Biodosimetry: Basic Description - Radiation Emergency Medical Management

Biodosimetry: Basic Description

Clinical observations and laboratory results used to estimate the radiation dose received after exposure or internal contamination.
A tool used to assess the likelihood of developing the Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) and its clinical severity.
A clinical observation or laboratory result that correlates with the approximate radiation dose estimated to have produced that effect.
Biodosimetry reflects the radiation dose absorbed by an individual. It is not a direct, real-time reading of dose such as would be measured by a radiation survey meter.
Units of dose received

After external exposure: gray (or rad) and sievert (or rem)
After internal contamination: various other units, e.g. Committed Effective Dose Equivalent (CEDE)
After both external exposure and internal contamination: various units including Total Effective Dose Equivalent (TEDE)

Table of existing and developing techniques for assessment of radiation exposure levels: High dose radiation effects and tissue injury, Report of the Independent Advisory Group on Ionising Radiation, Table 4.4, page 41 (Health Protections Agency, UK)