Final answer:
For a patient with atelectasis undergoing a chest x-ray, technical factors like kilovoltage or milliamperage should be increased to ensure the collapsed lung tissue is adequately penetrated for a clear and informative image.
Step-by-step explanation:
For a patient with atelectasis who requires a chest x-ray, one generally needs to increase the technical factors like kilovoltage (kV) or milliamperage (mA) to ensure that there is sufficient penetration through the denser areas of collapsed lung tissue.
Atelectasis is a condition where there is a collapse of lung tissue, leading to reduced air volume and possibly more absorption of x-rays in the affected areas. Since x-rays create images based on the different absorption rates of tissues, an area with atelectasis could appear more opaque or whiter on the x-ray film due to the increased density of the collapsed tissues.
To compensate for this and achieve an accurate radiographic image, the radiologic technologist may increase the technical factors, such as kilovoltage or milliamperage, to ensure adequate penetration through the denser lung tissue and to provide an image with proper diagnostic quality.