Session U17: Physics and Imaging in Medicine

Careers in Medical Physics and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), a member society of the AIP is the largest professional society of medical physicists in the world with nearly 5700 members. Members operate in medical centers, university and community hospitals, research laboratories, industry, and private practice. Medical physics specialties include radiation therapy physics, medical diagnostic and imaging physics, nuclear medicine physics, and medical radiation safety. The majority of AAPM members is based in hospital departments of radiation oncology or radiology and provide technical support for patient diagnosis and treatment in a clinical environment. Job functions include support of clinical care, calibration and quality assurance of medical devices such as linear accelerators for cancer therapy, CT, PET, MRI, and other diagnostic imaging devices, research, and teaching. Pathways into a career in medical physics require an advanced degree in medical physics, physics, engineering, or closely related field, plus clinical training in one or more medical physics specialties (radiation therapy physics, imaging physics, or radiation safety). Most clinically based medical physicists also obtain certification from the American Board of Radiology, and some states require licensure as well.   

International Standardization of the Clinical Dosimetry of Beta Radiation Brachytherapy Sources: Progress of an ISO Standard

In 2004 a new work item proposal (NWIP) was accepted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 85 (TC85 -- Nuclear Energy), Subcommittee 2 (Radiation Protection) for the development of a standard for the clinical dosimetry of beta radiation sources used for brachytherapy. To develop this standard, a new Working Group (WG 22 - Ionizing Radiation Dosimetry and Protocols in Medical Applications) was formed. The standard is based on the work of an ad-hoc working group initiated by the Dosimetry task group of the Deutsches Insitiut f\"{u}r Normung (DIN). Initially the work was geared mainly towards the needs of intravascular brachytherapy, but with the decline of this application, more focus has been placed on the challenges of accurate dosimetry for the concave eye plaques used to treat ocular melanoma. Guidance is given for dosimetry formalisms, reference data to be used, calibrations, measurement methods, modeling, uncertainty determinations, treatment planning and reporting, and clinical quality control. The document is currently undergoing review by the ISO member bodies for acceptance as a Committee Draft (CD) with publication of the final standard expected by 2007. There are opportunities for other ISO standards for medical dosimetry within the framework of WG22.   

Scientific Programs and Funding Opportunities at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

The mission of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is to improve human health by promoting the development and translation of emerging technologies in biomedical imaging and bioengineering. To this end, NIBIB supports a coordinated agenda of research programs in advanced imaging technologies and engineering methods that enable fundamental biomedical discoveries across a broad spectrum of biological processes, disorders, and diseases and have significant potential for direct medical application. These research programs dramatically advance the Nation's healthcare by improving the detection, management and, ultimately, the prevention of disease. The research promoted and supported by NIBIB also is strongly synergistic with other NIH Institutes and Centers as well as across government agencies. This presentation will provide an overview of the scientific programs and funding opportunities supported by NIBIB, highlighting those that are of particular important to the field of medical physics.   

Medical Physics Graduate Program At An HBCU

The Physics Department at Hampton University houses the first Medical Physics graduate program at a minority institution, and the first in the state of Virginia. Jointly established with the Eastern Virginia Medical School, the program requires students to take standard physics courses in addition to medical physics classes and clinical rotations performed at local hospitals. The associated medical physics research primarily focuses on detectors development for absolute 3D dose distribution measurements (with accuracy better than $\pm $100 microns), characterization of the uniformity or non-uniformity of Brachytherapy sources, and extraction of the 2D and 3D in-vivo dose maps for real time dose monitoring. Recent novel fundamental studies on the energy dependence of cancer cells to address, among others, mono-energetic Brachytherapy source treatments, reaction mechanisms associated with cancer cell destruction, and cancer genome identification have been launched. Each of the research conducted is strongly coupled to dedicated Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations. After presenting this unique medical physics program, we will review results obtained from its research group.