A method for irradiating radioactive radiation
Patent No. 6,415,009 (granted in 2002) is titled, "Method for producing a coiled body for irradiating radioactive radiation."
What could it mean to irradiate radioactive radiation? When I came across the phrase I had to stop and think about it.
The text of the patent unfortunately didn't provide any clarification, although it did reveal that all this irradiating is being done in the context of brachytherapy (from wikipedia: "a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment").
The phrase "radioactive radiation" actually does make sense to me. Radiation is a catch-all term for the emission of any kind of electromagnetic energy. So 'radioactive radiation' would be high-energy or ionizing radiation, as opposed to, say, low-energy heat radiation.
But I'm still confused what they mean by irradiating radioactive radiation? Does it mean to make radioactive radiation even more radioactive?
Or are they misusing the word 'irradiate'? My dictionary indicates that 'irradiate' means either to be exposed to radiation or to be illuminated by radiation. The sun radiates or emits light, and the earth is irradiated by its light.
So did the patentees mean 'emitting' rather than 'irradiating'? I'm just not sure. If anyone can figure out what the phrase means, let me know.
What could it mean to irradiate radioactive radiation? When I came across the phrase I had to stop and think about it.
The text of the patent unfortunately didn't provide any clarification, although it did reveal that all this irradiating is being done in the context of brachytherapy (from wikipedia: "a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment").
The phrase "radioactive radiation" actually does make sense to me. Radiation is a catch-all term for the emission of any kind of electromagnetic energy. So 'radioactive radiation' would be high-energy or ionizing radiation, as opposed to, say, low-energy heat radiation.
But I'm still confused what they mean by irradiating radioactive radiation? Does it mean to make radioactive radiation even more radioactive?
Or are they misusing the word 'irradiate'? My dictionary indicates that 'irradiate' means either to be exposed to radiation or to be illuminated by radiation. The sun radiates or emits light, and the earth is irradiated by its light.
So did the patentees mean 'emitting' rather than 'irradiating'? I'm just not sure. If anyone can figure out what the phrase means, let me know.
Comments
My guess is a lack of colloquial English on the part of the authors. And an improperly staffed US patent office.
They appear to be Russian (to be fair their English is probably better than any other language I speak).
If you search for "irradiate radioactive radiation" you get two hits: the patent and this post. The way it’s used is nonsensical (but not gibberish).
I’m guessing they meant “supplying ionizing radiation” but it would have been clearer if they had used something like “a means of emitting localized radiation.” In the biz “Radiation“ is assumed to be ionizing radiation.
Disclaimer: I’ve been in nuclear research since the 1990’s but only dabbled (very briefly) in nuclear medicine (in a completely unrelated context).
They appear to be Russian (to be fair their English is probably better than any other language I speak).
If you search for "irradiate radioactive radiation" you get two hits: the patent and this post. The way it’s used is nonsensical (but not gibberish).
I’m guessing they meant “supplying ionizing radiation” but it would have been clearer if they had used something like “a means of emitting localized radiation.” In the biz “Radiation“ is assumed to be ionizing radiation.
Disclaimer: I’ve been in nuclear research since the 1990’s but only dabbled (very briefly) in nuclear medicine (in a completely unrelated context).
Posted by crc on 08/27/24 at 08:55 AM
In the description of the inventors, it says 2 Russians & 1 Ukrainian.
Posted by Virtual in Carnate on 08/28/24 at 07:03 AM
To the lack of colloquial English, add the desire to make the text sound more "sciencey" to impress the rubberstamping authority who will read it. Something like when Dilbert's pointy-haired boss would replace "use" with "utilize" and "do" with "implementation phase".
Posted by Yudith on 08/30/24 at 06:02 AM
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Category: Science | Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters | Patents