Compact, Electronic Blood Irradiator

Blood irradiators are commonly used around the world to treat blood to prevent transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease, a possible side effect to transfusions. Most blood irradiators currently use Cs-137, which is a highly dangerous radioactive substance. The National Research Council has recommended the replacement of such high-activity sources with alternative technologies, in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorists for use in a Radiological Dispersal Device (¿dirty bomb¿). This project will develop a novel, compact, low-cost accelerator ¿ the MicroLinac ¿ for use in blood irradiators in order to effectively replace Cs-137 in such devices. In Phase I, the accelerator will be designed to match the dose rate and uniformity of a typical Cs-137 irradiator. In Phase II, a prototype device will be built and tested. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee Approximately 5,000 devices containing 55,000 high-activity radionuclide sources are in use in the United States today in applications such as blood irradiation, medical research, industrial radiography, and oil well logging. The MicroLinac would be a feasible replacement for many of these sources, reducing the use of radioisotopes and increasing our nation¿s nuclear security