Our current cesium source irradiator is nearing its' usuable life span, where the time to irradiate will be getting too long.  We are exploring our options to replace with either another cesium source or an x-ray irradiator in the next 5-8 yrs.

 

Does anyone have experience with an x-ray irradiator that you'd be willing to share?  What are the downsides, if any?  What calibration/QC is necessary?  Any additional regulatory burden? Training issues? 

 

thank you for your help!

We just had our X-Ray Irradiator (Raycell) set-up day before yesterday....and I was trained to use it yesterday (so I will train my staff).  But myself and my Leads had also gone to another Hospital that uses it, about a year ago.  Here are the pros and cons (with my limited knowledge):

 

X-Ray Pro:

1.  Don't have all of that extra regulation of using cesium (and that is a big deal); lots involved as you know

 

X-Ray Con:

1.  I am told (inclduing by the Vendor installing our Irradiator) that there is much more maintenance (i.e. more downtime) with the X-Ray Irradiator.  Also told that by the Hospital that we went to last year; as well as another local Hospital that uses the cesium Irradiator (which is almost never down).

 

Not sure about other Pros and Cons....those seem to be the 2 biggest differences by my understanding.

 

Brenda Hutson, CLS(ASCP)SBB

We switched from a cesium to an x-ray irradiator in 2009 and we have had 2 downtimes since installation. We irradiate approximately 4500 - 5000 irradiation cycles per year and we still have the original x-ray tubes. One power supply had to be replaced. The recommended maintenance is easy: time check, door and canister interlock check, etc. and  two dosimetries per year. Our vendor supplies one PM per year (this is based on usage; if heavier use - 2 PMS recommended)

 

Pros: Up to three units can be irradiated at the same time.

         No regulations

         Very easy to use

 

Cons: Requires water supply at proper flow rate, temperature and pressure

          Replacement x-ray tubes and power supplies costly

          Must wait for parts to be delivered (One of our downtimes was 5 days)

 

I have been pleased with my x-ray irradiator and so very happy to be rid of the regulations associated with our cesium irradiator (which I imagine will only get worse). Our processes for irradiation are pretty strict and are designed to help protect the x-ray tubes (we perform a warm up cycle if the the irradiator has not been used in the past 30 minutes). Probably a little overkill but we have never had to replace a tube. We are also in a very warm climate and we do not use a chiller for our water.

         

Thank you so much!  is there any calibration that you need to perform?  Does using a Rad-Sure or something comparable per-batch show the proper dosage?

 

There is a model out  that has a self-contained water source. Anyone have any experience with that?

We've been using the Raycell irradiator since 2002.  The installation isn't much of a problem.  You do need a water line, a drain, and a 220 electrical line.  The vendor provides a water pressure guage and booster to make sure the water pressure stays in the required range.  Calibration is performed by the vendor during installation.  We perform dosimetry every quarter.  Two dosimetry kits are provided by the vendor, and we purchase the other two from MD Anderson.  Very little is required by way of maintenance.  We follow the manufacturer's instructions and run a warm up cycle if the irradiator has been idle for 4 hours or more.  We attach an irradiation indicator to every product.  We haven't lost an xray tube, but have blown a power supply a couple of times.  The power supply does seem to be their weak point.  Now that the manufacturer, who is in Canada, is keeping a supply of parts in the USA, repairs don't take as long as they used to.  It's nice not having to deal with all the issues surrounding use of isotope these days.  In our state, the irradiator is licensed by the state as a freestanding industrial xray devise.  We irradiate about 10,000 products a year.

Does anyone have a 'rule of thumb' recommendation for when it is justified to buy your own irradiator?  We are using more irradiated units than before so are wondering when it can be justified to get our own irradiator.  What do they cost these days and what are the costs of installation, operation and maintenance?

^{We recently looked at x-ray irradiators, they seem to run about $250,000-$275,000 with service agreements that cost an additional $1,500-$2,000 per month. Financing is possible putting the cost around $7,000 per month with service agreements for the first 5 years and then just the service agreement after that. We're currently paying about $9,000 a month for irradiation service from our supplier, but irradiating would mean we would need licensure as a manufacturer, which we do not currently have. So, for the moment we decided to sit pat and see how our irradiation needs change over time before making a decision. One irradiator we looked at was very self contained, the other required a water input of very precise specification as a cooling element.}