Photodosimeter Badge System

The Committee on Phototherapy in the Newborn of the National Academy of Sciences has recommended10 development of a compact system to continuously measure radiant energy exposure of infants treated with phototherapy. A small bilirubinimpregnated photodosimeter film badge was developed by the Beckman Instrument Company for this purpose and was used during the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) phototherapy study. This report summarizes the results of data obtained with this measurement device and briefly describes the performance of this system. METHODS The film badge dosimeter system consists of a 5.2x2.6-cm plastic badge composed of an imbedded disk of bilirubin cast in a polymeric substrate and sandwiched between two layers of clear plastic. Before exposure to light, the badge exhibits a high optical density at 460 nm due to a relatively high concentration of bilirubin. The optical density of the badge at 400 to 500 nm decreases as a function of the total dose of light within the action spectrum for the photodecomposition of bilirubin to which the badge has been exposed. Initial optical density at 460 nm is measured by a densitometer designed and dedicated specifically for this purpose. After exposure, the optical density is again measured by insertion into the densitometer; the total dosage, which is the time-integrated irradiance received by the badge during the photodecomposition process, is derived from the difference in optical density between the two readings. (A description of the calibration of the badge is available on request from Biometry Branch, Epidemiology and Biometry Research Program, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland.)