The Israeli firm Stemrad has created a body belt that protects people from the most harmful effects of gamma radiation.
The belt is called the Stemrad 360 Gamma and is designed for emergency services in nuclear accidents, according to RT.
Oren Milstein, the co-founder of Stemrad, said the belt is made partially out of lead, and is designed primarily to protect the pelvic area. That's the region where most of the body's renewable bone marrow is developed.
"It may look simplistic on the outside but the structure inside is three-dimensional and very unique," Milstein said. "The idea here was to create a product that on the one hand protects but on the other hand is not overburdened by weight."
The belt weights a little more than 33 pounds and would be able to be worn by most people, The Journal of Turkish Weekly reported. A full body suit that protects all of the body's vital organs weighs about 441 pounds.
The wearer can be protected from doses as high as 1,000 rads, a level of radiation poisoning high enough to cause significant illness and death. However, the device does not give the wearer full protection or let people stay for a long time in an irradiated area.
Milstein said the body's bone marrow needs to be kept safe to make sure people survive after being exposed to radiation, RT reported. Most of the engineers and fireman who were first on the scene after the Chernobyl disaster needed bone marrow transplants and many died soon afterwards.
"Conceptually, it's agreeable that the bone marrow is the most radiation sensitive tissue and that bone marrow is able to regenerate itself," Milstein said. "So kind of like adding one plus one, we know that if we perform partial shielding on bone marrow, we get an increased survivability of the individual."
The belt has not been tested in any real radiation environment, The Journal of Turkish Weekly reported. However, simulations with mannequins have shown that the belt is effective in absorbing radiation.
