An alternative method using microwave power saturate in fingernail/electron paramagnetic resonance dosimetry.

An alternative method for fingernail/electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry valid at low doses (0-3 Gy) is suggested in this paper. The method consisted of two steps. The first step involved dehydrating fingernail clippings to remove their water content by heating them at 70 °C for 72 h. As the water content in the fingernails decreased, the variability of the EPR signals improved. The second step involved measuring and fitting the EPR signals at successive microwave power levels. A newly derived value known as 'curvature', which was based on the conventional peak-to-peak amplitudes of the EPR signals, was applied for the dosimetry. This method could be used as an alternative method in cases of low-radiation exposure doses (<3 Gy) or where use of the conventional dosimetry method is not proper for a fingernail sample.