Implementation of automated radiopharmaceutical dispenser with integrated radiation shielding

During the preparation of radiopharmaceutical, nuclear medicine staff receive radiation doses to hands much higher than the other parts of the body. In order to reduce radiation exposure, an automated radiopharmaceutical dispenser was designed and constructed for radiopharmaceutical preparation. The methods of this study included collecting the data, designing and construction of the device. The device comprises of; stand supporting the device, groove part of the device, body part of syringe dispenser with integrated lead for radiation shielding and remotely electrical control part. This device can be used for 3–10 mL syringes with net weigh of 8 kg. The complacency of operations of the device was evaluated and the radiation doses were measured by radiation technicians. It was found that this automated radiopharmaceutical dispenser can be used for radiopharmaceutical preparation with the technicians’s complacency at good level. The radiation dose rate measured by a survey meter at distance of 10, 30 and 50 cm from the device were 0.30-0.98, 0.02-0.39 and 0.02-0.27 mSv/day respectively, which did not exceed 2 mSv/day effective dose limit of ICRP. It can be concluded that this innovation of an automated radiopharmaceutical dispenser has been successfully constructed. Bull Chiang Mai Assoc Med Sci 2009; 42: 251-257.