Luminescent radio frequency radiation dosimetry

Thermoluminescent dosimetry has been the industry standard for ionizing rad iation dosimetry because it is inexpensive, sensitive, and accurate. No suc h system exists for radio frequency radiation. This paper describes the sta te of the art of efforts toward developing such a system. Thermochemilumine scent (TCL) dosimetry, first reported in 1991, is a first step toward achie ving this goal. However, it has had problems in the production of TCL mater ials and in conversion of the luminescent signal into specific absorption r ate (SAR). The former problem has been solved by the development of a genet ically engineered Escherichia coli bacterium (JM 1091plC20RNR(1.1)), descri bed herein, that produces the TCL material in a fermentation process. The l atter problem stems from the difficulty in determining the structure of the currently best TCL material diazoluminomelanin. A theoretical approach for the solution of this problem has been achieved by combining equations for delayed fluorescence, temperature determination by TCL, and the free energy equation for equilibrium reactions. It has led to an explanation for the s table display of steady-state energy disposition, illustrated by TCL, in ph antoms without the expected disruption by thermal conduction or convection, at frequencies ranging from 2.06 GHz to 35 GHz. Bioelectromagnetics 20:46- 51, 1999. Published 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.dagger.