What effect does increasing filtration have on patient radiation dose?

Increasing filtration in radiographic imaging serves to reduce the patient's radiation dose. Filtration involves using materials that absorb low-energy X-ray photons from the primary beam. These low-energy photons contribute minimally to the diagnostic quality of the image but increase the overall dose to the patient and the potential for radiation-induced effects.

By removing these low-energy photons, filtration enhances the quality of the radiation beam, which means that fewer photons are required to produce an image of adequate quality. Consequently, with a more effective beam, less overall radiation exposure is necessary, resulting in a decrease in the patient's radiation dose.

In this context, when filtration is increased, it effectively strips away the less useful low-energy photons, lowering the patient's exposure and contributing to better radiation safety practices.