Abstract: A shielded dose calibration apparatus including one or more hand-held portable shield units containing a vessel with a radioactive sample in a shielded chamber and a calibration station for calibrating the sample in the vessel without removing the vessel from the protections of the shielded chamber. The shield units include on-board detectors for measuring the radioactivity from the sample. The calibration station may include a separate controller unit and one or more base units. To calibrate a sample, the portable shield unit is placed on a base unit, which senses the presence of the shield unit. The shield unit then communicates an identification signal and the data measured by the on-board detectors to the controller unit via the base unit. Power may also be transmitted to the shield unit via the base unit, avoiding the need for an on-board power source.