This application requests funds to purchase a new J.L. Shepherd Mark I, Model 30, 137Cs-irradiator for Georgetown University Medical Center. The Medical Center already has a 137Cs-irradiator that is heavily used. Many faculty members have NIH funded research that is dependent upon this irradiator, and it is the only radiation source available for experimental irradiations. The irradiator, however, was custom made for a single user by Best Industries over 15 years ago, and was never designed to withstand the constant use that it now sees. As a result, the instrument breaks down frequently and repair costs have reached >$10,000 per year. The manufacturer cannot guarantee its safety, and they recommend that it be replaced with a new instrument as soon as possible. We would like to replace the instrument with a J.L. Shepherd Mark I, Model 30, 137Cs-irradiator, which has equivalent functional capabilities to the irradiator we have now. J.L. Shepherd provided us with a price quote of $141,166. This price includes all cost associated with replacement of the current instrument, including shipping, installation, and removal of the old irradiation source. The requested instrument will be utilized in 17 funded grant projects. The Principal Investigators of those grants constitute the Major User Group of this proposal.
