What effect does increasing diagnostic filtration from 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm have on x-ray beam intensity?

Increasing diagnostic filtration from 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm results in a decrease in x-ray beam intensity. This occurs because filtration is used to absorb low-energy x-ray photons that do not contribute to the image quality and mostly add to patient dose. As the amount of filtration is increased, more of these lower-energy photons are absorbed, leading to a reduction in the overall intensity of the x-ray beam. The higher the filtration, the more effective it is at removing these less useful x-rays, which directly impacts the intensity of the beam reaching the patient or the imaging receptor.

Thus, when the filtration increases, it filters out more of the non-diagnostic x-rays, resulting in a decrease in the intensity of the x-ray beam. This is an important consideration in radiography, as while it may reduce intensity, it can also improve the quality of the diagnostic images while minimizing unnecessary radiation exposure to the patient.