Project To Replace A Cesium-based Blood Irradiator With X-ray Technology At Makassed General Hospital In Beirut, Lebanon

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:107%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} In its efforts to reduce the risk of civilian-use, high-activity radiological materials, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Office of Radiological Security (ORS) helps reduce the global reliance on high-activity radioactive sources by leading efforts to support the development and adoption of non-radioisotopic alternative technologies. Under the auspices of its “Reduce” program, ORS funded replacement of three Cesium-137 blood irradiators for four x-ray irradiators in Beirut, Lebanon; at the Lebanese Red Cross, the Hotel-Dieu de France, Makassed General Hospital, and the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUB). The ongoing economic and political challenges in Lebanon, the emerging COVID pandemic, and August 2020 explosion at the Port of Beirut presented significant potential obstacles to successful delivery, installation, and commissioning of those replacement irradiators. The project’s success was dependent on a number of factors, including the participation and agreement of the relevant in-country regulatory agencies and the need to satisfy regulatory requirements for licensing and operation of the medical device, establishment of procurement contracting requirements and expectations for reporting of technical results with the sites’ use of the x-ray technology equipment. This paper will discuss the ORS-funded international alternative technology project at Makassed Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. It will review the full process including site identification, machine selection, licensing and approvals for use of a new device, contracting, infrastructure modifications, installation, and commissioning. The paper will also highlight challenges encountered along the way and how Sandia National Laboratories worked with partners at Makassed, the medical equipment distributor, the freight forwarder, and the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission (LAEC) to resolve those issues.