As kilovoltage increases, what happens to the radiation absorbed by the patient?

When kilovoltage increases, the energy level of the X-rays produced during an imaging procedure also increases. Higher energy X-rays are more penetrating than lower energy ones, which means they are able to pass through tissues more easily. As a result, when the kilovoltage is increased, a greater proportion of the radiation will pass through the patient's body without being absorbed.

This leads to a decrease in the amount of radiation that is absorbed by the patient. Essentially, with higher kilovoltage settings, the overall absorbed dose decreases because the high-energy photons are less likely to be absorbed by the body tissues and instead contribute to the useful image formation as they pass through.

In contrast, lower kilovoltage settings produce less penetrating radiation, leading to a higher absorption by body tissues. This principle is vital in optimizing image quality while minimizing patient exposure to harmful radiation.