Over the last two decades world events have highlighted the growing threat of terrorism and its many forms that include radiological/nuclear weapons. Acts of radiological or nuclear terrorism could involve the use of stolen or improvised nuclear devices, attacks on nuclear power plants or reactors, the detonation of a dirty bomb, or the placement of radiation sources in public locations or in food or water supplies. Moreover, natural disasters like the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan further emphasize the need for methods to assess radiation exposure of individuals and stockpile medical countermeasures (MCMs) to administer in the event of a radiation incident. Because estimates of radiation exposure dose alone will not necessarily predict the extent of radiation injury to organs and tissues, there is a need for rapid, accurate and sensitive assays/techniques and diagnostic platforms that can confirm exposure and predict acute and delayed radiation injury to different organs and tissues in victims of radiation incidents.
