Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
  • G21F—PROTECTION AGAINST X-RADIATION, GAMMA RADIATION, CORPUSCULAR RADIATION OR PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT; TREATING RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED MATERIAL; DECONTAMINATION ARRANGEMENTS THEREFOR
  • G21F5/00—Transportable or portable shielded containers
  • G21F5/015—Transportable or portable shielded containers for storing radioactive sources, e.g. source carriers for irradiation units; Radioisotope containers
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61J—CONTAINERS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR MEDICAL OR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES; DEVICES OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR BRINGING PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS INTO PARTICULAR PHYSICAL OR ADMINISTERING FORMS; DEVICES FOR ADMINISTERING FOOD OR MEDICINES ORALLY; BABY COMFORTERS; DEVICES FOR RECEIVING SPITTLE
  • A61J1/00—Containers specially adapted for medical or pharmaceutical purposes
  • A61J1/14—Details; Accessories therefor
  • A61J1/20—Arrangements for transferring or mixing fluids, e.g. from vial to syringe
  • A61J1/2096—Combination of a vial and a syringe for transferring or mixing their contents
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
  • G21F—PROTECTION AGAINST X-RADIATION, GAMMA RADIATION, CORPUSCULAR RADIATION OR PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT; TREATING RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED MATERIAL; DECONTAMINATION ARRANGEMENTS THEREFOR
  • G21F5/00—Transportable or portable shielded containers
  • G21F5/015—Transportable or portable shielded containers for storing radioactive sources, e.g. source carriers for irradiation units; Radioisotope containers
  • G21F5/018—Syringe shields or holders
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
  • G21F—PROTECTION AGAINST X-RADIATION, GAMMA RADIATION, CORPUSCULAR RADIATION OR PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT; TREATING RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED MATERIAL; DECONTAMINATION ARRANGEMENTS THEREFOR
  • G21F5/00—Transportable or portable shielded containers
  • G21F5/06—Details of, or accessories to, the containers
  • G21F5/12—Closures for containers; Sealing arrangements
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
  • G21G—CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ELEMENTS; RADIOACTIVE SOURCES
  • G21G1/00—Arrangements for converting chemical elements by electromagnetic radiation, corpuscular radiation or particle bombardment, e.g. producing radioactive isotopes
  • G21G1/0005—Isotope delivery systems

Definitions

• the field of the invention relates to nuclear medicine and more particularly, to methods of processing radioactive nuclides.
• radioactive materials in nuclear medicine for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes are known.
• radioactive material may be used to track blood flow for purposes of detecting obstructions or the like.
• the radioactive material e.g., a tracer
• the radioactive material may be injected into a vein of the arm or leg of a person.
• a scintillation camera may be used to collect images of the person following the injection.
• the gamma rays of the tracer interact with a detector of the camera to create images of the person.
• a series of images are collected as the tracer perfuses through the person. Since the tracer diffuses through the blood of the person, the veins or arteries with greater blood flow produce a greater signature from the tracer.
• radioactive material may be coupled at a molecular level with a biolocalization agent.
• the biolocalization agent may concentrate the radioactive material at some specific location (e.g., the site of a tumor).
• Radioactive materials Key to the use of radioactive materials in nuclear medicine is the creation of nuclear materials with a relatively short half life (e.g., 2-72 hours).
• the short half life causes the radioactivity to decay rapidly in such as way as to reduce exposure of the person to radiation.
• FIG. 1 is a front, perspective view of a device for processing radionuclides shown generally in accordance with an illustrated embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 2 is block diagram of the processing element of the device of FIG. 1;
• FIG. 3 is a simplified view of the parent radionuclide container of FIG. 2;
• FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the parent container of FIG. 2;
• FIGs. 5A-B are back and a top cut-away views of the parent radionuclide container of FIG. 4;
• FIGs. 6A-B are top and cut-away view of the parent radionuclide container of
• FIG. 4
• FIG. 7 is an expanded, cut-away view of the parent radionuclide container of FIGs. 4-6;
• FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of a parent radionuclide container under an alternate embodiment.
• FIG. 9 is a cutaway view of the container of FIG. 8.
• FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the device and system 10 for processing radionuclides shown generally in accordance with an illustrated embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the separation system 10.
• the system 10 may be used to provide highly pure radioactive materials for use in diagnostic or therapeutic processes.
• the system 10 may be constructed as a portable device that is simple to use in radionuclide production facilities, nuclear pharmacies or in some other medical environment.
• the system 10 may be used to separate a parent radionuclide from a daughter radionuclide using a forward COW process and where the daughter radionuclide is produced by the decay of the parent radionuclide.
• the system 10 may also be used to separate a daughter radionuclide from a parent radionuclide using a reverse COW process.
• the separation column 28 may be selected for purification of a wide range of
• the separation columns 26, 36 may be filled within a chromatographic material (e.g., ion- exchange resin, extraction chomotographic material, etc.) targeted for the specific radionuclide needed.
• the system 10 may be used for the purification of yttrium-90, bismuth-212 and 213, or rhenium-188 for radiotherapy or technetium-99 m, thallium-201, fluorine- 18 or indium-I l l for diagnostic imaging.
• the system 10 may be provided with a parent radionuclide. After some period of time, some of the parent radionuclide will decay to produce a mixture of parent and daughter radionuclides.
• a controller 34 of the system 10 may activate one or more valves 22, 24, 26 and a pump 30 to transport the mixture of the parent and daughter radionuclides from a parent radionuclide container 12 to a first separation column 28 that captures the daughter radionuclide. Once the mixture of parent and daughter radionuclides has passed through the separation column 28, the remaining parent may be transported back to the parent container 12.
• the controller 34 may wash the first separation column 28 by activating valves 22, 24 to first withdraw a wash solution from a processing fluids container 14, 16 and then to discard the wash solution into a waste container 18, 20.
• the wash process may be repeated any of a number of times with the same or different types of wash solutions.
• the controller 34 may withdraw a stripping solution from one of the processing fluids containers 14, 16 and then pump the stripping solution through the first separation column 28, through valve 26 and into the product cartridge assembly 32.
• the stripping solution functions to release the daughter radionuclide from the separator column 28 and then transport the daughter radionuclide into the product cartridge assembly 32.
• FIG. 3 is a simplified view of the storage container 12 of FIG. 2 for a parent radionuclide.
• the storage unit includes a storage bottle or vial 56 in a radiation resistant case (e.g., lead) 50.
• the radiation resistant case includes an aperture extending from an exterior into the case with a stopper 58 on an outside of the case extending into the aperture.
• the stopper and case define a sterile venting channel that couples an interior of the case to the exterior of the case through a filter disposing through a first aperture in the stopper.
• a fill tube is coupled between a second aperture in the stopper and the storage bottle, the fill tube extends along a portion of the venting channel from the stopper 58 to the storage bottle 56. Once the storage bottle is filled through the fill tube, a plug is inserted into the second aperture to maintain sterility.
• the sterile tube is removed from its protective package and the plug is removed from the second aperture of the stopper.
• the sterile tube is then inserted through the second aperture and the fill tube into the storage bottle.
• the parent radionuclide may then be removed from the storage bottle and case through the sterile tube.
• the storage container 12 may include one or more layers 50, 52 of shielding of various materials.
• an inner shield 52 may be of a lighter material (e.g., polyethylene) for low energy particles.
• An outer shield 50 may be a more dense material (e.g., lead) for high energy particles.
• the bottle or vial 56 containing the parent radionuclide is disposed inside an inner chamber 54 of the container 12.
• the stopper 58 extends through the outer shield 50.
• a first tube 62 extends through the inner shield 52.
• the first tube 62 extends through a cap 64 of the vial 56 on a first end and connects to the stopper 58 on a second end.
• the second tube 60 is inserted into and threaded through the stopper 58 and first tube 62 to the bottom of the vial 56.
• the pump 30 of FIG. 2 withdraws the parent radionuclide from the container 12 through the tube 60.
• FIG. 4 depicts a side perspective view of the container 12.
• FIGs. 5A is a rear view of the container 12.
• FIG. 5B is a cut-away view of the container 12 of FIG. 5 A along section C-C.
• FIG. 6A is a top view of the container 12 and
• FIG. 6B is a cut-away view of the container 12 of FIG. 6 A along section A- A.
• the container 12 is specifically constructed to prevent any form of line-of- sight radiation from exiting the container 12.
• the outer shield 50 has an offset or jog 66 that prevents radiation to escaping the container 12 along the otherwise straight line of the seam between opposing halves of the outer shield 50.
• the stopper 58 is arranged at an angle that is offset from the vial 56. Offset in this context means that a line passing down through the central bore or channel of the stopper 58 would not pass through any part of the vial 56. In this way radiation cannot propagate in a straight line from the vial 56 and through the central bore of the stopper 58 to irradiate a person handling the container 12.
• the first tube 62 is also curved as it extends from the vial 56 to the stopper 58. In this way radiation cannot propagate in a straight line from the vial 56 up the first tube 62 and through the stopper 58.
• the curve in the first tube 62 further operates to reduce radiation leakage.
• FIG. 7 is an enlarged cut-away view of the container 12. As shown in FIG. 7, a vent passageway 66 extends diagonally and downwards to the left from the stopper 58. A sterile filter 68 is disposed in the stopper 58 and connects between the vent passageway 66 and the exterior of the container 12. A plug 70 is inserted into the central opening of the stopper 58 to prevent contaminants from entering the container 12 during shipping.
• FIG. 8 depicts another embodiment of the storage container 12.
• FIG. 9 is a cutaway side view of the container of FIG. 8.
• the storage container may include an outer shielding layer 102 of a metallic substance (e.g., tungsten) and an inner shielding layer 104 of a lighter material (e.g., plastic).
• a metallic substance e.g., tungsten
• an inner shielding layer 104 of a lighter material e.g., plastic
• the container of FIG. 9 may include a curved passageway 110 that connects the vial inside the container with an aperture extending through the outer wall of the container.
• a tube 112 that is slightly smaller (e.g., 1/16") extends from the aperture to the top of the vial. The tube allows the vial to be filled while the slightly larger passageway allows air to escape from the vial as it is filled.
• a plug 108 is inserted into the aperture.
• a removable cap 106 prevents accidental removal of the plug.
• the removable cap may have an aperture covered by a filter that allows the pressure inside the vial to equalize with atmospheric pressure
• the first tube 112 allows a second, slightly smaller tube to be inserted through the first tube and into the vial.
• the second, slightly smaller may be connected with the tube 60 of FIG. 1 for removal of the parent material from the container 12 for preparation of the daughter radionuclide.
• providing the container includes providing a radiation impervious case, disposing a vial that holds a parent radionuclide within the case, venting the vial along a curved path between the vial and a stopper that is external to the case and connecting a fill tube between the vial and external stopper, said fill tube at least partially following the curved path of the vent.
• the system includes a container suited for a parent radionuclide, the container further includes a radiation impervious case, a vial disposed within the radiation impervious case that holds the parent radionuclide within the case, a passageway extending along a curved path between the vial and a stopper that is external to the case and a fill tube that extends along the passageway between the vial and external stopper, said fill tube at least partially following the curved path of the vent.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Pharmacology & Pharmacy (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Medical Preparation Storing Or Oral Administration Devices (AREA)
• Medicines Containing Antibodies Or Antigens For Use As Internal Diagnostic Agents (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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Citations (6)

Family Cites Families (14)

• 2014
  • 2014-10-30 AU AU2014342210A patent/AU2014342210B2/en active Active
  • 2014-10-30 CA CA2927365A patent/CA2927365C/en active Active
  • 2014-10-30 US US14/528,670 patent/US9281089B2/en active Active
  • 2014-10-30 WO PCT/US2014/063167 patent/WO2015066335A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2014-10-30 JP JP2016552238A patent/JP6549138B2/ja active Active
  • 2014-10-30 CN CN201480059511.9A patent/CN105684092B/zh active Active
  • 2014-10-30 EP EP14857501.2A patent/EP3063770B1/en active Active
  • 2014-10-30 KR KR1020167012470A patent/KR102325245B1/ko active Active
• 2016
  • 2016-04-19 ZA ZA2016/02676A patent/ZA201602676B/en unknown

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