Biological Dosimetry for Radiation Exposure Assessment

Biological dosimetry encompasses a suite of cytogenetic and molecular techniques employed to estimate absorbed ionising radiation dose from biological samples. By quantifying radiation-induced markers—such as chromosome aberrations, micronuclei and γ-H2AX foci—in peripheral blood lymphocytes or other accessible tissues, it provides a direct measure of biological effect that complements physical dosimetry. Established assays, notably the dicentric chromosome assay and the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay, remain gold standards for triage and retrospective dose reconstruction in accidental or occupational exposures. Recent advances in high-throughput microscopy, deep-learning image analysis and inter-laboratory harmonisation have accelerated turnaround times while improving precision. Networks of accredited laboratories now integrate biological and physical retrospective techniques to inform medical management, emergency response planning and long-term epidemiological studies, reflecting the global imperative for rapid, reliable dose assessment.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A novel two-stage convolutional neural network has been developed to automate dicentric chromosome identification from Giemsa-stained images. The first stage segments and classifies candidate chromosome clusters, while the second stage refines detection of true dicentrics. This approach achieved 99.4 % overall accuracy, 85.8 % sensitivity and 99.6 % specificity, reducing false positives and accelerating analysis by a factor of twenty compared with manual scoring. The deep-learning framework demonstrates scalable performance for large-scale triage biodosimetry in mass-casualty or emergency scenarios.

Biological Dosimetry for Radiation Exposure Assessment publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in biological dosimetry for radiation exposure assessment across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Biological dosimetry: Estimation of absorbed ionising radiation dose by measuring specific biological markers in cells or tissues.

Dicentric chromosome assay: Cytogenetic technique quantifying dicentric chromosomes in lymphocytes to determine radiation dose.

Micronucleus assay: Detection of micronuclei in binucleated cells as a measure of chromosomal damage.

Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH): Molecular method using fluorescent probes to visualise specific DNA sequences or aberrations on chromosomes.

Convolutional neural network (CNN): Deep-learning architecture for automated image recognition and classification in biodosimetric assays.

References

1. High-precision automatic identification method for dicentric chromosome images using two-stage convolutional neural network. Scientific Reports (2023).
2. Cytogenetic Damage Induced by Radioiodine Therapy: A Follow-Up Case Study. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2023).
3. RENEB/EURADOS field exercise 2019: robust dose estimation under outdoor conditions based on the dicentric chromosome assay. International Journal of Radiation Biology (2021).
4. Integration of new biological and physical retrospective dosimetry methods into EU emergency response plans – joint RENEB and EURADOS inter-laboratory comparisons. International Journal of Radiation Biology (2016).