fig1 shows , in a highly schematic manner , a device for dispensing a radioactive liquid according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the device is designed for dispensing a radiopharmaceutical for injection to a patient . the radiopharmaceutical 1 is provided in a vial 2 . in order to protect the surroundings from radioactivity originating from the vial 2 , the vial 2 is placed inside a shield 3 . suitable vials and shields for various kinds of radiopharmaceuticals are well known in the art and are available commercially . a section 4 of tubing , comprising a needle at its end for puncturing a septum closing off vial 2 , extends from the inside of vial 2 through a first peristaltic precision pump p 1 and to a first three - way pinch valve v 1 . at its first port “ a ”, the valve v 1 is connected to the section 4 of tubing from the vial 2 ; at its second port “ b ”, it is connected to a section of tubing 7 extending from the valve v 1 to an activity metering unit 9 ( in the following shortly called a “ dose calibrator ”). the third port “ c ” is connected to a section 6 of tubing leading from a saline reservoir 5 through a second peristaltic precision pump p 2 to the valve v 1 . the valve v 1 is operable to connect port “ a ” with port “ b ” or to connect port “ c ” with port “ b ”. fig3 a and 3b illustrate , in a highly schematic manner , the mode of operation of the pinch valve v 1 as advantageously used in the present embodiment . a sliding element 31 can be moved up or down , pressing either on an upper or on a lower section of flexible tubing which is passed through the pinch valve . thereby , either port “ c ” or port “ a ” is closed off from port “ b ”, and the other port is connected to port “ b ”. the sliding element 31 may , e . g ., be operated electromechanically or pneumatically . a similar pinch valve is used as valve v 2 . such pinch valves are advantageous because no moving parts get into contact with the liquid within the tubing . thus the valve cannot get contaminated by radioactive liquid possibly present in the tubing . the pumps p 1 and p 2 are preferably peristaltic precision pumps . in a peristaltic pump , a section of flexible tubing is passed through the pump unit . fluid is forced along the tubing by waves of contraction produced mechanically on the flexible tubing . peristaltic pumps offer the advantage that the liquid is always contained in the tubing , and no moving parts get into contact with the liquid to be delivered . thus the pump itself cannot be contaminated by radioactive liquid present in the tubing . by the use of peristaltic pumps and pinch valves , the connections from the saline reservoir 5 to the metering section 7 and from the vial 2 to the metering section 7 may consist of a single piece of flexible tubing each , which can be easily replaced in regular intervals to avoid cross - contamination , without the need to replace the much more expensive pump and valve assemblies themselves . the section 7 of tubing may be called a “ fill - in section ”. this fill - in section 7 is connected to a section 8 of tubing placed inside the dose calibrator 9 , section 8 being called a “ metering section ”. the metering section 8 is relatively long , providing a volume of at least five times the volume of the fill - in section , by having a meander - like shape or preferably , a coil shape as illustrated for a metering section 8 ′ in fig2 . a coil shape is preferred in practice because it minimizes pressure losses during fluid flow . the meander - like shape has been chosen in fig1 and 3 - 7 for illustrative purposes . the tubing exits the dose calibrator 9 and connects to the first port “ d ” of a second three - way valve v 2 . the second port “ e ” of this valve is connected to a section 10 of tubing leading to an injection needle 11 , only crudely symbolized by a triangle in fig1 . the third port “ f ” of valve v 2 leads to a waste reservoir 12 . the waste reservoir 12 is preferably shielded , as radioactivity may enter in operation . the dose calibrator 9 is connected to a controller 13 and provides signals to the controller 13 which are indicative of the level of activity within the dose calibrator 9 . the outputs of the controller 13 are connected to the pumps p 1 and p 2 as well as to the valves v 1 and v 2 for control of these . a method of operation of the device is illustrated in fig4 to 8 and symbolized in a flow diagram in fig9 . operation can generally be divided into five phases : in an initialisation phase 910 , the device is brought into a well - defined initial state . in a calibration phase 920 , steps are performed for calibrating the radioactivity in vial 2 . in a delivery phase 930 , the radiopharmaceutical is delivered to the destination . in a step 940 , it is decided whether another injection shall be performed . if yes , operation will continue again with the calibration phase 920 ; if not , a shutdown phase 950 will follow . before starting the operation , the operator will have to determine two quantities : the desired activity ar to be injected to the patient , and the estimated concentration of activity in the vial ( activity per unit of volume , expressed in mbq / ml ), cv . these data are provided to the controller 13 . operation then starts with the initialisation period 910 . step 911 ( initial filling of radiopharmaceutical to point c ): in a first step , the complete tubing is filled with saline , thereby excluding air from the tubing system . for this , valve v 1 is switched into a state connecting ports “ c ” and “ b ”, while valve v 2 connects “ d ” and “ e ”. pump p 2 flushes saline up to point b ( cf . fig4 ). then the tubing section 4 is inserted into a vial containing saline valve v 1 is brought into a state connecting ports “ a ” and “ b ”, while valve v 2 still connects “ d ” and “ e ”. pump p 1 now flushes saline until the tubing is completely filled with saline from point a ( cf . fig4 ) to the destination beyond valve v 2 , and air is thus completely purged from the system . the tubing section 4 is then inserted into the vial 2 containing the radiopharmaceutical . valve v 1 is brought into a state connecting ports “ a ” and “ b ”, while valve v 2 connects ports “ d ” and “ f ”. pump p 1 is operated to pump radiopharmaceutical 1 from inlet point a and past point b at valve v 1 to some point c in the fill - in section 7 . the volume of radiopharmaceutical between points b and c in the fill - in section 7 does not need to be known exactly ; it suffices to ensure that the section of tubing from a to b is filled completely with radiopharmaceutical , and that the activity in the volume between b and c is not larger than the desired end activity ar . the situation at the end of step 911 is illustrated in fig4 , where the volume of radiopharmaceutical between points b and c is designated by reference number 21 . step 912 ( flushing of offset volume to dose calibrator ): valve v 1 is now switched to a state in which it connects ports “ c ” and “ b ”. pump p 2 is operated to pump saline from the saline reservoir 5 towards valve v 1 . the volume to be pumped is slightly larger than the volume in the fill - in section 7 of the tubing , i . e . slightly larger than the volume between points b and d . this volume need not be known exactly . thereby , the “ offset volume ” 21 is moved into the metering section 8 . the situation at the end of this step is illustrated in fig5 . step 913 ( initial determination of activity ): the activity of volume 21 in the metering section 8 is measured by the dose calibrator 9 ( measurement m 1 ). this activity will be called the “ offset activity ” a 1 . the controller 13 now calculates the missing activity am required to reach a total activity of ar : am = ar − a 1 . this is illustrated in fig1 in the leftmost column . from this and the estimated concentration of activity in the vial , cv , the estimated missing volume va 1 still to be delivered is calculated : va 1 = am / cv . it is important to note that this calculation is still based on the estimate of the concentration of activity in the vial , and the result cannot be expected to be highly accurate . it is further important to note that no knowledge about the offset volume 21 is required in this calculation . this step concludes initialisation 910 . in the following calibration phase 920 , the following steps are performed : step 921 ( filling of radiopharmaceutical to point c ′): valve v 1 is switched to a state in which it connects ports “ a ” and “ b ”. pump p 1 is operated to pump a volume vc ′ through valve v 1 , filling the fill - in section to point c ′. this situation is illustrated in fig6 , where this volume is designated by reference number 22 . volume vc ′ is chosen to be approximately half of the estimated missing volume va 1 : vc ′= va 1 / 2 . it is important to note that volume vc ′ is known exactly in system internal units . the exact nature of these units depends on the type of pump used , e . g ., the units could be pump revolutions , pump cycles etc . if a volume flow meter is placed in - line with the pump , the units provided by the flow meter can be used as system internal units . depending on the type of pump and the type of tubing , the resolution of volume in this step can be very small , and even small volumes can be delivered accurately . step 922 ( flushing of volume vc ′ to dose calibrator ): valve v 1 is switched to connect ports “ c ” and “ b ”. pump p 2 is operated to pump slightly more than the volume between points b and d of saline through valve v 1 . thereby , volume 22 (= vc ′) of radiopharmaceutical is moved into the metering section 8 . the situation at the end of this step is illustrated in fig7 . step 923 ( calibration of activity ): the activity in the metering section 8 is measured by the dose calibrator 9 ( measurement m 2 ). this activity level will be called a 2 . it corresponds to the sum of the offset activity a 1 and the activity of the volume vc ′, which will be called the “ reference activity ” ac ′. this is illustrated in the second column of fig1 . now the activity concentration in the vial in system internal units , cs , is calculated : cs = ac ′/ vc ′=( a 2 = a 1 )/ vc ′. the system is now calibrated in system internal units . step 924 ( determination of volume vc ″): the activity ac ″ still required to reach a total activity of ar is determined : ac ″ ar − a 2 . from this , the volume vc ″ still to be delivered is calculated in system internal units : vc ″= ac ″/ cs =( ar − a 2 )/ cs =( ar − a 2 )/( a 2 − a 1 )* vc ′. this completes the calibration phase 920 . in the following delivery phase 930 , the following steps are performed : step 931 ( filling of radiopharmaceutical to point c ″): valve v 1 is switched to a state in which it connects ports “ a ” and “ b ”. pump p 1 is operated to pump the volume vc ″ through valve v 1 , filling the fill - in section to point c ″. this situation is illustrated in fig8 , where this volume is designated by reference number 23 . step 932 ( flushing of volume vc ″ to dose calibrator ): valve v 1 is switched to connect ports “ c ” and “ b ”. pump p 2 is operated to pump slightly more than the volume between points b and d of saline through valve v 1 . thereby , volume 23 (= vc ″) of radiopharmaceutical is moved into the metering section 8 . optionally , the total activity in the metering section is now measured ( optional measurement m 3 , see right column of fig1 ). it should correspond exactly to the total desired activity ar , provided that the volume of the metering section is large enough to hold all three volumes 21 , 22 and 23 within this section . the latter condition is can always be fulfilled if the volume of the metering section 8 is at least five times the volume of the fill - in section 7 . if a significant discrepancy is detected , the system is stopped . step 933 ( delivery to injection needle ): valve v 2 is switched to connect ports “ d ” and “ e ”. pump p 2 is operated to pump at least the volume of the metering section 8 , plus the volume of the tubing from the metering section to the injection needle and of the injection needle itself , of saline through valve v 1 . thereby , all liquid in the metering section 8 is flushed to the patient , and exactly the required dose of radioactivity is delivered to the patient . this completes the delivery phase 930 . if another injection of the same radiopharmaceutical ( to the same or a different patient ) is required , operation continues by repeating the calibration and delivery phases 920 and 930 . otherwise , operation stops by a suitable shutdown procedure , which may involve additional cycles of flushing with saline . when repeating calibration phase 930 , no additional initialisation as in phase 910 is necessary , since the metering section 8 has been flushed with saline , and the radiopharmaceutical extends exactly to point b . no activity is present in the metering section 8 . therefore , in the above calculations , a 1 can be set to zero in this case , and am is set to ar . no further changes are necessary . the three - phase procedure with phases 910 , 920 and 930 now simplifies to a two - phase procedure with phases 920 and 930 only . it will be appreciated that the device of the present invention and the associated method of operation provide a number of inherent safety features . specifically , there is a high degree of redundancy in the operation of the device , such that even in case of failure of one component , such as a pump or a valve , it is impossible that more than the desired dose will be delivered to the patient . specifically , by its design the system will only allow the dose present within the metering section 8 to be delivered to the patient . this is because during the actual delivery of the radiopharmaceutical there is no connection between the vial 2 and the fluid delivery line . the discrete nature of the sequential measurements of activity within the metering section 8 is another feature which increases safety : in step 932 , the activity in the metering section 8 is actually known beforehand , and measurement m 3 just serves to confirm that the right amount of activity is present in the metering section 8 . if significant discrepancies are detected between the expected result and the actual measurement , operation will be stopped immediately , and an alarm will be given . it will also be appreciated that , in normal operation , no radiopharmaceutical will enter the waste reservoir 12 . thus , generation of radioactive waste is minimized . a device according to the present invention in the embodiment of fig1 has been set up and tested in practice . the device was assembled from standard components available commercially . for the tubing sections 4 and 6 , flexible tubing made from silicone with an inner diameter of 1 . 52 mm was used . the pumps p 1 and p 2 were peristaltic precision pumps ( p 1 : ismatec ™ ism 596b , p 2 : arcomed ™ volumed ™ mvp 5000 ). the valves v 1 and v 2 were electrically operated pinch valves available from bio - chem valve inc . the metering section 8 ′ of tubing had a coil shape with nine windings and a diameter of 3 . 5 cm , made from fluoro - ethylene - propylene . a veenstra vdc 405 dose calibrator was used as activity metering unit / dose calibrator 9 . the complete assembly was shielded by a 5 cm lead shield . as a controller 13 , a standard personal computer ( compaq armada e500 ) equipped with a standard interface card was used . the control algorithm was implemented in labview ™, available from national instruments ™. this embodiment is especially suitable for the use with radiopharmaceuticals typically used in pet and spect applications . the device has been used to deliver radiopharmaceuticals with activity concentrations as high as 1000 mbq / ml to patients , with an absolute precision of as good as 100 microliters and a relative precision of better than 2 % of the total activity delivered to the patient . from the above description , it is clear that numerous variations of the described device and method are possible , and the invention is in no way limited to the above examples . while the method has been described in a way that the volume of the metering section 8 of tubing is large enough to hold at the same time all volumes of radiopharmaceutical to be injected together , the method can readily be adapted for use with a dose calibrator which measures only one of these volumes at a time . in this case , the activities a 1 , ac ′ and , optionally , ac ″ are measured directly and sequentially and need not be calculated . both variants of the method have in common that the activity of a precisely known volume ( in some arbitrary units ) is measured , enabling determination of the activity concentration of the radiopharmaceutical . the method can be extended to take into account the decrease of activity during the dispensing procedure , in a straightforward manner by calculating the decay during the ( predetermined ) time needed for the dispensing procedure . the inventive device and method are not only useful for delivering a radiopharmaceutical to a human or animal body , but also in other applications , also of a non - medical nature , in which a precisely known amount of activity is to be delivered to some destination . accordingly , many variations of the types of tubing , valves , pumps etc , are possible . specifically , other pump types than peristaltic pumps may be used . in fact , while the use of pumps is preferred , pumps may be omitted if the vial 2 , the saline reservoir 5 or both are placed “ top - down ” in a position higher than valves v 1 , v 2 and the destination 16 . fluid flow is then effected by gravity alone . instead of pumps , flow meters should then be provided , yielding volume information to the controller 13 . different types of valves than the above - described two - way pinch valves may be used . specifically , it may be advantageous to provide , as valve v 1 , a valve which can be switched to a third state such that liquid can flow between ports “ a ” and “ c ”. in this way , the sections of tubing between points a and b may be flushed with saline from reservoir 5 , without the need of inserting a vial with saline instead of the vial with the radiopharmaceutical during initialisation . any suitable activity detector may be used as a dose calibrator 9 . such detectors include standard geiger - müller counters , scintillating counters etc ., which should be calibrated to yield a sufficiently precise measure of the actual activity in the metering section 8 . additional safety measures may be taken , such as providing bubble detectors in the fluid delivery path which stop operation immediately if bubbles are detected . bubble detectors are well known in the art .
a method of delivering a radioactive liquid includes , performing an initialization , including ; extracting at least a first amount of a radioactive liquid from a source of radioactive liquid , measuring a radioactivity level for the first amount of radioactive liquid , and performing a calibration phase . the calibration phase includes , extracting a second amount of radioactive liquid from the source of radioactive liquid wherein the second amount is calculated based on the radioactivity level of the first amount to provide a total dose of radioactive liquid having a predetermined radioactivity level , and delivering the total dose and performing at least one more calibration and delivery phases .