Lead in radiology
At a density of 11.34 kg per cubic decimetre, no widely available material absorbs radiation so effectively at so small a thickness. That is the whole secret of lead's standing in radiology.
Why lead in particular
Radiology images the inside of the body using radiation, which means the radiation then has to be stopped - before it reaches anywhere it should not. Absorption depends above all on the density and atomic number of the material, and on that count lead beats anything else you can buy at a sensible price.
What matters in practice is that a lead shield is thin. The same protection in concrete would mean a wall tens of centimetres thick - in a treatment room, in a door or in a mobile screen there is simply no room for that.
Fixed room shielding
The most common application. Walls, floor, ceiling and doors receive a layer of lead whose thickness is calculated in the shielding design. Depending on the required equivalent, lead foil, sheet or ready-made lead-lined plasterboard is used. Viewing windows take leaded glass of a matching equivalent.
Equipment shielding
Lead is also built into the equipment itself - X-ray machines, CT scanners and radiotherapy units have shielding that directs the beam where it should go and stops scattered radiation. Lead sheets and plates are used to make it, cut and milled to the specific shape of the housing.
Personal protection
Aprons, thyroid collars, gonad shields and gloves contain a layer of lead or a material with a lead equivalent. They are worn by staff working in the radiation field, and by patients - to shield parts of the body not being examined.
Radiographic markers
Small lead markers placed in the field of examination make it possible to annotate the image: to mark a side, a scale or a specific anatomical point. They work because lead is completely opaque on the image - it reads as a sharp, unambiguous outline.
What this means for the client
When planning a room the order is always the same: first the shielding design and the Pb equivalent, then the choice of material, and finally the work itself. Given the equivalent, we select the thickness and form of the material - and if needed, cut it to size from the drawing and install it on your premises.
Need the material, or some advice?
We will match the thickness and form of the material to the Pb equivalent in your design, cut it to size and ship it across Europe. For non-standard shapes a drawing or a .dxf file is all we need.
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