A leader in the global healthcare market asked Matrix to help them resolve a shielding issue for their nuclear pharmacy division. This issue entailed the safe transport, delivery and subsequent disposal of radioactive medicines in a time-sensitive environment. The carriers used for this purpose, called "pigs," were lead-lined plastic vials designed to shield those handling the medications from exposure. This turned out to be problematic as the product contained exposed lead and allowed the possibility of contaminating doses when misdrawn.

  Matrix was asked to step into a product development role and come up with a similar, safer alternative to the exposed lead shielding. After doing some initial testing with the product, project leader, Tom Ziegenhorn, came up with a few simple and effective design changes to eliminate the flaws. The results produced a new pig whose shielding was completely encapsulated in molded plastic. Harmful leakages were avoided with the addition of an experimental tungsten-filled nylon material which was used to seal the gaps created by the plastic enclosure. This dense plastic blend was sonically-welded to the pig containers and then tested extensively for durability.

  The redesigned pigs were immediately put into circulation after passing all qualifications. This customer has since awarded Matrix with multiple programs and we are proudly in the process of designing a proprietary product that will add yet another layer of safety for their nuclear pharmacists. Example:

"Listening carefully to our customers to gain a complete understanding of their goals - and keeping those goals in sight at all times - is really the key to successful R&D. Applying our technical experience to make those goals a reality is very rewarding."

- Tom Ziegenhorn, Designer