On This Page

  1. Overview
  2. Medical Imaging
  3. Radiation Therapy
  4. Dosimetry
  5. MRI
  6. Ultrasound
  7. Nuclear Medicine
  8. Safety and Quality Control
  9. Common Mistakes
  10. Why This Matters in Physics
  11. Related Topics

Overview

Medical physics is an applied branch of physics focused on medicine and healthcare. It supports technologies such as X-ray imaging, CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine, dosimetry, and medical device safety.

Medical Imaging

Medical imaging uses physical signals to produce images of the body. X-rays, magnetic fields, sound waves, radioactive tracers, and light-based methods all support different imaging systems.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy uses controlled ionizing radiation to damage cancer cells while limiting dose to healthy tissue.

Dosimetry

Dosimetry measures and calculates radiation dose. It is essential for patient safety, treatment planning, and equipment quality control.

MRI

MRI uses magnetic fields and radiofrequency signals to image soft tissues without ionizing radiation.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to image tissue, monitor motion, and measure blood flow.

Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear medicine uses radioactive tracers to study body function and, in some cases, deliver therapy.

Safety and Quality Control

Medical physics includes equipment testing, calibration, shielding, image quality, dose optimization, and regulatory compliance.

Common Mistakes

A common mistake is thinking medical physics is only radiation. It also includes acoustics, magnetism, electronics, optics, computation, and measurement.

Why This Matters in Physics

Medical physics connects physics to human health, diagnosis, treatment, safety, imaging, and biomedical technology.