A new advanced microscope-based platform capable of identifying and quantifying radiation exposure in people was donated to the IAEA today. It will be set up in the Biological Dosimetry Model Laboratory (BDML) at the IAEA Seibersdorf site. The commissioning of the equipment in the coming weeks will be the first step towards establishing services of the lab.
“This public-private partnership comes at a time when newly available data is showing that even low radiation doses received during CT scanning can be detected with these biodosimetry methods. These methods can detect radiosensitive individuals who may require radiation procedures, so application of this technique to other radiation medicine fields such as radiation oncology and nuclear medicine are being studied”, said May Abdel-Wahab, Director of the IAEA’s Division of Human Health. Radiosensitive individuals are people who have a relatively higher susceptibility to radiation effects that could cause injuries to their cells and tissues.
This equipment is provided by the German company MetaSystems, and will be used for semi-automatic biodosimetry analyses. The value of the donation is 180,000 euros. The biodosimetry lab will be a model reference centre, which will provide training opportunities for fellows in this area. The BDML has also received financial support from France and support in staffing from the United States of America. The model laboratory will be a reference lab for IAEA member states who are considering establishing or expanding their own national or regional biodosimetry capabilities using the IAEA Technical Cooperation and Coordinated Research Activities mechanisms.
Biodosimetry is used to measure the dose of ionizing radiation to human tissues after exposure has occurred. This microscope system can measure biological markers such as chromosomal abnormalities in white blood cells to quantify the received dose of radiation by an individual.
