Wearable smart radiation reporting material
Unmet Need
Excess radiation exposure can result in DNA damage and tissue injury. Individuals who are occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation need to monitor and track radiation exposures. Small, personal radiation dosimeters currently exist, but they are affixed to a specific body part and only provide location-specific, small-area exposure information. However, various body regions have different radiation dose limits, and current dosimeters are not compatible with exposure reporting from various body locations. In addition, many dosimeters are read monthly and do not offer real-time reporting. There is a need for a wearable technology to report radiation exposure on large surface areas in real-time.
Technology
Duke inventors have developed a material that can sense and report radiation exposure. This technology is intended to be used as an occupational health and environmental monitoring tool. The material can be integrated into radiation protective garments in the clinic or placed in sites where inadvertent radiation or radiopharmaceutical contamination occurs. Specifically, the lightweight material is made of small-diameter plastic scintillating optical fibers, a material with demonstrated radiation detection performance, and backed by malleable leaded sheets. Upon radiation sensing, controlled LED reporters enable easy visualization of exposed areas. This technology reports exposure dose and distribution on different parts of the body in real-time while simultaneously offering a protective covering over a large surface area. Future iterations of the technology will enable recording and relaying of exposure information for research and healthcare worker training purposes.
Other Applications
Beyond occupational health, this technology can be used in industrial, military, and environmental applications to identify source, cover, and localize large surface radiation contamination.
Advantages
- Lightweight and wearable material with self-contained LED-reporting technology
- Real-time detection of multiple exposure locations over a large surface area
- Easily integrated into existing radiation protective garments
- Made from optical fibers with demonstrated radiation detection performance