StemRad

Last updated
StemRad Ltd. / StemRad Inc.
Industry Personal protective equipment
Founded2011
FoundersOren Milstein and Daniel Levitt
Headquarters
Tampa, Florida, United States
Tel Aviv, Israel
Website www.stemrad.com

StemRad is an Israeli-American start-up company that develops and manufactures personal protective equipment (PPE) against ionizing radiation. Its first product was the 360 Gamma, a device that protects the user's pelvic bone marrow from gamma radiation. [1] StemRad has also developed the StemRad MD, a protective suit designed to provide whole-body radiation protection to physicians, and the AstroRad vest for radiation protection in space, which is currently being tested on the International Space Station and is one of the primary payloads onboard NASA's Artemis 1 lunar mission. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

History

StemRad was founded in December 2011 by Oren Milstein and Daniel Levitt. They were inspired to create the company by the Chernobyl disaster where many of the firemen and engineers, who were first on the scene, died from high doses of gamma radiation in an illness known as Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation sickness. This idea was fueled by a sense of urgency due to the growing nuclear threat on the state of Israel. Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011, the two partnered with Roger Kornberg, Aaron Ciechanover and Michael Levitt. [5]

Products

360 Gamma

The 360 Gamma is a 14 kg (31 lb) belt designed to protect the pelvic area against gamma radiation. It is meant to be worn by first responders (fire fighters, paramedics, police and the military), that would be exposed to radiation in the event of a nuclear emergency. [6] [7] [8] It does not attempt to protect the whole body of the wearer, but, rather, selectively protects the bone marrow-rich pelvic region. [8] It is offered as a solution for acute radiation syndrome (ARS), [9] a major component of which is bone marrow failure. [10]

Former NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly (a member of StemRad's advisory board) presents a 360 Gamma belt to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of StemRad's donation to Ukrainian first responders during the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. ZelenskyyKelly360Gamma.png
Former NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly (a member of StemRad's advisory board) presents a 360 Gamma belt to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of StemRad's donation to Ukrainian first responders during the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

In November 2022, as a precaution to the risk of a nuclear emergency during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine brought about by Russian threats to use nuclear weapons and the continued shelling of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, StemRad began donating 360 Gamma devices to Ukrainian first responders. [11] [12] [13]

AstroRad

AstroRad vest on ISS AstroRad NASA.jpg
AstroRad vest on ISS

AstroRad is personal protective equipment for astronauts to be worn beyond low Earth orbit which was co-developed by StemRad and Lockheed Martin. [14] AstroRad protects bone marrow to prevent acute radiation sickness but is further expanded to also protect the lungs, stomach, colon, breast and ovaries – organs that are particularly sensitive to the development of cancer due to chronic exposure to radiation. [15] The AstroRad vest is strongly effective in shielding astronauts from the solar energetic particles (SEP) released during solar storms. The functional shielding material is made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which is a hydrogenous compound (with a high ratio of electrons to neutrons) optimized for shielding against charged particle radiation like SEP, according to the Bethe-Bloch formula. [16] [17]

NASA Astronaut Jessica Watkins evaluates the AstroRad vest on the ISS for the Comfort and Human Factors AstroRad Radiation Garment Evaluation (CHARGE) study. Watkins AstroRad ISS.png
NASA Astronaut Jessica Watkins evaluates the AstroRad vest on the ISS for the Comfort and Human Factors AstroRad Radiation Garment Evaluation (CHARGE) study.

As a test before its planned use in deep space, an AstroRad vest launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth orbit on November 2, 2019 aboard Cygnus NG-12 as part of the Comfort and Human Factors AstroRad Radiation Garment Evaluation (CHARGE) study. Four female astronauts wore the AstroRad vest in microgravity for variable durations during routine activities, providing feedback on ergonomics, range of motion, comfort and general user experience. [18] In addition, entrepreneur and former Israeli Air Force pilot Eytan Stibbe wore the AstroRad vest during Axiom Mission 1, a privately funded and operated crewed mission to the ISS, in April 2022. [19] [20]

Radiation dosimetry phantoms Helga and Zohar, with Zohar wearing an AstroRad radiation protection vest, inside the Orion spacecraft prior to the launch of Artemis 1. HelgaZohar Orion MARE.jpg
Radiation dosimetry phantoms Helga and Zohar, with Zohar wearing an AstroRad radiation protection vest, inside the Orion spacecraft prior to the launch of Artemis 1.

The AstroRad vest was also one of the primary payloads onboard NASA's Artemis 1 mission, which launched an uncrewed Orion spacecraft in a Moon-orbiting trajectory on November 16, 2022, as part of the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE), an international collaboration between the Israeli Space Agency, the German Aerospace Center, NASA, and Lockheed Martin. [21] [22] [23] Onboard the crew module were two female radiation dosimetry phantom torsos named Helga and Zohar, which measured radiation exposure throughout the body during the mission via both passive and active dosimeters distributed at sensitive and high stem cell-concentration tissues. [24] By comparing the dosimetry data from Helga and Zohar, the effectiveness of the AstoRad vest in shielding astronauts from radiation in deep space will be experimentally quantified.

StemRad MD

The StemRad MD is a protective system designed for interventional radiologists and other physicians who perform medical imaging using ionizing radiation, most notably fluoroscopy. [25] This technology was designed to increase whole-body protection, particularly to the head, while providing physicians relatively free-range motion capabilities while operating. For ergonomic relief, the StemRad MD system uses a proprietary exoskeleton system. [25]

The protective ensemble consists of four main parts: a protective apron, a protective visor, a thyroid collar, and an exoskeletal system. The protective apron is of bismuth-antimony bilayer composition and offers 0.5mm lead-equivalent protection with a small overlap area of 1mm in the front. [25] [26] The visor is made up of a transparent lead-acrylic material. It is positioned at an angle so that it blocks most of the radiation coming from underneath and allows the physician to wear unshielded prescription glasses while performing procedures. [25] The thyroid collar is integrated into the protective apron component and is flush with the bottom side of the protective visor. [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Shuttle program</span> 1972–2011 United States human spaceflight program

The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official name, Space Transportation System (STS), was taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear fallout</span> Residual radioactive material following a nuclear blast

Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes. The amount and spread of fallout is a product of the size of the weapon and the altitude at which it is detonated. Fallout may get entrained with the products of a pyrocumulus cloud and fall as black rain. This radioactive dust, usually consisting of fission products mixed with bystanding atoms that are neutron-activated by exposure, is a form of radioactive contamination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acute radiation syndrome</span> Health problems caused by exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation

Acute radiation syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation sickness or radiation poisoning, is a collection of health effects that are caused by being exposed to high amounts of ionizing radiation in a short period of time. Symptoms can start within an hour of exposure, and can last for several months. Early symptoms are usually nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. In the following hours or weeks, initial symptoms may appear to improve, before the development of additional symptoms, after which either recovery or death follow.

Radiation protection, also known as radiological protection, is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The protection of people from harmful effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the means for achieving this". Exposure can be from a source of radiation external to the human body or due to internal irradiation caused by the ingestion of radioactive contamination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Space Agency</span> Government space agency of Israel

The Israel Space Agency is a governmental body, a part of Israel's Ministry of Science and Technology, that coordinates all Israeli space research programs with scientific and commercial goals.

Astronautical hygiene evaluates, and mitigates, hazards and health risks to those working in low-gravity environments. The discipline of astronautical hygiene includes such topics as the use and maintenance of life support systems, the risks of the extravehicular activity, the risks of exposure to chemicals or radiation, the characterization of hazards, human factor issues, and the development of risk management strategies. Astronautical hygiene works side by side with space medicine to ensure that astronauts are healthy and safe when working in space.

Health threats from cosmic rays are the dangers posed by cosmic rays to astronauts on interplanetary missions or any missions that venture through the Van-Allen Belts or outside the Earth's magnetosphere. They are one of the greatest barriers standing in the way of plans for interplanetary travel by crewed spacecraft, but space radiation health risks also occur for missions in low Earth orbit such as the International Space Station (ISS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA</span> American space and aeronautics agency

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. Established in 1958, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. NASA has since led most American space exploration, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. NASA currently supports the International Space Station and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the crewed lunar Artemis program, the Commercial Crew spacecraft, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orion (spacecraft)</span> American–European spacecraft class for the Artemis program

Orion is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed Martin and the European Service Module (ESM) manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. Capable of supporting a crew of four beyond low Earth orbit, Orion can last up to 21 days undocked and up to six months docked. It is equipped with solar panels, an automated docking system, and glass cockpit interfaces modeled after those used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. A single AJ10 engine provides the spacecraft's primary propulsion, while eight R-4D-11 engines, and six pods of custom reaction control system engines developed by Airbus, provide the spacecraft's secondary propulsion. Orion is intended to launch atop a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with a tower launch escape system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of ionizing radiation in spaceflight</span> Cancer causing exposure to ionizing radiation in spaceflight

Astronauts are exposed to approximately 50-2,000 millisieverts (mSv) while on six-month-duration missions to the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon and beyond. The risk of cancer caused by ionizing radiation is well documented at radiation doses beginning at 100mSv and above.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis 1</span> 2022 uncrewed Moon-orbiting NASA mission

Artemis 1, officially Artemis I and formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis 1 marked the agency's return to lunar exploration after the conclusion of the Apollo program five decades earlier. It was the first integrated flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and its main objective was to test the Orion spacecraft, especially its heat shield, in preparation for subsequent Artemis missions. These missions seek to reestablish a human presence on the Moon and demonstrate technologies and business approaches needed for future scientific studies, including exploration of Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Service Module</span> Primary power and propulsion component of the Orion spacecraft

The European Service Module (ESM) is the service module component of the Orion spacecraft, serving as its primary power and propulsion component until it is discarded at the end of each mission. In January 2013, NASA announced that the European Space Agency (ESA) will contribute the service module for Artemis 1, based on the ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). It was delivered by Airbus Defence and Space in Bremen, in northern Germany to NASA at the end of 2018. After approval of the first module, the ESA will provide the ESMs from Artemis 2 to Artemis 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis 3</span> Third orbital flight of the Artemis program

Artemis 3 is planned as the first crewed Moon landing mission of the Artemis program and the first crewed flight of the Starship HLS lander. Artemis 3 is planned to be the second crewed Artemis mission and the first American crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in December 1972. As of December 2023, the mission is currently scheduled for December 2025.

<i>ArgoMoon</i> Nanosatellite

ArgoMoon is a CubeSat that was launched into a heliocentric orbit on Artemis 1, the maiden flight of the Space Launch System, on 16 November 2022 at 06:47:44 UTC. The objective of the ArgoMoon spacecraft is to take detailed images of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage following Orion separation, an operation that will demonstrate the ability of a cubesat to conduct precise proximity maneuvers in deep space. ASI has not confirmed nor denied whether this took place, but several images of the Earth and the Moon were taken.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus NG-12</span> 2019 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

NG-12, previously known as OA-12, was the thirteenth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its twelfth Commercial Resupply Services flight to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA. The mission launched on 2 November 2019 at 13:59:47 UTC). This was the first launch of Cygnus under the Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis 4</span> Fourth orbital flight of the Artemis program

Artemis 4 is the fourth planned mission of NASA's Artemis program. The mission will launch four astronauts on a Space Launch System rocket and an Orion to the Lunar Gateway and the second lunar landing of the Artemis program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis 5</span> Fifth orbital flight of the Artemis program

Artemis 5 is the fifth planned mission of NASA's Artemis program and the first crewed flight of the Blue Moon lander. The mission will launch four astronauts on a Space Launch System rocket and an Orion to the Lunar Gateway and will be the third lunar landing of the Artemis program. In addition, Artemis V will also deliver two new elements to the Gateway Space Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eytan Stibbe</span> Israeli fighter pilot, businessman and space tourist

Eytan Meir Stibbe is an Israeli former fighter pilot, businessman and commercial astronaut.

References

  1. ↑ "The Belt That Protects Against Gamma Radiation". www.popularmechanics.com. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  2. ↑ "New radiation vest technology protects astronauts, doctors". UPI. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  3. ↑ "Israeli radiation protection vest blasts off to Int'l Space Station". The Jerusalem Post. November 3, 2019.
  4. ↑ Crane, Aimee (2020-02-13). "Orion "Passengers" on Artemis I to Test Radiation Vest for Deep Space". NASA. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  5. ↑ "Dismantling the Bomb: meet the scientists that will cause humanity to stop worrying about nuclear threats". The Marker.
  6. ↑ "Stemrad Makes Belt to Protect Users From Radiation Exposure". Jewish Business News.
  7. ↑ "Israeli Company Invents Nuclear Proof Vest That Protects Against Toxic Radiation". The Algemeiner.
  8. 1 2 Radiation belt a new line of defence in nuclear emergency. Reuters
  9. ↑ "StemRad: Innovation in Radiation Protection". Israel Innovation Authority. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  10. ↑ "Acute Radiation Syndrome: A Fact Sheet for Clinicians". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  11. ↑ Stebbins, Ashley Capoot, Jack. "Zelenskyy on Putin's threat of nuclear weapons: 'I don't think he's bluffing'". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-12-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ "Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant lost off-site power again, diesel generators providing back-up electricity". www.iaea.org. 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  13. ↑ "A meeting with representatives of the StemRad company and American astronaut Scott Kelly was held at the State Emergency Service". 2022-11-29.
  14. ↑ "Space Florida, Israel Innovation Authority Announce Sixth Round Winners of Innovation Partner Funding". Space Florida. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  15. ↑ "Tissue weighting factors according to ICRP 103 (ICRP 2007)". European Commission. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  16. ↑ AstroRad. European Space Agency . 25 January 2019.
  17. ↑ Gaza, Razvan. "International Science Aboard Orion EM-1: The Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE) Payload" (PDF). nasa.gov. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  18. ↑ "AstroRad on the ISS". The Embassy of Israel to the United States. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  19. ↑ "Ax-1 Mission". CNBC .
  20. ↑ "AstroRad_Axiom1".
  21. ↑ "NASA Acting Administrator and Israel Space Agency Director General Sign Agreement". nasa.gov. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  22. ↑ "Tracking cosmic radiation – To the Moon and back with ISA and NASA". dlr.de. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  23. ↑ "DLR - Institute of Aerospace Medicine - MARE". www.dlr.de. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  24. ↑ Gaza, R (2019). "Orion EM-1 Internal Environment Characterization: The Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment" (PDF).
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 "StemRad MD".
  26. ↑ Büermann, L. (2016-09-06). "Determination of lead equivalent values according to IEC 61331-1:2014—Report and short guidelines for testing laboratories". Journal of Instrumentation. 11 (9): T09002. doi: 10.1088/1748-0221/11/09/T09002 . ISSN   1748-0221.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.