SBIR-STTR Award

The US Army DEPMEDS has a need to develop lightweight and durable panels with integrated radiation shielding for CT Scanner Shelters. This will allow the shelter to be located in the main body of the CSH, resulting in improved care fo needs to shield the shelter without exceeding the overall shelter weight limit of 15,000 lb and at less than 10% cost increase of the shelter system. To accomplish this, new lightweight shelter walls must be developed with integral radiation shielding. Lightweight composite panels can offer a viable solution to this problem. NexGen Composites, in collaboration with The University of Dayton Research Institute proposes to develop novel composite materials and processes using nanoparticle based fillers of heavy elements in a low-cost polymer resin matrix as well as growing multi-walled carbon nanotubes in glass or carbon fiber. Prototype test panels will be fabricated using this new class of materials and their x-ray radiation shielding and physical characteristics will be evaluated. The materials and processes that show the most promise in Phase I will be scaled up in Phase II for fabrication of full-scale panels which will be integrated in a 20 one-side expandable ISO shelter for testing.

The US Army Deployable Medical System (DEPMEDS) facility is a part of the US Army Combat Support Hospital (CSH), which consists of various shelters providing critical surgical and intensive care services to the injured soldiers in the cor soldiers. The Armymbat field. The DEPMEDS employs Army Standard Family (ASF) Expandable ISO Shelters to house their CT scanner equipment. The walls of these shelters do not provide any radiation shielding capability. The unshielded, scattered radiation from the CT scanners pose safety hazard to the people that may be present in the vicinity outside the shelter. The lack of radiation shielding requires the CT scanner shelter to be located some distance away from the main CSH shelters. Consequently, the patient has to be transported back and forth between the CSH and the CT scanner shelter. This is undesirable for the patient care of the soldiers. NexGen Composites has developed lightweight composite radiation shielding panels which can provide effective shielding against the secondary X-ray radiation that are generated during the operation of the CT scanners. In Phase I, NexGen demonstrated the technical feasibility of using the composite panels to provide the required level of radiation shielding while meeting other design parameters including thickness, weight and cost. In Phase II, NexGen optimized the materials formulation and scaled up the panel manufacturing and quality control processes. In Phase II sequential, NexGen will modify an Army Standard Family Expandable 20 ft. ISO shelter with composite shielding panels, install a portable CT scanner and conduct testing to qualify and demonstrate the required level of radiation shielding while maintaining full functionality of the ISO CT scanner shelter.