SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING AND TRACKING RADIONUCLIDES

• US 20150162106A1
• Filed: 10/30/2014
• Published: 06/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes LLC
• Original Assignee: NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes LLC
• Inventors: Isensee, Glenn H., Johnson, Lionel
• Granted Patent: US 9,299,466 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G21F 5/015 for storing radioactive sources, e.g. source carriers for irradiation units; Radioisotope containers
• CPC Class Codes: G21F 5/06 Details of, or accessories to, the containers
• CPC Class Codes: G21G 1/0005 Isotope delivery systems use of radioisotopes as tracers G21H5/02
• CPC Class Codes: G21H 5/02 as tracers

Abstract

An apparatus for processing a radionuclide including a parent radionuclide that decays over time into a daughter radionuclide, a separation column that separates the daughter radionuclide from the parent radionuclide, a plurality of valves and at least one pump that operate to separate the daughter radionuclide from the parent radionuclide and deliver the daughter radionuclide into the daughter radionuclide container by alternately connecting at least two of the parent radionuclide container, the daughter radionuclide container, the separation column container and the plurality of processing containers, a plurality of RFID tags including an RFID tag of the plurality of RFID tags affixed to each of the daughter radionuclide container and the separation column and a programmed processor that reads an identifier of each of the plurality of RFID tags, an identifier and position of each of the plurality of valves and pump and saves the identifiers, positions and operations into a tracking file.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a container that contains a parent radionuclide that decays over time into a daughter radionuclide;

a container that contains a separation column that separates the daughter radionuclide from the parent radionuclide;

a container that contains the separated daughter radionuclide;

a plurality of containers for processing fluids;

a plurality of valves and at least one pump that operate to separate the daughter radionuclide from the parent radionuclide and deliver the daughter radionuclide into the daughter radionuclide container by alternately connecting at least two of the parent radionuclide container, the daughter radionuclide container, the separation column container and the plurality of processing containers;

a plurality of RFID tags including an RFID tag of the plurality of RFID tags affixed to each of the daughter radionuclide container and the separation column;

a host computer; and

a programmed processor that reads an identifier of each of the plurality of RFID tags, an identifier, positions of each of the plurality of valves and reads a position of each of the plurality of valves and saves the identifiers and positions into a tracking file.

2. The apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a product processor that activates the plurality of valves in sequence.

3. The apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising an RFID reader disposed in a receptacle of the separation column container that reads the identifier of the RFID of the separation column container.

4. The apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising an RFID reader disposed in a receptacle of the daughter radionuclide container that reads the identifier of the RFID of the daughter radionuclide container.

5. The apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of processing programs where at least one of the plurality of processing programs defines a set of steps for separating the daughter radionuclide from the parent nuclide.

6. The apparatus as in claim 5 further comprising a display that depicts each of the plurality of processing programs for selection by a user.

7. The apparatus as in claim 6 further comprising a flow diagram depicted on the display showing an instantaneous flow of radionuclides through the system.

8. The apparatus as in claim 7 wherein the flow diagram is a static display and where only paths of a desired flow are highlighted.

9. The apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a processor that saves a record of each instrument event into the tracking file.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a parent radionuclide that decays over time into a daughter radionuclide;

a separation column that separates the daughter radionuclide from the parent radionuclide;

a plurality of valves and a pump that operate to separate the daughter radionuclide from the parent radionuclide and deliver the daughter radionuclide into a daughter radionuclide container;

a plurality of RFID tags including an RFID tag of the plurality of RFID tags affixed to each of parent radionuclide container and the separation column; and

a programmed processor that reads an identifier of each of the plurality of RFID tags and positions each of the plurality of valves and saves the identifiers and positions into a tracking file.