What is medical physics?
Medical physics is a branch of applied physics concerned with the application of principles and methods of physics to diagnose diseases and treat them (therapy). (which is concerned with the application of engineering principles in biology and medicine) and “medical physics” (which is concerned with estimating and controlling radiation doses and protection from it).
Medical physics is also called biomedical physics, applied physics in medicine, applications of physics in medical sciences, or radiation physics.
Medical physics is divided into four main branches:
– Therapeutic Radiological Physics
Nuclear Medicine Physics
Diagnostic Imaging Physics
Radiation protection (medical health physics).
In addition to this, in some other divisions:
Laser Physics
Ultrasound Physics
Infrared and thermal therapy physics
Bioelectrical Physics (such as Electrocardiography and Electroencephalography) Bioelectrical Physics
In large hospitals, there is a department called Medical Physics, and under it are people for these four branches. The Radiotherapy Physics Division is often the largest, as physicists provide support services to the radiological tumor treatment department in the hospital, such as planning radiation doses and ensuring that they are accurately delivered to the oncology patient. Diagnostic imaging devices such as X-rays, CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, and others require the presence of a diagnostic imaging physicist. They work to ensure that these devices conform to international standards and specifications for patients.
But when there is a possibility of radiation leakage in the hospital or any institution, there must be health physicists who make sure that patients or employees are not exposed to unnecessary radiation, and they communicate with the authorities concerned with radiation protection in the country. In the case of nuclear medicine devices in the hospital, at least one medical physicist is present who provides his services to that department, such as carrying out qualitative quality tests for the devices and ensuring the radiological safety of the work environment, in addition to training and education.
There are other branches that are overlooked when mentioning medical physics and we do not see them in hospitals, such as the physics of laser devices, the physics of heat waves and heat therapy, and the physics of bioelectricity such as (electrocardiogram and brain).
Graduate job description:
The work of medical physicists includes four activities:
Clinical service.
– research and development.
Teaching and consulting.
– Administration.
Some of the tasks that a medical physicist performs are:
Work with doctors to ensure the safety and effectiveness of radiological procedures.
– Calculating the lowest effective dose of medical radiation for the patient.
Testing and supervising the maintenance of equipment used in medical imaging.
– Developing safety procedures for radiation workers.
– Reviewing data related to radiation levels in the nuclear power plant.
Contribute to the treatment of cancerous tumors using ionizing radiation, radiotherapy. (radiotherapy)
– Medical imaging for diagnostic purposes using ultrasound technology, in addition to X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
– Diagnostic radiography technique using radioactive isotopes, which is called nuclear medicine.
– Studying the damage caused by radiation, as well as radiation protection systems for people working in this field. There are many other applications of medical physics in the medical field under the branch of medical monitoring and diagnosis, including (electrocardiography, encephalography, and other applications) such as: medical physics applications that are concerned with studying the brain using magnetic waves, medical uses of infrared radiation, and the use of heat in treatment Oncology, the uses of lasers in surgery, and the Medical Physics specialization provide a set of study requirements closely related to other basic sciences with an emphasis on medical applications.
The involvement of a medical physicist in all or some of these activities depends on the place of work and on his educational background and personal interests. For example, most of the activities of a medical physicist working in a hospital are non-educational or in a clinic in clinical service, while a medical physicist working in an academic institution, so most of his activities are academic, such as teaching and scientific research.
Career Title:
The college proposes to give graduates a job title as “Associate Physicist”, noting that graduates of the College of Science – Department of Physics are given a job title as “Associate Physicist”.
Academic system:
Since the study system in the college is (semester-course system), the study system in the department is the semester system, and the study in the department is four years, each academic year contains two semesters.
Admission plan:
Preparatory studies students are accepted – the scientific stream (biological and applied), at a rate of (50) students annually.
