Medical PhysicsHome and Abroad

Overview• What is Medical Physics• What does a Medical Physicist do?• Field in Medical Physics (table or organogram)• Medical Physics in Jamaica (U.W.I.)• How do I become a Medical Physicist? (flow chart)• Laws, Regulations and Policies. (Our BIGGEST problem but good news)• Organizations and Associations• Good Companions to a Medical Physics BSc. • What can you do with a Medical Physics BSc?• Departmental Research

What is Medical Physics?• Medical physics can be generally defined as a field in which applied

physics techniques are used in medicine. Traditionally, medical physics deals chiefly with the use of ionizing or non-ionizing radiation in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.• Source - National Centre for Biotechnology Information

(www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1891173)

What does a Medical Physicist do?• Clinical Service and Consultation

• Radiation treatment planning• Measurement of radiation doses in cancer therapy• Radiation audits

• Research and Development• Cancer and anatomical changes after treatment• Equipment (X-ray, CAT Scan, Spectroscopy, MRI, ECG, etc)• Best practices

• Teach• Radiation education

• Quality Assurance• Overseeing installations of radiation equipment• Overseeing radioactive materials• Calibration of equipment

Fields in Medical Physics

Medical Physics

Medical Health Physics Bio-Optics Biomedical

EngineeringRadiation Therapy

Medical Physics in Jamaica (U.W.I.)• U.W.I. is the only institution in Jamaica that offers Medical Physics• Focus on Medical Health Physics• Heavy metal poisoning• Radiation effect on humans• Radiation in different materials• Environmental radiation• Bio-optics• Bio-materials

• Biomedical engineering (Mona School of Engineering)

How do I become a Medical Physicist?

BSc. Medical Physics

MSc Medical Physics

Mphil-PHd in Medical Physics

Clinical Residency

Medical Physicist

Laws, Regulations and Policies.• The major challenge to Medical Physicists in Jamaica is a lack of laws.• Policies exist for radiation therapy but there are no Medical Physicists to see that they are

enforced. • There is no local regulatory body for radiation standards in Jamaica

• In August the Government of Jamaica signed a bill that will require every institution that operates a piece of medical radiation equipment to have a Medical Physicist on staff to ensure protection of other staff and patients.

• The possibility exist to obtain international certification via IAEA• Technical training is also a possibility for those interested in quality assurance i.e. calibrating

the machines.

Organisations and Associations• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)• American Association of Physicist in Medicine (AAPM)• European Federation of Organisation in Medical Physics (EFOMP)• United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation

Good Companions to the Medical Physics BSc.• Electronics• Anatomy• Material Science• Chemistry• Computer Science• Philosophy and Languages

What can you do with a Medical Physics BSc?• Apply for a Medical Physics MSc• Work as:• Teacher• Research Assistant• Medical/Dental Assistant• Emergency Medical Technician• Laboratory Technician• Laboratory Technologist• Radiation Consultant/Auditor

Departmental Research• Radiation in placenta (PHd)• Muon detection (PHd)• Radiation in ground provisions (Undergraduate)• Radiation in ground water (MSc)• X-Ray Fluoroscopy (MSc)• Bio-Optical diagnosis (Post-PHd)• Biomechanics (Post-Phd)• Phantoms and biomaterials (MSc)

Overseas Research• X-Ray Efficiency Improvement• Biomaterials• Integrated Imaging Modalities• Lasers• Biomechanics (Artificial Hearts and limbs)

• Hugh Herr at TED. • Link: • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDsNZJTWw0w