Disposable Adaptive Radiation Protection System
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional X-ray shielding systems are inflexible, difficult to position, and prone to biological contamination, particularly in emergency or non-standard body types, and fail to adequately address backscatter radiation and customizable needs for various medical imaging scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A disposable, adaptive radiation protection system comprising a garment with removable and reusable shielding layers, customizable to specific patient needs, and designed for easy positioning and sterilization, including a disposable outer layer with pockets for shielding members and secure attachment mechanisms like Velcro, allowing for variable shielding configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional multi-layer lead sheets are used for radiation shielding, then radiation protection is provided, but the system becomes heavy and awkward to position
Solution Approach 1:
The radiation shielding system is divided into multiple independent components: a disposable garment base layer and separate removable shielding layers. This segmentation allows the shielding elements to be independently positioned and adjusted on the patient's body, making the system more manageable and easier to position compared to a single heavy sheet.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses flexible disposable garment layers made of thin material that can drape conformally over the patient's body. These thin flexible films replace the rigid, heavy conventional lead sheets, enabling easy positioning and adaptation to various body types while maintaining radiation protection functionality.
2Reliability
If conventional lead sheets are used, then radiation shielding is achieved, but the system is difficult to clean and prone to biological contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The garment base layer and certain shielding components are designed as disposable items that can be discarded after a single use. This eliminates the need for complex cleaning and sterilization processes between patients, preventing biological contamination while maintaining radiation protection through the disposable barrier layers.
Solution Approach 2:
By separating the system into disposable outer garment layers and reusable inner shielding layers, the patent allows the disposable portions to be discarded after use, eliminating cross-contamination risks. The reusable shielding layers can be properly sterilized between uses, combining the benefits of both single-use and multi-use approaches.
3Reliability
If heavy conventional shields are draped over patients, then radiation protection is provided, but positioning becomes difficult for non-standard body types
Solution Approach 1:
The shielding system incorporates adjustable and reconfigurable components that can be dynamically adapted to different patient body types. The removable shielding layers can be repositioned, added, or removed based on the specific anatomical features and imaging requirements of each patient, providing versatile adaptation that rigid conventional shields cannot achieve.
Solution Approach 2:
The disposable garment layers are made from flexible thin materials that can drape conformally over various body shapes and sizes. This flexibility allows the system to adapt to non-standard body types including children, obese patients, and those with deformities, providing reliable radiation protection without the positioning difficulties of heavy rigid shields.
4Reliability
If conventional shielding is used, then radiation protection is provided, but coverage gaps occur due to inflexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows dynamic adjustment of shielding layer positions and configurations to ensure complete coverage. The removable and repositionable shielding layers can be tailored to fit the specific anatomy of each patient, eliminating coverage gaps that occur with fixed, inflexible conventional shields.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible disposable garment layers can conform to the contours of the patient's body, ensuring continuous coverage without gaps. The material's flexibility allows it to adapt to body curves and movements, maintaining complete radiation protection coverage that rigid conventional shields cannot achieve.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances patient safety by minimizing radiation exposure to non-target areas, reducing biological contamination, and accommodating diverse body types and imaging scenarios, while enabling effective shielding against both direct and backscatter radiation.
Implementation Method 1
a multiplayer lead-containing sheet 105 that is draped over a user's body during X-ray radiation imagery to restrict the passage of X-rays
Implementation Method 2
Nylon outer layers 102, 102 are commonly woven and impregnated with a water-proof or fluid-resistant coating so that when sheets 105 are washed between uses, the water or sterilizing fluid employed does not penetrate the multi-layer lead sheet construction
Data Source
AI summary
A short use or disposable system and method for adaptive window-capable radiation protection provides a disposable outer covering for securing one or more flexible and overlappable radiation shield members relative to a user using a variety of features including pockets, pocket defining members, fitting aid members, and fixing and releasing points. Features allow conveniently securing multiple layers of reusable shields in disposable coverings and providing pre-selected and assembled shielding kits for specific uses. Variants provide adaptive shielding sheets that may be customized to a particular patient need or injury profile.