title: Biodosimetry: Medicine, Science, and Systems to Support the Medical Decision-Maker Following a Large Scale Nuclear or Radiation Incident.
abstract: The public health and medical response to a radiological or nuclear incident requires the capability to sort, assess, treat, triage and to ultimately discharge, refer or transport people to their next step in medical care. The size of the incident and scarcity of resources at the location of each medical decision point will determine how patients are triaged and treated. This will be a rapidly evolving situation impacting medical responders at regional, national and international levels. As capabilities, diagnostics and medical countermeasures improve, a dynamic system-based approach is needed to plan for and manage the incident, and to adapt effectively in real time. In that the concepts and terms can be unfamiliar and possibly confusing, resources and a concept of operations must be considered well in advance. An essential underlying tenet is that medical evaluation and care will be managed by healthcare professionals with biodosimetry assays providing critical supporting data.
authors.affiliation: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive Branch, Office of Emergency Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC 20201, USA.|Radiation Research Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: C Norman
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.affiliation: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive Branch, Office of Emergency Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC 20201, USA john.koerner@hhs.gov.
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Koerner
mesh_terms: D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods*; D003660:Decision Support Systems, Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D014218:Triage / Q000458:organization & administration*