In what direction are the strips of the grid oriented?

The strips of a grid are oriented at an angle towards the focal spot in order to effectively minimize the amount of scatter radiation reaching the image receptor while allowing the primary beam to pass through. This angled orientation takes advantage of the geometry involved in fluoroscopic imaging.

When the strips are angled towards the focal spot, they can better match the path of the primary radiation, which helps enhance the quality of the image by reducing the effects of scatter. Scatter radiation can degrade image contrast, so the grid design is specifically tailored to optimize the amount of useful signal captured while filtering out unwanted scatter.

The other orientations do not effectively serve this purpose. For instance, vertical or horizontal alignments wouldn’t be able to filter out scatter as efficiently because they would not align with the diverging beam emitted from the focal spot. Furthermore, a random orientation would result in decreased efficiency, as it would not be designed in a way that allows for optimal filtration of unwanted radiation. Therefore, the angled orientation towards the focal spot is a crucial design aspect that enhances image quality in fluoroscopy.