Many high-energy irradiator systems use gamma rays, which are generated through the decay of radioactive material.
It is not uncommon for researchers to be unaware of the contribution that irradiation filters make to improving beam quality when performing preclinical irradiation studies.
Made up of a spectrum of energies, an X-ray beam that has its spectrum shifted to higher average energy will have improved beam quality, a desirable trait for performing research irradiation.
Central to delivering a preclinical radiation dose for therapeutic evaluation is understanding how deeply and uniformly the X-ray beam can penetrate and irradiate a biological sample. Previously, we noted that beam quality is defined by two characteristics: average beam energy (or beam penetrability) and beam homogeneity (or the uniformity of the beam energies).
When evaluating preclinical irradiators, there are a few considerations that can help you decide which X-ray irradiation system has the characteristics that will best suit your needs.
