Patent Number: 039719553
Section: summary

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The increasing use of radioactive isotopes for the diagnosis and treatment of various medical conditions in recent years has resulted in the need for containers capable of storing and shipping these materials without endangering those who must handle them in transit and in administration. Grubel et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,915,640 disclose a cylindrical container having a squared bottom recess adapted to hold a square shaped bottle containing radioactive material. The container has a lid whose inner surface is adapted to conform to the cap of the enclosed bottle. When the lid is rotated the bottle cap is unscrewed but remains on the bottle from which it is later removed by tongs. Koster in U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,644 discloses a cylindrical receptacle housing a vessel with a pierceable cap containing liquid radiopharmaceuticals. A piece of cushioning and absorbing material is located between the bottom of the vessel and the outer receptacle. Also, a retaining ring is employed to hold the vessel in place. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improvements over the radiopharmaceutical containers described above. It relates to a container having a wrench-type lid which will both unscrew and remove the cap from the enclosed bottle and provide means to absorb any radioactive material which might leak from the enclosed bottle. Also, the same container with a minor modification may be used with bottles having a pierceable cap.