Rapid biodosimetry for accurate assessment of individual radiation exposure levels

In the event of a catastrophic radiation disaster, first responders, both civilian and military, must be able to quickly and accurately measure the radiation dose received by victims in order to screen, perform triage and effectively assign available resources. First-responders must also be able to accurately evaluate their own exposure to radiation in order to make return-to-duty decisions in real time. A novel field deployable, mil-spec, high-sensitivity biodosimeter technology is proposed that can perform rapid, non-invasive, in-vivo measurement of radiation biomarkers in solid human tissues such as uncut fingernails. This tool uses electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy to directly measure free radicals produced by ionizing radiation in a wide variety of solid materials.