ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Radiation and Health
Potential of Smartwatch Touchscreen Glass for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Dosimetry in Radiological Emergencies
Provisionally accepted
JAE SEOK KIM1*
Byeong Ryong Park1Byeong Min Lee1
Chanwoo Park1MinSeok Park1Seokwon Yoon1Yejin Kim1Kihoon Kim1
Minsu Cho1Kyu Seok Cho1HyoJin Kim2- 1Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Nowon-gu, Republic of Korea
- 2Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, Gijang-gun, Republic of Korea
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Introduction: In radiological emergencies, retrospective dosimetry is essential for estimating absorbed radiation doses when conventional dosimetric data are unavailable. Various human-derived tissues and surrounding materials have been used for dose assessment using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques. However, because the retrospective dosimetric materials have inherent limitations, dose assessment should reasonably be determined through the combined application of various retrospective dosimetry methods. With the increasing use of smartwatches for health monitoring and fashion, touchscreen glass on smartwatches has a potential as a material for retrospective dosimetry. Methods: The radiological characteristics of smartwatch touchscreen glass (STG) were evaluated for its potential role in public health emergency preparedness during radiological incidents. STGs samples extracted from several smartwatch models were evaluated for their radiological characteristics, including background signal, mechanically induced signal, light-induced signals, radiation-induced signal (RIS), time stability of RIS, dose-response relationship, ultraviolet (UV) effects on RIS, thermal and pretreatment effects on RIS, and the minimum detectable dose. Results: Among the tested samples, STG-4, derived from the Mi Band series produced by Xiaomi, demonstrated the most suitable performance in various radiological characteristics. Based on the radiological characteristics, a preliminary STG-EPR dosimetry protocol was established, and a blind test was performed using En score analysis under laboratory conditions. The En scores, calculated from the evaluated and reference doses, were within ±1, satisfying the acceptance criterion specified by ISO 13528. Discussion: STG-4 was confirmed as a potential material for application in EPR dosimetry through the blind test, demonstrating the feasibility of achieving rapid and reliable dose assessment using STG. Because the UV effects on RIS and the material composition of the STGs vary by manufacturer and smartwatch version, further research is recommended to optimize their use in radiation emergency response and public health protection.
Keywords: Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, radiologcial emergencies, Radiological characteristics, Retrospective dosimetry, smartwatch touchscreen glass
Received: 04 Nov 2025; Accepted: 10 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 KIM, Park, Lee, Park, Park, Yoon, Kim, Kim, Cho, Cho and Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: JAE SEOK KIM
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