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Expedited Radiation Biodosimetry by Automated Dicentric Chromosome Identification ADCI and Dose Estimation
Published on: September 4, 2017
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RENEB Inter-Laboratory Comparison 2021: The Dicentric Chromosome Assay
D Endesfelder1, U Oestreicher1, M Bucher1
1Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, BfS, Oberschleissheim, Germany.
Radiation Research
|April 5, 2023
Summary
Biological dosimetry assays are crucial for assessing radiation exposure after accidents. The RENEB 2021 comparison showed accurate categorization of exposed individuals, though dose estimates were systematically higher than reference values.
Area of Science:
- Radiation Biology
- Medical Physics
- Genetics
Background:
- Biological and physical dosimetry are vital for clinical decisions after radiation accidents.
- International inter-laboratory comparisons, like RENEB, enhance emergency preparedness.
- The dicentric chromosome assay is a key tool for retrospective biological dosimetry.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the performance of the dicentric chromosome assay in an international inter-laboratory comparison simulating a radiation accident.
- To assess the ability of participating laboratories to categorize individuals based on radiation exposure levels.
- To identify potential biases and sources of error in dose estimation using the dicentric chromosome assay.
Main Methods:
- 33 laboratories from 22 countries participated in the RENEB 2021 inter-laboratory comparison.
- Blood samples were irradiated in vitro with X-rays to simulate acute whole-body exposure (0 Gy, 1.2 Gy, 3.5 Gy).
- Participants cultured blood, prepared slides, and scored dicentric chromosomes (manually or semi-automatically) to estimate radiation doses.
Main Results:
- All participants successfully categorized samples into clinically relevant exposure groups (unexposed/minimally, moderately, highly exposed).
- Dose estimates for irradiated samples were systematically higher than reference doses, with median deviations of 0.5 Gy and 0.95 Gy for manual scoring.
- Converting gamma-ray calibration curves to X-ray equivalents reduced the median deviation to 0.27 Gy and 0.6 Gy.
Conclusions:
- The dicentric chromosome assay is effective for categorizing individuals by radiation exposure level, aiding clinical decision-making.
- Differences in radiation quality (X-ray vs. gamma-ray) between samples and calibration curves contribute to systematic dose estimation biases.
- Further research into factors like donor effects, transport, and experimental conditions is needed to refine dose assessment accuracy.
