For decades, a phenomenon known as dispersed radiation hovered as a hazard to professionals treating a patient with cardiac issues with diagnostics. Radiation bounces off a patient and spreads to everyone else in the room during an x-ray. Egg Medical Inc., a medtech firm based in the Twin Cities, is now selling a revolutionary product that covers an exam table to shield healthcare practitioners from wandering radiation.

“Until now there hasn’t been a good solution to the problem,” said Bob Wilson, CEO of the Arden Hills-based company. Healthcare professionals usually wear thick lead covers to shield themselves from radiation.

Called the EggNest, the device is a carbon fiber cover that goes around the mattress and on top of the table. The shields are created from composite polymers and other materials.

Tests show 91% reduction scattered radiation

The two most serious side effects of radiation exposure, according to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology in 2017, are cataracts and hair loss. When the dangers of radiation were less known, cancer was a concern. The AJR article stated: “There is no credible evidence of an increased risk of cancer among radiologists who have been practicing for the past 30 to 40 years.”