Advanced Medical Countermeasures and Devices for Use During a Radiological or Nuclear Emergency

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, the US Government has made purposeful investments to help ensure medical preparedness should a radiological or nuclear incident occur within its borders. This focused support of products to diagnose, mitigate, and treat radiation-induced bodily injuries that would be anticipated during a radiation public health emergency has involved many departments, ranging from multiple agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services to the Department of Defense. The intent of this manuscript is to convey information both on products that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for radiation injuries during a radiation incident, as well as promising approaches under advanced stages of development. These products impact multiple organ systems (e.g., bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract, lungs, kidneys, skin) and have been tested for efficacy in a number of different small and large preclinical animal models. The successful development of these models, methods, products, and devices discussed herein demonstrate the importance of an intentionally collaborative, "one-government" approach to fostering radiation research, while also showcasing the need for critical public-private partnerships - all to ensure the safety of the public should the unthinkable occur.

Keywords: Acute Radiation Syndrome; Delayed Radiation Syndromes; Disaster Medicine; biodosimetry; radionuclide.

Figure 1:

Advancements under study to address medical countermeasures for organ system injuries, decorporation of internal contamination and estimation of absorbed radiation dose.