Case Study: Tungsten Vial Shield with Auxilary Shield System

Challenge

The MarShield team has designed and is currently in the process of building a tungsten vial shield transport system for a Pelican Protector Case. This vial shield must meet transport and safety requirements as well as offer ease of operation in opening and closing.

The vial shield design can be used to ship 10Ci of F-18 product. The vial shield needs 44 mm diameter and 80 mm of height inside the shield.

Tungsten Vial & Syringe Shields

To keep the weight manageable, the vial shield requires 25 mm of shielding and an additional 10 mm of “auxiliary” shielding that remains fixed in the Pelican Protector Case for a total shielding of 35 mm. Furthermore, the top of the shields needed a physical means to secure the top to the base.

Solution

To create this custom vial shield solution, the MarShield team needed to understand the technical aspects, safety aspects, end-user preferences, and frequency and sequence of operations and then incorporate these requirements into technical and design parameters.

The Vial transport container lid was to be secured to the container with a three-prong slide-locking mechanism and a thumb screw. A low-compression spring would function as a dampner, absorbing undesirable vibration and/or movement to secure the vial inside the transport container.

A threaded lid for the auxiliary shield offered the best functional and operational ease while meeting transport safety requirements to ensure the lid would not open or become disengaged in case of an accident or an event where the pelican box was to dismount, fall, or roll.

Product Overview/Specifications

Auxiliary Shield for Vial shield

Dimensions:

ID: 105mm x 151mm (⌀ x h)

External Dimensions: 125mm x172mm (⌀ x h)

Net Weight: 22kg

 

Tungsten Shielded Container for Vial Transport

Dimensions:

ID:45mm x 80mm (⌀ x h)

External Dimensions: 95mm x123mm (⌀ x h)

Vial shield with 25mm of tungsten

Net Weight: 15-16kg

 

Product Construction Details

Material: 95WNiFe– Class 4 alloy.

 

Outcomes

MarShield developed multiple design iterations, which were reviewed by various team members before one design was selected for production. The order is currently being fabricated and expected to be completed by the end of March 2023.

MarShield is a trusted provider of high-quality, custom radiation shielding products for the nuclear medicine industry. For more information on our capabilities for custom solutions, including nuclear medicine syringe shields, contact us so we can discuss your requirements and provide a quote.