On February 4 and 5, an informal binational working group—comprised of experts from Japan and the United States—met in Hiroshima to discuss the use of new models of the human body that facilitate precise calculation of radiation doses received by individual organs. These models are based on modern, high-resolution scans of the human body, and are available for men and women from birth to adulthood, pregnant women in adulthood, and fetuses at different stages of development.

To accurately quantify the health risks that result from exposure to atomic bomb radiation, it is essential to have reliable estimates of the radiation doses received by individual atomic-bomb survivors. Dose assessment (or, dosimetry) is an ongoing process that has been refined by RERF over time, based on a better understanding of the nature of the radiation produced by the bombs and improvements made in the quality of information available for individual survivors.

The binational working group presented preliminary results regarding the potential differences in radiation doses using these new models compared with the older models used in RERF’s current dosimetry system. Additional work will be necessary if RERF wants to include such new models into its working dosimetry system.