[ RadSafe ] Re: ASU leads $40 million effort to rapid assess radiation exposures

Wed Jan 6 13:28:46 CST 2010

OK folks, here's my 0.02 (well, OK, I'm at work, so it's actually costing somebody 0.12...) from my Cynic HP viewpoint:

In the aftermath of a (radiological or nuclear) event, there will be thousands of genuinely concerned and worried members of the public, hearing from a wide variety of people that a) They're going to get cancer, b) that they will probably be OK,  c) that there is no reason to be concerned and that they're not going to experience any harm, and d) that any extra radiation exposure they might have received is going to be good for them.  And the public will be bombarded with these messages to add to their pre-conceived notions about radiation exposure and effects.  

While I'd like to think that I (and WE) can influence some people's concerns, I'm not delusional enough to believe that we will be widely successful, especially when we all experience the "you're from the (Government/Nuclear industry), why should I trust you?" questions when communicating with people regarding radiation and risk....

Soooo.... imagine testing an "affected person" and telling them that the test can detect a harmful amount of radiation (undoubtedly true!) and that the test didn't detect any radiation exposure... While I would whole-heartedly agree that distributing $40 M amongst a few hundred HPs and having us explain the situation to everyone would have a much more beneficial long-term result, (I happen to think educating people is a GOOD thing!) that's not a politically attractive solution.  

Along that vein, (and no, I'm not part of the local committees) the HPS midyear (24-27 Jan 10) is on Radiation Risk Communication to the public, in beautiful Albuquerque NM....  

My own opinion only, and not that of LANL, LANS, DOE, DHS, or anybody else who pays for my services.

Brian Rees, CHP

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On Behalf Of Glenn R. Marshall
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 11:42 AM
To: McClung, Danny; Jennifer M Anderson; radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] Re: ASU leads $40 million effort to rapidly assessradiation exposures

At $40 million, this has little to do with dosimetry or practical applications of radiation protection.  It appears to have much to do with getting one's hands on a small part of the stimulus pie.  Is this another "shovel-ready" project?  I suppose it depends on what you're shoveling.  Almost makes me wish I'd thought of it.

Now I, too, shall return to lurk mode.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On Behalf Of McClung, Danny
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 11:41 AM
To: Jennifer M Anderson; radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] Re: ASU leads $40 million effort to rapidly assessradiation exposures

Lurkers are the future of Radsafe.  

These folks are not unhappy with their good fortune. $40.3 M is a nice grant, eh?  I just hope the system will be deployable.

________________________________

From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl on behalf of Jennifer M Anderson
Sent: Wed 1/6/2010 10:50 AM
To: radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Re: ASU leads $40 million effort to rapidly assessradiation exposures

Am I missing something here?  What part of this "new" Biodosimetry Assay
System is any faster than current techniques?  (such as hair samples,
gamma spec of blood samples, pancake probe in the armpit, etc)   They are
proposing an "8 hour turnaround" time.

In addition, I always thought the radiological "threat" of a dirty bomb
was just contamination and not a significant dose to people, hence the
word dirty.  So, how does the "threat" of a dirty bomb relate to this
research?

A lurker that has come out of her shell for a little bit; please be kind. 
:)
Thanks,
Jennifer

**The views expressed are strictly my own and not of the Idaho National
Laboratory**

Message: 10
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:23:33 -0800
From: "Cary Renquist" <cary.renquist at ezag.com>
Subject: [ RadSafe ] ASU leads $40 million effort to rapidly assess
                 radiation exposures
To: <radsafe at radlab.nl>
Message-ID:

<C3973DA2E426594A8EC6DC90DB0540A004FB9BD8 at ipl-mail.ipl.isotopeproducts.com>

Content-Type: text/plain;                charset="US-ASCII"

The goal of the project is to deliver a Biodosimetry Assay System that
would assess the amount of ionizing radiation an individual had absorbed
in the event of exposure.

ASU leads $40 million effort to rapidly assess radiation exposures
   http://bit.ly/79xbPP

Dec. 21, 2009 TEMPE, Ariz.--Arizona State University will lead a $40.8
million, multi-institutional research program to develop systems that
would rapidly measure an individual's level of exposure to radiation in
the event of a radiological or nuclear incident. In the event of a
large-scale disaster, such a system would ensure that first responders
have the information necessary to provide appropriate medical treatment.

The five-year contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)
emphasizes the development of prototypes that would enable more rapid
triage of patients than is currently possible.

"With the proliferation of advanced radiological materials in hospitals,
clinics or nuclear facilities throughout the world, the risks and
threats of a 'dirty bomb' incident or similar nuclear disaster remains
very real," said Carl Yamashiro, PhD, the principal investigator at
ASU's Biodesign Institute who will direct the effort. "We have assembled
a dream team of institutions and companies to catalyze our team's
research and discovery efforts, and translate the advances into a
field-deployable technology."

ASU will oversee the research program management, coordination and
integration necessary for efficient and effective development of the
system.

"Arizona State University has focused its world-class research
enterprise on solving many of the most serious problems facing
humanity," said ASU President Michael M. Crow. "This award recognizes
our leadership in research that involves the coordinated effort of a
large, multi-disciplinary, complex scientific skill set and our
capability of delivering on this technological promise to the ultimate
benefit of society."

The development of prototypes incorporates key technologies that build
on the research, development and manufacturing strengths of the
partners. The effort involves prestigious local and national
institutions and companies including: the Translational Genomics
Research Institute (TGen), Columbia University, High Throughput
Genomics, Inc., Tecan Group, Ltd, University of Arizona, Scottsdale
Healthcare Research Institute, and the University of Illinois, Chicago.

The goal of the project is to deliver a Biodosimetry Assay System that
would assess the amount of ionizing radiation an individual had absorbed
in the event of exposure. Currently, no rapid, high-throughput system
exists to measure the radiation dose of individuals within a large
population.

"The beauty of this system is its versatility," said Yamashiro. "Not
only will we be developing a system for the effective response to a
nuclear or radiologic event that could affect a large population but the
high-throughout platform can also be used to advance genomics testing
and other routine laboratory procedures measuring gene expression
levels."

Developing the system requires utilizing a biomarker signature set based
on gene expression markers. This set of markers will provide a distinct
indicator for the level of absorbed radiation. The system will be
capable of analyzing 2,000 blood samples in a day with an 8-hour
turnaround for individual measurements to enable appropriate medical
triage.

The system is designed to be comprehensive in scope, including
specialized collection cartridges with which first responders can easily
perform field collection of blood samples, a high-throughput assay
system, and software for data collection and interpretation of results.
The team will also work with government entities including the Food and
Drug Administration on the implementation of the system once the
prototype has been demonstrated to perform the desired tasks.

The latest effort builds on the achievements of a five-year, $25 million
Center for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiation (CMCR), involving
research by ASU, TGen and Columbia University. The CMCR was one of eight
established by the National Institutes of Health in 2005 in response to
increased concerns about radiological disasters from terrorism and
illicit trafficking of radioactive materials. The CMCRs conducted
foundational research and feasibility studies for such technologies and
countermeasures, as well as for related fundamental research for medical
options to treat the variety of acute and long-term injuries that can
result from nuclear or radiological attacks.

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