Laboratory of Biological Dosimetry, National Radiation Emergency Medical Center (NREMC), Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences (KIRAMS), Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co, Radiation Health Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Int J Radiat Biol. 2024;100(5):709-714. doi: 10.1080/09553002.2024.2316603. Epub 2024 Feb 23.
Networking with other biodosimetry laboratories is necessary to assess the radiation exposure of many individuals in large-scale radiological accidents. The Korea biodosimetry network, K-BioDos, prepared harmonized scoring guidelines for dicentric chromosome assay to obtain homogeneous results within the network and investigated the efficiency of the guidelines.
Three laboratories in K-BioDos harmonized the scoring guidelines for dicentric chromosome assay. The results of scoring dicentric chromosomes using the harmonized scoring guidelines were compared with the laboratories' results using their own methods. Feedback was collected from the scorers following the three intercomparison exercises in 3 consecutive years.
K-BioDos members showed comparable capacity to score dicentrics in the three exercises. However, the results of the K-BioDos guidelines showed no significant improvement over those of the scorers' own methods. According to the scorers, our harmonized guidelines led to more rejected metaphases and ultimately decreased the number of scorable metaphases compared with their own methods. Moreover, the scoring time was sometimes longer with the K-BioDos protocol because some scorers were not yet familiar with the guidelines, though most scorers reported that the time decreased or was unchanged. These challenges may cause low adherence to the guidelines. Most scorers expressed willingness to use the guidelines to select scorable metaphases or identify dicentrics for other biodosimetry works, whereas one did not want to use it due to the difference from their calibration curves.
We identified potential resistance to following the harmonized guidelines and received requests for more detailed methods. Our findings suggest that the harmonized criteria should be continually updated, and education and training should be provided for all scorers. These changes could allow members within the biodosimetry network to successfully collaborate and support each other in large-scale radiological accidents.
与其他生物剂量学实验室建立网络联系对于评估大规模放射事故中许多个体的辐射暴露情况是必要的。韩国生物剂量学网络（K-BioDos）制定了用于双着丝粒染色体分析的协调评分指南，以在网络内获得同质结果，并研究了这些指南的效率。
K-BioDos 中的三个实验室协调了双着丝粒染色体分析的评分指南。使用协调评分指南对双着丝粒染色体进行评分的结果与实验室使用其自身方法的结果进行了比较。在连续三年的三次相互比较练习后，从评分员那里收集了反馈。
K-BioDos 成员在三次练习中都表现出了可比的双着丝粒评分能力。然而，K-BioDos 指南的结果并没有比评分员自身方法的结果有显著改善。根据评分员的反馈，我们的协调指南导致更多的中期被拒绝，与他们自身的方法相比，最终减少了可评分的中期数量。此外，由于一些评分员对指南还不熟悉，K-BioDos 协议有时会导致评分时间延长，尽管大多数评分员报告说时间减少或保持不变。这些挑战可能导致对指南的低依从性。大多数评分员表示愿意使用指南来选择可评分的中期或识别其他生物剂量学工作中的双着丝粒，而有一位评分员由于与他们的校准曲线不同而不想使用该指南。
我们确定了对遵循协调指南的潜在抵制，并收到了更详细方法的请求。我们的发现表明，协调标准应不断更新，并应为所有评分员提供教育和培训。这些变化可以使生物剂量学网络中的成员成功合作并在大规模放射事故中相互支持。
