VPT Rad adds Model 812 to accelerate radiation testing and gamma sterilization
CHELMSFORD, Mass. - VPT Rad in Chelmsford, Mass., a sister company of VPT Inc., has brought the Foss Therapy Model 812 online, expanding its high-dose-rate (HDR) radiation testing and gamma sterilization capabilities for aerospace, defense, commercial, and healthcare applications.
The Foss Therapy Model 812 irradiator uses three Cobalt-60 source tubes with up to 7,500 curies per tube, for a total activity of 22,500 curies. The system delivers a maximum dose rate of 2.4 megarad per hour (23,500 gray per hour), more than triple the dose rate of the company’s GC220 irradiator. The system also increases the available sample volume, with an 8-inch-by-12-inch chamber designed to accommodate larger test articles.
The irradiator enables tunable dose rates by varying the number of active Cobalt-60 sources, allowing engineers to match radiation profiles to mission-specific requirements, including qualification testing to standards such as MIL-STD-883. The system supports attenuation to 300 rad/s (Si) for high-dose-rate testing.
For gamma sterilization applications, the higher dose rate enables faster turnaround, with sterilization doses achievable in less than two hours, according to the company. The system incorporates a rotating turntable operating at 12 revolutions per minute to improve dose uniformity across samples. Combined with the use of National Institute of Standards and Technology-traceable alanine dosimetry, the setup provides uniform dose distribution with low uncertainty.
In parallel, VPT Rad is upgrading its JLS 81-22 room irradiator to increase dose rates in its enhanced low-dose-rate sensitivity (ELDRS) chamber to nearly 10 millirad per second, up from about 7 millirad per second. The increase reduces long-duration exposure times by roughly 30 percent, cutting a 100-kilorad ELDRS test from about 164 days to approximately 114 days and enabling shorter lead times for radiation effects testing.
The Model 812 addition expands VPT Rad’s capacity to support radiation effects testing, component qualification, and sterilization workflows that require precise dose control, higher throughput, and larger sample handling.
For more information, please visit https://www.vptrad.com/.
