What technique adjustment is typically made to improve radiographic contrast?

Decreasing kilovoltage is a commonly employed technique adjustment to enhance radiographic contrast. The kilovoltage (kV) setting affects the penetration power of the x-ray beam. Lowering the kV produces a softer beam with less penetration capability, resulting in a greater difference in attenuation between different tissues. This increased contrast allows for better differentiation of structures in the radiograph, making it easier to distinguish between various tissues or abnormalities.

While adjustments such as exposure time, patient thickness, and distance from the x-ray source do influence image quality, they do not directly target radiographic contrast in the same way that kV adjustments do. Increasing total exposure time might enhance overall density but does not inherently improve contrast. Similarly, reducing patient thickness could result in better image quality but primarily impacts density rather than contrast. Increasing the distance from the x-ray source generally leads to a decrease in the intensity of the beam, which can negatively affect image quality overall. Therefore, the decrease in kilovoltage is the best method to specifically improve radiographic contrast.