A method to advance and evaluate new emergency response technologies: A case study implementation using EPR dosimetry

The goal of this study was to develop and test a new methodology, the Disaster Technology Assessment Cycle (DTAC), for the effective development and assessment of new clinical emergency response technologies that can improve the speed and ease with which they can be transferred from laboratory-based prototypes used in controlled settings to being implemented in a public health disaster context. To evaluate the DTAC, we used a case study approach, focusing on a prototype of a medical device, an Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) dosimeter, that can be used to screen the population for significant radiation exposures after a catastrophic nuclear event. The DTAC is based on the participatory-based design paradigm. The DTAC was effective at evaluating and guiding the development of the EPR technology in aspects related to the context in which it will ultimately be used, and facilitated its translation from a laboratory-based prototype to a field deployable system.