## 4 Discussion  
Shielding design is vital for radiation protection, ensuring barriers protect workers, patients, the public, and the environment from X-ray machine emissions. The NCRP 147 method, widely used by radiation protection experts (RPEs) for structural shielding in medical X-ray facilities, relies on 1996 data. With significant advancements in interventional radiology, evaluating the need to update workload data across specialties is essential [52]. WO\({}_{3}\) is known for excellent radiation attenuation owing to its high atomic number and density. Tungsten's high atomic number (Z = 74) increases photoelectric absorption and Compton scattering, the central gamma and X-ray attenuation processes. Also, the substantial density of WO\({}_{3}\) (WO\({}_{3}\) = 7.16 g/cm\({}^{3}\), lead(II) oxide = 9.5 g/cm\({}^{3}\), tungsten (W) = 19.25 g/cm\({}^{3}\), and lead = 11.3 g/cm\({}^{3}\)) makes it suitable for absorbing ionizing radiation. This work established WO\({}_{3}\)-reinforced polyisoprene as having a highly structured, plate-like morphology, suggesting improved mechanical and thermal stability due to strong interfacial interactions between the polymer and the WO\({}_{3}\) particles. Indicating enhanced reinforcement, potentially making this composite suitable for applications such as radiation shielding (Figure 4). Additionally, XRD shows that the NR composite shows significant diffraction peaks after WO\({}_{3}\) reinforcement, indicating higher crystallinity and crystalline WO\({}_{3}\) phases (Figure 5). These structural changes may increase mechanical strength and thermal stability. This increased crystallinity restricts the mobility of the polymer chains, resulting in a stiffer and stronger material. [PERSON] et al. reported 92% improvement in tensile strength of natural rubber composites reinforced with titanium carbide nanocrystals [53]. Furthermore, the FTIR analysis of tungsten-reinforced polyisoprene (Figure 6) demonstrates the incorporation of WO\({}_{3}\) into polyisoprene leads to new absorption bands related to W-O bonds, indicating successful dispersion of tungsten oxide within the polymer matrix. XCOM-based computational analysis shows that WO\({}_{3}\)-reinforced NR, a tungsten-reinforced NR, exhibits significantly enhanced attenuation properties. Although PbO\({}_{2}\) is still a widely used shielding material, WO\({}_{3}\)-reinforced NR greatly improves attenuation performance, showing great promise as a lead-free substitute, especially at intermediate and high photon energies. These results are consistent with other studies on tungsten-based shielding composites [54; 55; 56; 57]. The Phy-X/PSD shielding analysis confirms that PbO\({}_{2}\) exhibits superior attenuation properties, particularly at low photon energies where the photoelectric effect dominates, aligning with previous studies on high-Z materials for radiation shielding. The enhanced shielding performance of WO\({}_{3}\)-reinforced NR composites, particularly at WO\({}_{3}\) concentrations \(\geq\) 75%, suggests their potential as effective alternatives to lead-based shielding, consistent with findings that tungsten-based materials provide efficient gamma-ray attenuation [58; 59]. The variation in MAC, LAC, and Zeff values across the energy spectrum indicates that while PbO\({}_{2}\) remains the most effective, higher concentration of WO\({}_{3}\) composites offer promising shielding capabilities for Tc-99m applications, as previously demonstrated in polymer-based radiation shields [60; 61]. The experimental findings align with prior research indicating that while lead remains the most effective shielding material for gamma radiation, high-density polymer composites incorporating tungsten oxide (WO\({}_{3}\)) can provide comparable attenuation at increased thicknesses [62; 63].