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Doctor Invents 'Zero Gravity' Radiation Suit
DrFrasierCrane writes "You think you feel weighed down when your dentist lays that lead apron on you to take X-rays: how about the doctors who deal with radiation treatments and have to wear those aprons all day long? A Dallas, Texas, doctor has created a 'zero gravity' radiation suit for just that problem. From the article: 'Physicians are supposed to wear a lead apron during those procedures. It is back-breakingly heavy and doesn't cover the body completely. The zero gravity suit eliminates the weight and the exposed openings.'"
RTFA. Nothing so high-tech. The suit is just suspended from the ceiling so that the wearer is not burdened by all the extra weight. It's effective weight is zero, although its mass (obviously) is not, just like in zero G.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
This will be good for doing angios, etc, where they just stand around and watch - which is good, 'cause they just hit the fluoro pedal, and the radiation stream is constant. For stuff like orthopaedics (my specialty), we usually just use spot images, and have to move around a lot, twist the patients legs, reduce fractures, etc, This suit is way too bulky, and wont be useful
Not a bad idea - I can see it getting used.
"zero G" - now that just makes me laugh
..........FULL STOP.
You should have RTFA. This guy invented "hang it on a hook". No, really - that's the trick. You build a nice, heavy lead shield curtain and then you hang it from the ceiling to hold the weight. I guess if you don't have a handy ceiling mount (maybe you need a portable X-ray?) you could invent a wheeled gantry to carry it around with you. Anti-gravity would come under the category of "marketing hyperbole".
"Back-breakingly heavy"? Admittedly, I've never worn the aprons for more than the few minutes that an X-Ray takes, but they're not that heavy. Heck, it could even have some core-strengthening benefits. What about Law Enforcement or Military Personnel who have to wear bullet-proof vests all day long?
The video won't load for me right now, but the thing looks pretty cumbersome to have on you all day long and I'd be interested to see how it is attached (or suspended?) and "follows" you as you move around a room. The increased coverage that it provides definitely seems like a good thing, but there appear to be some major trade-offs.
Canceling out gravity doesn't require inertial dampening. The latter would only be used if the suit was rapidly accelerated, which I would guess to be unlikely in an indoor medical setting.