resulting image.