84279 - Medical Physics

Learning outcomes

By the end of the MEDICAL PHYSICS course the student will be able to:- Describe the physical phenomena most relevant to biological processes and fundamental to the understanding of diagnostic and medical treatment. Define the physical basis of medical procedures and devices used for the diagnosis and therapy of diseases. Define the physical basis for medical signal collection, processing, and their analysis using Artificial Intelligence.

Course contents

• physical quantities, units, measurement, uncertainty, and modelling;
• mechanics of the body, elasticity, pressure, flow, circulation, and respiration;
• oscillations, sound, Doppler methods, and ultrasound;
• heat transfer, thermoregulation, diffusion, and biological transport;
• electricity, bioelectricity, physiological signals, instrumentation, sampling, and digital processing;
• optics, image formation, resolution, and optical medical devices;
• atomic and nuclear physics, ionising-radiation interactions, radiography, CT, PET, and SPECT;
• dosimetry, biological effects, radiation protection, and quality assurance;
• magnetic-resonance imaging;
• radiotherapy and treatment planning;
• introductory artificial intelligence for signals, images, prediction, monitoring, and therapy.

Readings/Bibliography

Lecture notes will available on Virtuale

suggested readings (not compulsory):

• Introduction to Medical Physics; Bacchetta and Scannicchio
• Physics in Biology and Medicine 4th Edition; Paul Davidovits

Teaching methods

The course will include a mixture of frontal lectures and flipped classroom lecture, with problem based learning, and individual and group based activities. 

Attendance to this learning activity is mandatory; the minimum attendance requirement to be admitted to the final exam is 60% of lessons. Students who fail to meet the minimum attendance requirement will not be admitted to the final exam of the course, and will have to attend relevant classes again during the next academic year.

Professors may authorise excused absences upon receipt of proper justifying documentation, in case of serious and prolonged illness or other serious reasons. Excused absences do not count against a student’s attendance record to determine their minimum attendance requirement.

Assessment methods

To access the final exam the student will have to have completed (with a  passing grade of 30 over 90 points) ALL the self evaluation quizzes available online on Virtuale.

The exam will be an oral exam, focused on evaluating the ability of the student to identify, define and describe the physical processes underlying medical processes.

Specific examples of questions will be discussed during class.

The oral exam might include the active use of generative AI to investigate the physical bases of physiology, diagnostic or therapeutic tools, with the discussion and evaluation of the obtained results.

 

Students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) or temporary/permanent disabilities are advised to contact the University Office responsible in a timely manner (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ). The office will be responsible for proposing any necessary accommodations to the students concerned. These accommodations must be submitted to the instructor for approval at least 15 days in advance, and will be evaluated in light of the learning objectives of the course.

 

Teaching tools

Frontal lectures with Slides; Flipped classroom with online material; self evaluation quizzes.

Links to further information

http://www.iop.org/education/teacher/resources/teaching-medical-physics/page_54690.html

Office hours

See the website of Enrico Giampieri