A Dallas company has received a U.S. patent for a wearable radiation shield designed to protect areas of healthcare workers’ bodies that conventional lead aprons may leave exposed during X-ray-guided medical procedures.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office lists Patent No. 12,721,579, titled “Breast axilla and thyroid radiation shielding device for medical personnel,” as assigned to Dallas-based ProtectMed LLC. The USPTO patent index names Lauren Ramsey, Chet Rees, and Ryan Baldwin as the inventors.
The device is designed to be worn with a standard radiation apron and add shielding around portions of the breasts, underarms, upper arms, chest, and thyroid that may receive scattered radiation during fluoroscopy and other X-ray-guided procedures.
The patent was highlighted this week in a Dallas Innovates roundup showing that Dallas-Fort Worth ranked No. 10 nationally with 114 patents issued during the week of September 1. The publication identified Ramsey as a Fort Worth breast surgical oncologist, Rees as a Dallas interventional radiologist, and Baldwin as based in Seattle.
Designed To Cover Gaps Left By Standard Aprons
Healthcare workers who perform fluoroscopy-guided procedures commonly wear lead or lead-equivalent aprons, thyroid collars, and other protective equipment.
But conventional aprons can leave gaps around the armholes and upper chest.
The patented design is intended to add protection around the breast, axilla, or underarm, and thyroid, along with portions of the upper arm. The concept closely tracks a product known as BAT, short for Breast, Axilla, and Thyroid protection.
Burlington Medical introduced BAT in 2024 as a lightweight garment designed to be worn with an existing radioprotective apron. The company says the product is intended to cover gaps around the breast, axilla, and thyroid without significantly restricting movement.
Federal device records also show multiple BAT models currently in commercial distribution. The FDA’s AccessGUDID database lists Burlington Medical’s Thyroid Shield BAT products as Class I radiation-shielding aprons.
Study Found Large Reductions In Measured Exposure
The concept behind the patented garment has also been tested experimentally.
A peer-reviewed study published in Health Physics used an anthropomorphic female torso model in a simulated procedure room to measure radiation exposure with and without the additional BAT shield. The study was published in the journal’s April 2025 issue after appearing online in May 2024.
Researchers placed dosimeters at the outer portions of both breasts, the chest, the thyroid, and deeper inside the model.
Compared with a standard lead vest and thyroid shield alone, adding the BAT shield reduced measured radiation exposure by 91% at the nearer breast, 76% at the farther breast, 94% at the chest, 52% at the thyroid, and 60% in deeper tissues, according to the study.
At one tested position, with the operator standing 90 degrees to the table during a cross-table lateral beam, the researchers measured a 97.7% reduction in radiation exposure at the nearer breast.
The study demonstrates a reduction in radiation reaching a test model. It does not establish that the garment prevents breast cancer or other cancers in healthcare workers.
Why Radiation Protection Matters
Fluoroscopy uses X-rays to create real-time images that can guide physicians during procedures involving catheters, wires, needles, and other instruments.
For healthcare workers who routinely perform those procedures, radiation safety is a longstanding occupational concern.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration identifies lead aprons or vests and thyroid collars among commonly used forms of personal protective equipment for workers exposed to X-rays and gamma radiation. OSHA notes that lead aprons can reduce radiation dose when properly fitted and used.
OSHA’s hospital radiology guidance also recommends lead or lead-equivalent aprons, thyroid collars, protective eyewear, and other safeguards for workers operating around X-ray equipment. In some circumstances, employees are also required to wear personal dosimeters that track accumulated occupational exposure.
The agency emphasizes the radiation-safety principle known as ALARA — As Low As Reasonably Achievable — which calls for minimizing unnecessary exposure through time, distance, and shielding.
A North Texas Idea Reaches The Market
Ramsey is CEO and co-founder of ProtectMed LLC and currently serves as medical director of breast surgery for Acclaim Multi-Specialty Group in Fort Worth.
She has said her interest in radiation safety grew in part from concerns about areas of the breast that may remain exposed around the arm openings of conventional protective aprons.
Her BAT information page describes the garment as a lightweight add-on designed to protect the breast, axilla, and thyroid while integrating with existing radiation-protection equipment.
Burlington Medical announced the product in August 2024 and scheduled commercial production to begin the following month. The company said the garment was developed with Ramsey and Rees and could be worn over or under an existing radioprotective apron.
The company now markets BAT commercially, describing it as a protective accessory that includes shielding around the breast, axilla, sleeves, chest, and thyroid.
ProtectMed’s patent was one of 114 patents tied to Dallas-Fort Worth inventors and companies during the week of September 1, according to Dallas Innovates.
That placed Dallas-Fort Worth No. 10 among 250 U.S. metropolitan areas for patent production that week.
Provided by Dallas Express
