Decontamination of Radioactive Isotopes from Skin

Oregon Biomedical Engineering Institute (OBEI) with Kogakuin University, Japan Global, 2012-13

Liaison(s): Kenton Gregory M.D, Teresa Pineda ’06, Jian Guo PhD, Lisa Lucchesi M.S.
Advisor(s): Elizabeth Orwin, Masanori Shiomi (KU), Sebastian Brooke (KU)
Students(s): Braden Neufeld (TL-S), J Emery (TL-F), Brianna Posadas, Jaclyn Olmos-Silverman, Maya Johnson, Meghan Jimenez (S), Naohito Banzai (KU), Ryosuke Yokosawa (KU), Yusuke Watabe (KU)

As the use of nuclear technology continues to advance and expand around the world, the risk of accidental exposure to radioactive isotopes grows for civilian and military workers alike. The goal of this project was to create a portable device to quickly and effectively decontaminate skin that has been exposed to ionizing radiation. Working jointly with Kogakuin University in Tokyo, the team designed several prototypes and developed a method for evaluating their effectiveness in removing contaminants from skin.