/College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Biomedical Engineering

Medical Physics Course List

The Core Courses that all new graduate students in BME must take are: BME 501 – Engineering Principles in Cell Biology, BME 502 – Advanced Numerical & Computation Analysis Applied to Biological Systems, BME 505 – Principles and Practice of BME, BME 520 – Laboratory Rotation I and BME 521 – Laboratory Rotation II. Medical Physics Track students will also take BME 517 – Radiation Physics, BME 518 – Radiobiology, BME 519 – Medical Health Physics, BME 530 – Medical Image Formation, BME 540 – Radiation Oncology Physics, BME 599 - Research Projects, BME 610 – Magnetic Resonance, BME 611 - Positon Emission Tomography and BME 618 Anatomy for Medical Physicist. In addition, a course in anatomy is required. There a number of courses that satisfy the anatomy requirement; please consult with the Graduate Program Director and/or the Graduate Program Coordinator for a current course list. Formal acceptance into the Medical Physics track is granted only after completing BME 517 with at least an A-. Those that do not earn an A- in BME 517 may be admitted but will be on probation and expected to show excellent performance in subsequent track courses. 

Each course in the Medical Physic track is described below:

 

This graduate offering provides an initial physical background required for the study of the Medical Physics. Sources of ionizing radiation including radioactivity (natural and manmade) and x-ray producing devices are studied as well as sources of non-ionizing radiations such as radiofrequency and ultrasound. The physical aspects of these radiations are characterized by their interaction with matter and methods for their detection.

The biological consequences of irradiation (ionizing, ultrasound, laser, RF etc.) will be examined. Interaction mechanisms will first be examined followed by examination of the of the radiation impact at the molecular and cellular level. The use of radiation for therapeutic gain will be considered. As well, models will be developed for risk estimates. Topics to be covered will include: target theory, biological response, NSD and risk estimates.

This graduate offering will include the health physics and safety issues associated with Radiological devices, facilities and procedures. Instrument safety including design criteria, methods of evaluation, regulatory requirements and standards will be examined. Methods for facility design/shielding (radiation, magnetic etc.); survey methods and regulatory requirements will also be key aspects of this course.

This graduate offering covers the physical aspect of medical image formation. Image receptor design/optimization, reconstruction techniques, device hardware and performance characteristics are considered. Imaging devices covered in this offering include: radiography, fluoroscopy, cinefluorography, digital imaging, computed tomography, ultrasonography, scintigraphy, single photon emission computed tomography, positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

This graduate offering provides a background in therapeutic instrumentation, dosimetry and treatment planning. Clinical radiation generators are examined including kilovoltage units, Van de Graafs, Linacs, beatatron, microtron, cyclotron and radionuclide based units. Means for dose measurement using ionization chambers, solid state detectors (TLD), calorimetry, film and chemical dosimetry are studied as well as dosimetric calculation methods employing depth doses, tissue air rations, tissue maximum rations, irregular field techniques and methods for inhomogeneity corrections. Finally, 2D and 3D computer treatment planning techniques are studied.

This course focuses on hands-on clinical physics training for Medical Physics students. Didactic lectures are part of the program to provide additional teaching of clinical radidaiton oncology. Our comprehensive program is equipped with the latest radiotherapy procedures: intensity modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiotherapy, total body irradiation, and machine and patient QAs etc. At the conclusion of the program, students will be able to demonstrate competency in treatment planning for 3D, IMRT and SBRT cases, and machine and patient QAs. They will be well prepared for physics residency program applications.

This course provides a comprehensive study of magnetic resonance and its applications in medical imaging. An introduction of NMR is followed with development of the hardware and processing aspects required for MR image formation. An overview of basic and advanced MR imaging techniques is provided. Each student will select a topic in MR imaging for presentation at the conclusion of the course.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a unique and powerful molecular imaging method used in the clinic and in medical research.  It is a multidisciplinary endeavor involving the fields of chemistry, physics, mathematics, and medicine. This course addresses the disparate areas of science underlying PET imaging, including radioisotope production, radiotracer synthesis, the physics of the imaging process, quantitative data processing, image reconstruction approaches, data analysis, and tracer kinetic modeling to extract quantitative physiological parameters.  Radiotracer validation and applications of PET will also be covered including the area of drug addiction.  There is a hands-on component in which students will visit an active PET research center and acquire and manipulate PET data.

This course is designed to prepare the Medical Physics graduate student in the area of clinical Medical Imaging. In this clinical rotation, medical physics methods for: planar film, DR, CR, mamography, fluoroscopy, CT, ultrasound and MRI performance evaluations will be introduced. In addition, basic medical ethics, radiographic anatomy and radiation safety will be covered. A total of 200 clinical hours will be completed in this program.

This course is designed to prepare the Medical Physics graduate student in the area of clinical Nuclear Medicine Imaging. In this clinical rotation, the students will be exposed to radionuclide processes, radiopharmaceuticlas including radioactive gases and aerosols-prepartio, characteristics and radiation dosimetry, in vitro and in vivo radiation detection systems, imaging systems and their performance evaluations. In addition, basic medical ethics, clinical interpretations and radiation safety will be covered. A total of 150 clinical hours will be completed in this program.

This course is designed to prepare the Medical Physics graduate student in the area of clinical radiation oncology physics. In this clinical rotation, the student will learn by observation and participation some of a selection of the following medical physics procedures: LINAC Beam Dosimetry (ion chamber measurement techniques, film dosimetry (radiographic and radiochromic), diode dosimetry, TLD dosimetry, water phantom scanning), implementation of photon and electon beam calibration protocols (AAPM TG51), LINAC beam data measurement and tabulation, commissioning a TPS system, LINAC, acceptance testing, LINAC monthly QA, HDR QA and planning, and IMRT inverse planning and IMRT clinical QA. A total of 120 clinical hours will be completed in this program. Prerequisite: BME 517 and BME 540 with a B+ or better.

This course provides basic radiographic anatomy from both the projection and cross sectional point of view. This course also introduces basic disease processes including the nature and causes of disease and injury. The appearance of these diseases and injuries are examined on medical images acquired through all current methods: radigraphy, computed tomography, angiography, magnetic resonance, scintigraphy, positron emission tomography and sonography. Details of cancer initiation, growth, staging and treatment are considered.