Dosimetry of the portable blood irradiator

A portable blood irradiator was developed at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory to evaluate the effects of chronic irradiation of the blood in suppressing graft rejection. The irradiator, designed to be worn on the arm or leg and be surgically connected in an arterio-venous shunt, uses beta radiation from activated thulium imbedded in a vitreous carbon matrix to reduce the number of lymphocytes circulating in the blood. The dose and energy spectra relative to the distance from and position around a prototype irradiator were measured by thermoluminescent dosimeters, ion chambers and photon spectroscopy. With computer simulations using those measurements, the shielding was redesigned to minimize the radiation dose to the patient and to the attending personnel and to minimize the weight of the irradiator. The new shielding design was incorporated into a new prototype, and the dose and spectral measurements were repeated, which confirmed the design improvements. 10 refs., 11 figs