[ RadSafe ] Re: ASU leads $40 million effort to rapidlyassessradiation exposures

Wed Jan 6 13:40:10 CST 2010

Mike --

You're absolutely correct -- contamination (particularly internal) will be far more significant than dose for dirty bomb scenarios. However, given the limited ability to perform radiobioassays for any but the easiest radionuclides (i.e. Cs-137), any ability to perform some sort of screening or triage is, in my opinon, welcome. My question is how these biomarkers will respond to internal contaminants as compared to their response to external whole-body irradiation.

Based on the "Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation" document, which I assume you have seen, it is entirely likely in a nuclear detonation scenario that persons in the "dangerous fallout" zone could get significant radiation doses w/o experiencing confounding or more pressing medical issues -- and it's that population that public health folks will need to be able to assess -- and quickly. What these researchers are aiming for is the ability to rapidly assess the dose received by perhaps a million people (or more) quickly ...

My $0.02 for the day ...

Jim Hardeman

>>> "Brennan, Mike  (DOH)" <Mike.Brennan at DOH.WA.GOV> 1/6/2010 13:00 >>>
Hi, Jennifer.  Welcome.

You are right about the issue with dirty bombs being contamination, and
potentially long-term internal exposure, rather than dose.  I think they
threw in "dirty bomb" as a "key word/tricky phrase" that spices up a
grant application.  

I personally am skeptical about the usefulness of using some kind of
blood test (which this seems to be) for screening large numbers of
people.  I have problems visualizing something other than a nuclear
detonation that would cause a large number of people to receive dose,
but not be contaminated, and in such an event most of the people who
receive a high dose have other, more pressing medical issues that need
to be dealt with first.  

On the other hand, I am not against research and development being done
on something like this, as it is entirely possible that something very
good but unexpected will come of it.  Some of the best return on
investment money the government spends is the funding of research. 

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On
Behalf Of Jennifer M Anderson
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 7:51 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.c 
om>

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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