Radiation Biodosimetry Workshop at KIRAMS, Seoul, Korea

Biological dosimetry (biodosimetry) is an imminent part of the countermeasures in the aftermath of radiation accidents. Based on the quantification of markers in the blood of affected victims (e.g., dicentric chromosomes, micronuclei, or translocations), the method allows for a precise and retrospective estimation of the dose the persons have received. The National Radiation Emergency Medical Center (NREMC) in the Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences (KIRAMS) recently hosted a MetaSystems workshop on the implementation of Metafer for biodosimetry imaging automation. The workshop has been supported by our Korean partner Mirax Corporation.

NREMC was constituted to prepare a countermeasure of medical preparedness and response involved in nuclear/radiological disaster in 2003 by the Korean "Act on Physical Protection and Radiological Emergency." NREMC runs three Metafer systems for automation of biodosimentry imaging and uses the chromosomal aberrations test, the micronucleus test, the FISH translocation assay and multicolor FISH to assess radiation induced DNA damage. On the workshop, strategies for Metafer based assays have been discussed and implemented.