KR100589674B1 - An apparatus and a method for dispense of radioactive substance - Google Patents

Abstract

Inexpensive radioactive material dispensing device and radioactive material dispensing device capable of minimizing exposure to workers during dispensing of radioactive material including aqueous radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals from storage to distribution container A dispensing apparatus of the present invention comprises: a storage container for storing radioactive material, the container being kept sealed; A dispensing container receiving the radioactive material of the storage container and being kept sealed; A first connecting pipe having a radioactive material suction part and a discharge part at both ends, respectively, wherein the suction part and the discharge part are respectively installed in the storage container and the distribution container; A second connecting pipe having an air suction unit installed in the distribution container so as to suck air inside the distribution container; Air intake means connected to the second connector; And a vent for supplying external air to the storage container such that the radioactive material is smoothly discharged to the distribution container when the air suction means is driven.

Radioactive Material, Radioactivity, Calibrator, Radiopharmaceuticals, Dispensing, Vials, Connector, Syringe, Needle

Description

Radioactive material distribution device and dispensing method {AN APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR DISPENSE OF RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCE}

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state in which a radioactive material distribution device according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.

2 is a schematic structural diagram of a radioactive material distribution device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the three-way valve shown in FIG.

4 and 5 are schematic front views showing the three-way valve state in the process of dispensing radioactive material.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for dispensing radioactive materials such as high doses in aqueous solution, high radioactive radioisotopes, and radiopharmaceuticals, which are widely used for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes. A radioactive material dispensing apparatus of low cost and capable of minimizing the exposure damage suffered by an operator during dispensing from a dispensing vessel to a dispensing container, and a method of dispensing a radioactive substance using the apparatus.

Today, the use range and technology of radioactive materials are rapidly developing, and the annual usage in Korea is over 100,000 annually (Ci).

Despite the tendency to generally avoid radiation from radioactive materials, this high usage is due to the inherent properties of radioactive materials with strong permeability.

As of 2004, more than 1000 companies using radioactive materials, radiodestructive testing, radioisotope gauges, industrial radiotracers, in-vitro diagnostics and treatment, in-vitro diagnostics, in vitro radiation therapy, radiation sterilization, radiological food irradiation, and radiation genetic engineering research. The use of radioactive materials in various forms, such as industrial technology development, productivity improvement, pollution prevention, industrial safety, medical technology development and welfare, food production and food preservation, basic science development It is true.

Medical diagnostic radioactive materials produced from nuclear reactors, generators and accelerators mainly use radionuclides with a short half-life in order to minimize adverse effects on the human body, which are used for the final use of radioactive materials in vials or syringes. It means you can't keep it for a long time. This is because the amount of radioactivity contained in the radioactive material contained in the vial or syringe decreases rapidly over time according to its inherent half-life, making the radioactive material unable to function.

Therefore, conventionally, whenever radioactive material is needed, the radioactive material stored in a storage container such as a mother liquor vial is first measured, and then the amount of radioactive material containing the required amount of radioactivity is calculated. The amount is transferred to a dispensing container, such as a dispensing vial or syringe, for use or supplied to companies in need of radioactive material.

However, the above-described method has a problem in that safety is low because a worker is exposed to radiation and the number of exposures is large.

In order to solve this problem, a device for automatically distributing radioactive material has recently been developed. The automatic dispensing device is mostly expensive, so that a small institution producing and distributing radioactive material is practically used in the automatic dispensing device. There is a difficult problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for distributing a radioactive substance having a simple and inexpensive structure while minimizing the exposure damage of an operator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing method using the above-described radioactive substance dispensing apparatus.

The present invention to achieve the above object,

A storage container for storing the radioactive material and being kept in a sealed state;

A dispensing container receiving the radioactive material of the storage container and being kept sealed;

A first connecting pipe having a radioactive material suction part and a discharge part at both ends, respectively, wherein the suction part and the discharge part are respectively installed in the storage container and the distribution container;

A second connecting pipe having an air suction unit installed in the distribution container so as to suck air inside the distribution container;

Air intake means connected to the second connector; And

A vent for supplying outside air to the storage container such that the radioactive material is discharged smoothly into the distribution container when the air intake means is driven;

It provides a radioactive material distribution device comprising a.

The radioactive material suction part and the discharge part and the air suction part may be made of an injection needle.

And, the air suction means may be made of a syringe consisting of a cylindrical outer cylinder and a piston body installed to reciprocate inwardly of the outer cylinder, in this case, between the second connecting pipe and the syringe for controlling the air flow direction in three directions Valves can be installed.

The three-way valve has a valve body having first to third ports. An end portion of the second connecting pipe is coupled to the first port, and an end portion of the outer cylinder is coupled to a third port disposed in line with the first port, and a second in a direction orthogonal to the first and third ports. The pot is combined with a sterile strainer.

In addition, the three-way valve has three air holes, and further includes a valve body for adjusting the air flow direction inside the valve body, the valve body further includes an adjustment knob for rotating the valve body.

The three-way valve of this configuration optionally acts to discharge the radioactive material remaining in the first connection tube into the storage container or to completely discharge the radioactive material into the distribution container as necessary.

In addition, the radioactive material dispensing apparatus of the present invention may further include a shielding container for holding the dispensing vial, the components of the device may be made of a disposable sterile product.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state in which a radioactive material distribution device is installed according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a radioactive material distribution device according to an embodiment of the present invention 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the three-way valve shown in FIG.

As shown, the radioactive material dispensing apparatus of this embodiment has a first container connecting the storage container 10, the distribution container 12, the syringe 14 as an air suction means, the storage container 10 and the distribution container 12. A connecting tube 16, a second connecting tube 18 connecting the dispensing vessel 12 and the syringe 14.

The storage vessel 10 stores radioactive material made from a reactor, generator and accelerator, and a mother liquor vial is shown in FIG. 2 as an example of the storage vessel 10. The storage container 10 is kept in a sealed state by the rubber field 10a coupled to the inlet end.

In addition, the dispensing container 12 receives the radioactive material of the storage container 10, and FIG. 2 shows a dispensing vial having a configuration similar to the storage container 10 as an example of the dispensing container 12. The distribution container 12 is also held in a sealed state by the cover body 12a.

Both ends of the first connection pipe 16 connecting the storage container 10 and the distribution container 12 having the above-described configuration are provided with a radioactive material suction part and a discharge part, respectively, as shown in the drawing. Injection needles 20 and 22, respectively. In particular, the injection needle 20 connected with the first connector 16 may optionally be connected using a male-male adapter.

In this case, the injection needle 20 constituting the suction unit has an end of the needle 20 at the bottom of the storage container 10 in order to discharge the radioactive material stored in the storage container 10 out of the container 10 to the maximum. The injection needle 22 constituting the discharge portion uses a length short enough to reach the injection needle, and the injection needle 22 constituting the discharge portion uses a relatively shorter length than the injection needle 20, which uses the end of the injection needle 22 as a dispensing container. This is because the radioactive material inside the first connecting pipe 16 can be discharged to the dispensing container 12 only by insertion into the inside of the 12.

Then, another injection needle 24 constituting the air inlet is inserted into the dispensing container 12, which is coupled to one end of the second connecting pipe 18, and has a second connection. The other end of the tube 18 is coupled with a syringe 14 with a three-way valve 26 interposed therebetween.

The injection needle 24 has a needle 24 to prevent the radioactive material inside the dispensing container 12 from entering the syringe 14 through the second connecting pipe 18 during the air suction operation by the syringe 14. It is desirable to position the end as high as possible inside the dispensing vessel 12.

And the said syringe 14 which acts as an air suction means consists of a cylindrical outer cylinder 14a and the piston body 14b installed so that reciprocation is possible inside the outer cylinder 14a.

Meanwhile, the three-way valve 26 installed between the second connecting pipe 18 and the syringe 14 to control the air flow direction has a valve body having first to third ports 28a, 28b, and 28c. And (28). An end of the second connecting pipe 18 is coupled to the first port 28a, and an outer cylinder 14a of the syringe 14 is connected to the third port 28c disposed in line with the first port 28a. The end is coupled and a sterile filter 28d is coupled to the second port 28b in the direction orthogonal to the first and third ports 28a and 28c.

In addition, the three-way valve 26 is further provided with a valve body 30 which is installed in the valve body 28, the valve body 30 is a three for adjusting the air flow direction inside the valve body 28 Air holes 30a, 30b, 30c, and adjustment knob portion 30d.

In order to enable forward and backward movement of the piston body 14b of the syringe 14, a vent injection needle 32 is installed at the rubber field 10a of the storage container 10.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 34 denotes a shielding container for holding a dispensing container, 36 denotes a connecting string, for example, a thread connected to the injection needle 20, and 38 denotes a hot cell in which a radioactive substance dispensing device is installed. cell).

The hot cell 38 is formed in the shape of a rectangular enclosure, and has a door 38a for opening the inside, and two hand doors 38b and 38c having a size enough to allow an operator's hand to enter and exit the door. It also has a viewing window 38d that allows the operator to observe the inside from the outside of the hot cell.

A method of distributing the radioactive material of the storage container 10 to the distribution container 12 using the radioactive material distribution device having such a configuration will be described below.

In facilities handling radioactive material, the outer wall is composed of a shield made of lead or the like to prevent the radiation from leaking to the outside.

As one of these shields, a hot cell 38 is used, except for the above-mentioned syringe 14 and the three-way valve 26 associated with the syringe 14 among the components of the radioactive substance dispensing apparatus according to the present invention. The remaining components are preferably installed inside the hot cell 38.

For example, the storage container 10 is installed in a radiometric calibrator disposed inside the hot cell 38, the distribution container 12 is installed in the small shielded container 34, and the shielded container 34 is then hot celled ( 38) Place it inside.

In addition, the storage container 10 is provided with an injection needle 20 for injection of a radioactive material and an injection needle 32 for a vent coupled to an end of the first connecting pipe 16, and discharge of radioactive material into the distribution container 12. A bouillon injection needle 22 and an air intake injection needle 24 coupled to one end of the second connecting pipe 18 are provided.

At this time, the injection needle 20 is inserted so deep that the end touches the bottom of the storage container 10, the injection needles 22, 24 are inserted only shallow enough that the needle does not come out of the container 12. In addition, the syringe 14 is disposed outside the hot cell as described above, in which the second connecting tube is withdrawn through the hand door 38c.

On the other hand, in order to be able to withdraw the injection needle 20 from the storage container 10, a connecting strap 36 is connected to the injection needle 20, and the end of the strap 36 is connected to the hand door 38b or 38c. ) Is drawn out of the hot cell 38 through).

In this state, in order to distribute the radioactive material of the storage container 10 to the distribution container 12, as shown in FIG. 4, the adjustment knob 30d of the three-way valve 26 is adjusted to adjust the valve body 30. Two air holes 30a and 30c are communicated with the first and third ports 28a and 28c, respectively. Of course, the sterile filter 28d is coupled to the second port 28b.

In this way, the pressure inside the outer cylinder 14a is depressurized while the piston body 14b of the syringe 14 is retracted in the direction of the arrow, whereby the radioactive material in the storage container 10 is discharged from the first connecting pipe ( 16 to the dispensing vessel 12.

At this time, the amount of radioactivity emitted from the storage container 10 is measured from the amount of radioactivity before and after the distribution calibrated by the radioactivity checker.

When the amount of radioactive material is dispensed by the amount of radioactivity to be dispensed by the above-described radioactivity measurement, the connecting strap 36 is pulled to pull the injection needle 20 from the storage container 10.

In this way, a certain amount of radioactive material that is not discharged to the dispensing container 12 remains inside the first connecting pipe 16.

At this time, the adjustment knob 30d of the three-way valve 26 is rotated as shown in FIG. 5 so that the air holes 30a and 30b of the valve body 30 are connected to the second and third ports 28b and 28c. When the piston body 14b is advanced in the direction of the arrow after each communication, the air inside the outer cylinder 14a is discharged through the sterile filter 28d of the second port 28b, so that the first connecting pipe 16 The radioactive material remains intact.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4, the adjustment knob 30d is returned to its original position so that the two air holes 30a and 30c communicate with the first and third ports 28a and 28c, respectively, and the piston once more. When the sieve 14b is retracted, the radioactive material remaining in the first connecting pipe 16 is completely discharged to the dispensing vessel 12 by the pressure-reducing action inside the outer cylinder 14a.

Subsequently, the injection needles 22 and 24 installed in the dispensing container 12 are pulled out of the dispensing container 12 using a forceps (not shown) or the like, and the hand door 38b or 38c provided in the hot cell 38 is provided. After dispensing the dispensing container 12 to the outside of the hot cell, the shielding container 34 is covered with a shielding cover and sent to the place where the radioactive material is needed.

In the above, the process of distributing a predetermined amount of radioactive material into the distribution container 12 using the radiometric calibration device has been described, but it is also possible to distribute the radioactive material using the following method.

In this case, the inner diameter, the length of the first connecting tube 16 and the concentration of radiation in the storage container 10 are calculated to confirm the amount of radiation remaining in the first connecting tube 16 in advance, and the first connecting tube ( In consideration of the amount of radioactivity remaining in the 16), after extracting a certain amount of radioactive material from the storage container 10, the radioactive material remaining in the first connecting pipe 16 may be discharged back to the storage container (10).

In this way, it is possible to dispense a certain amount of radioactive material into the dispensing container 12 even if the needle 20 is not removed from the storage container 10.

According to the inventor's experiment, the above two methods were found to have an error within ± 5% of the target radioactivity, although the two methods differ depending on the skill of the operator.

In the above, the use of a syringe as the air intake means has been described as an example, but it is also possible to configure the air intake means using an air pump.

In addition, in the case of not using a radiation checker, it is also possible to grasp in advance the volume inside the outer cylinder according to the piston body backward of the syringe, and to distribute a predetermined amount according to the degree of backward movement of the piston body.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, the detailed description of the invention, and the accompanying drawings. .

As described in detail above, the present invention enables the precise distribution of radioactive materials while minimizing the exposure damage of the operator by using a simple and inexpensive radioactive material distribution device, thereby reducing the economic burden of purchasing an automatic radioactive material distribution device. There is an effect that can be minimized.

Claims (13)

A storage container for storing the radioactive material and being kept in a sealed state; A dispensing container receiving the radioactive material of the storage container and being kept sealed; A first connecting pipe having a radioactive material suction part and a discharge part at both ends, respectively, wherein the suction part and the discharge part are respectively installed in the storage container and the distribution container; A second connecting pipe having an air suction unit installed in the distribution container so as to suck air inside the distribution container; Air intake means connected to the second connector; And A vent for supplying outside air to the storage container such that the radioactive material is discharged smoothly into the distribution container when the air intake means is driven; Including; The air suction means is a radioactive substance dispensing apparatus comprising a syringe including a outer cylinder and a manually operated piston body reciprocally installed inside the outer cylinder. The method of claim 1, The radioactive material dispensing device, characterized in that the radioactive material inlet and outlet and the air inlet portion made of a injection needle. The method of claim 1, The storage container is a radioactive material distribution device, characterized in that installed in the radioactive calibrator inside the hot cell. The method of claim 1, The dispensing container is a radioactive material distribution device, characterized in that installed in the shield container is disposed inside the hot cell. delete The method of claim 1, The syringe is a radioactive material distribution device, characterized in that installed outside the hot cell. The method of claim 6, Radioactive material distribution device characterized in that the three-way valve for controlling the air flow direction is installed between the second connecting pipe and the syringe. The method of claim 7, wherein And the three-way valve includes a valve body having first to third ports, and a valve body having three air holes and regulating an air flow direction inside the valve body. The method of claim 8, An end portion of the second connecting pipe is coupled to the first port, and an end portion of the outer cylinder is coupled to a third port disposed in line with the first port, and a second in a direction perpendicular to the first and third ports. And a sterile filter coupled to the port. The method of claim 9, The valve body further comprises a control knob portion for rotating the valve body. A radioactive material dispensing method for dispensing radioactive material stored in a storage container into a distribution container, the method comprising: The air inlet means comprising a syringe including a container and a dispensing container connected to each other using a first connecting pipe, and including a cylindrical body and a manually operated piston body disposed in the outer cylinder and moving forward and backward. And distributing the radioactive material of the storage container into the dispensing container by a decompression action generated by manually operating the syringe. delete The method of claim 11, A three-way valve is installed between the second connecting pipe and the syringe, and the air flow passage of the three-way valve is adjusted to discharge the radioactive material remaining in the first connecting pipe to the dispensing vessel during the forward operation of the piston body. Or to prevent the radioactive material from discharging into the dispensing vessel.

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