Compact Electron and X-ray Irradiation System to Enable Insect Sterilization

A low cost compact, man-portable, x-ray irradiation system for application of the sterile insect technique will be developed. A scalable cathode will provide large area electron sources which will enable production of compact x-rays sources. A system which employs four such panels surrounding the irradiation chamber provides a uniform flux through which containers can move on a conveyor system. The high power density cathodes used to produce x-rays will provide a high flux rate at modest temperature. The compact x-ray panels reduce the overall volume reducing the shielding required for safe operation this reducing the weight of the system. During Phase I of production of a large area x-ray panel will be demonstrated. The production of x-rays using a large area cathode which operates at modest temperature will be investigated. In addition, the uniformity of x-ray production resulting from the use of the large area cathodes will be determined as well as intensity. The temperature of the cathode and x-ray panels will be measured. Once available the technology has a wide range of applications as a replacement for gamma ray irradiators such as for the sterile insect technique, treatment of blood products, sterilization of food and food packaging materials to name a few. With adaptations the systems can be used in x-rays systems used for medical diagnostics.