Citizen scientists analyzing chromosome images during a radiation emergency.

Can Citizen Scientists Help During Nuclear Emergencies? Training Everyday People for Biodosimetry

Beau Callahan in Health & Wellness August 2025 • 4 min read.

"New research explores how electronic training tools can empower ordinary citizens to assist in radiation dose assessment during mass casualty events."

In the event of a nuclear or radiological incident, quickly determining who has been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation is critical. The dicentric chromosome assay (DCA) is the gold standard for measuring radiation exposure in individuals, but it's a complex and time-consuming process.

Traditional DCA requires specialized laboratory equipment and highly trained personnel, creating a bottleneck when dealing with a large number of potential victims. To address this challenge, researchers are exploring ways to increase the surge capacity of trained personnel who can perform DCA.

A recent study published in Applied Radiation and Isotopes investigates the development of electronic training and telescoring tools to equip ordinary citizens with the skills to assist in dicentric chromosome scoring. This article explores the findings of this research and its implications for improving emergency response capabilities.

Empowering Citizen Scientists: A New Approach to Biodosimetry

Citizen scientists analyzing chromosome images during a radiation emergency.

The study focused on creating user-friendly electronic training modules and telescoring platforms to train volunteers in identifying dicentric chromosomes. These tools were designed to be accessible to individuals with no prior experience in radiation cytogenetics.

Researchers recruited 50 volunteers with diverse academic backgrounds and provided them with online training and digital images of metaphase cells. The volunteers were then tasked with scoring the images for dicentric chromosomes.

Electronic Training Modules: Web-based modules with clear instructions and practice images.
Telescoring Platform: A system for remote analysis of digital microscope images.
Performance Evaluation: Comparison of volunteer scores against those of experienced cytogeneticists.

The results of the study were encouraging. With the exception of only one outlier, the volunteers were able to accurately estimate radiation doses based on their dicentric chromosome scoring. The study also found that color images were generally preferred over grayscale images for scoring purposes, and that inter-scorer reliability was high, indicating consistency in scoring among the volunteers.

The Future of Emergency Biodosimetry: A Collaborative Approach

This research highlights the potential for citizen scientists to play a crucial role in radiation emergency response. By leveraging electronic training tools and telescoring platforms, we can significantly increase the number of individuals capable of assisting with DCA, improving our ability to rapidly assess radiation exposure in mass casualty events.

The study also underscores the importance of continued development and refinement of these training programs. Future research should focus on optimizing the training modules, incorporating more complex image analysis scenarios, and expanding the pool of trained volunteers.

Ultimately, a collaborative approach involving professional experts and trained citizen scientists will be essential for ensuring effective biodosimetry response in the face of radiological or nuclear emergencies. This network can facilitate sample sharing and rapid biodosimetry processing.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2018.12.005, Alternate LINK

Title: Development Of Electronic Training And Telescoring Tools To Increase The Surge Capacity Of Dicentric Chromosome Scorers For Radiological/Nuclear Mass Casualty Incidents

Subject: Radiation

Journal: Applied Radiation and Isotopes

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Authors: Adayabalam S. Balajee, Maria Escalona, Carol J. Iddins, Igor Shuryak, Gordon K. Livingston, Don Hanlon, Nicholas Dainiak

Published: 2019-02-01

Everything You Need To Know

What is the dicentric chromosome assay, and why is it important in a nuclear emergency?

The dicentric chromosome assay, or DCA, is the gold standard for measuring radiation exposure in people. It involves analyzing blood samples to identify dicentric chromosomes, which are abnormal chromosomes that form when cells are exposed to radiation. The number of these chromosomes present indicates the level of radiation exposure someone has received. While highly accurate, DCA traditionally requires specialized lab equipment and highly trained personnel.

How can ordinary people learn to assist with radiation dose assessment?

Electronic training modules and telescoring platforms are used. The electronic training modules provide web-based instruction with clear guidance and practice images. The telescoring platform is a system allowing remote analysis of digital microscope images of chromosomes. People can learn to identify dicentric chromosomes in cells using these tools, even without prior experience.

What did the study reveal about the ability of citizen scientists to score dicentric chromosomes?

The study showed that, with proper electronic training, citizen scientists can accurately estimate radiation doses by scoring dicentric chromosomes. Volunteers achieved high inter-scorer reliability, meaning their scoring was consistent. Color images were generally preferred over grayscale images for scoring. This suggests that citizen scientists can contribute to biodosimetry efforts during emergencies.

What are the benefits of using citizen scientists in radiation emergencies?

Citizen scientists' involvement increases the capacity to perform the dicentric chromosome assay, or DCA, during nuclear or radiological emergencies. Traditional DCA is limited by the availability of specialized personnel and equipment. By training citizen scientists, a larger pool of people can assist with DCA, allowing for quicker assessment of radiation exposure in mass casualty events. This could significantly improve emergency response capabilities.

Are there other considerations for using citizen scientists in nuclear emergency response beyond dicentric chromosome scoring?

While the focus is on the dicentric chromosome assay, or DCA, other biodosimetry methods exist, such as lymphocyte count depletion or gene expression analysis. Also, effectively integrating citizen scientists into emergency response plans requires careful coordination with existing emergency response infrastructure. The legal and ethical considerations of using citizen scientists in this capacity, including data privacy and liability issues need consideration.