Medical management of a cutaneous contamination.

The authors propose a process to improve the medical management of a cutaneous contamination in two ways: firstly by analysis of practices and products of decontamination used; secondly, by developing computer tools for the occupational physicians. This software will allow them to have a rapid dosimetric assessment in the event of a skin contamination by radioactive particles and will help them in their diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. A standardized data sheet was created allowing the exhaustive collection of adequate information in order to evaluate the skin dose. The selection of appropriate monitoring equipment with a 1 cm2 detector, depending on the place and on the surface of the contaminated area, will allow the evaluation and the quantification of the surface activities. A tool has been made as a software package, named Cutadose®, allowing the assessment of the skin dose in situ as well as the efficacy of the prescribed therapy.