Science AMA Series: Hi Reddit, we’re a group of passionate medical
physicists working in clinical, industry and research, here to shed
light on the wonderful world of medical physics. Ask us anything!
Abstract
EDIT: Thank you SO much for your very insightful and thought-provoking
questions! We had a blast, and we are so excited so many of you are
interested in medical physics! We’re signing off for now, but will
answer a few more questions throughout the day. Thanks again! So, who
IS a medical physicist? We’re concerned with three areas of activity:
clinical service and consultation, research and development and
teaching. In clinical work, medical physicists are heavily involved with
responsibilities in areas of diagnosis and treatment, for individual
patients and across the entire clinical environment. In radiation
oncology departments, one important example is the planning of radiation
treatments for cancer patients, using either external radiation or
internal radioactive sources. In imaging departments, the focus is not
only to take pictures of body form and function safely, but to more
importantly achieve precise quantitative benefit. We also can play a
lead role on medical research teams. For example, we design new imaging
methods to see through the human body most effectively. In cancer, we
work primarily on issues involving radiation, such as the basic physical
mechanisms of biological change after irradiation, the application of
new high-energy machines for patient treatment and the development of
new techniques for precise measurement of radiation. We do important
things – but the challenge of our work lies in trying to marry the
basic science of physics with the applied art of medicine. We’re strong
proponents of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine’s
Medical Physics 3.0 initiative, which is based on the core premise that
medical physicists have a unique calling and expertise to be scientific
agents (i.e., catalysts): agents for precision and innovation in the
development and practice of medicine. Within the medical physics
community, we’re focused on fostering a culture that empowers better
communication, enabling better patient care. Ask us anything about our
careers, research goals, trends in medical physics or anything else you
can dream of! We’re here to spread the word about how awesome it is to
be a medical physicist and maybe inspire a few of you to join us
someday! We are: Ehsan Samei, PhD, DABR, FAAPM, FSPIE, FAIMBE, a
Persian-American medical physicist. As an imaging scientist and a
clinical practitioner, I am passionate about bridging the gap between
scientific scholarship and clinical practice. I like to see high-quality
research effectively translated to benefit individual patients. Robin
Miller, MS DABR FAAPM, a medical physicist focusing on clinical
radiation therapy. As a part of the cancer care team, my passion is
providing the highest quality care possible for each patient treated.
Paul Naine, MSc. MIPEM, IEng, a medical physicist working for a device
manufacturer. I work alongside teams of medical professionals whose
vocation is to design and deliver products and services to enable
healthcare providers to focus on providing the safest and most effective
treatments to their patients.