Towards Establishing Capacity for Biological Dosimetry at Ghana Atomic Energy Commission

Abstract

The aim of this study was not only to obtain basic technical prerequisites for the establishment of capacity of biological dosimetry at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) but also to stimulate interest in biological dosimetry research in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa. Peripheral blood from four healthy donors was exposed to different doses (0–6 Gy) of gamma rays from a radiotherapy machine and lymphocytes were subsequently stimulated, cultured, and processed according to standard protocols for 48–50 h. Processed cells were analyzed for the frequencies of dicentric and centric ring chromosomes. Radiation dose delivered to the experimental model was verified using GafChromic® EBT films in parallel experiments. Basic technical prerequisites for the establishment of capacity of biological dosimetry in the GAEC have been realized and expertise in the dicentric chromosome assay consolidated. We successfully obtained preliminary cytogenetic data for a dose-response relationship of the irradiated blood lymphocytes. The data strongly indicate the existence of significant linear (α) and quadratic (β) components and are consistent with those published for the production of chromosome aberrations in comparable absorbed dose ranges.

Intercomparison of DCA and EPR scoring for validation with individual physical dosimetry

“…Undesired irradiation may cause economic and health management crises in thousands of individuals, resulting in dire consequences (Ramakumar et al, 2015;Top et al, 2000). During nuclear terrorist attacks, the most immediate and extreme threat to global security, physical dosimetry measurements may be unavailable or ambiguous owing to unknown doses of radiation (Achel et al, 2016;Romm et al, 2013). Thus, the development of a greater capacity of cytogenetic biodosimetry for proper dose estimation to prescribe appropriate medical interventions is a necessary component of triage in the wake of possible large-scale radiological or nuclear exposure incidents (Asaad et al, 2016;Park et al, 2017;Wilkins et al, 2008).…”

“…The primary purpose of biological dosimetry is to provide rapid dose assessments to support medical management and treatment decisions and further provide this dose information for the medical management of casualties (Asaad et al, 2016;Fernández-Fontelo et al, 2018;Park et al, 2017). Estimations are made based on the dose response-based calibration curve, which is created considering the exposure of human blood cells to different and appropriate doses of radiation to inform medical management of casualties, aid in targeted treatment in resourcelimited situations, and for long-term risk assessment (Achel et al, 2016;Rastkhah et al, 2016). For ex vivo irradiation, researchers used blood from mice and humans, which could provide a convenient model for detailed dose-response testing and post-exposure assays.…”