Medical Physics

Medical Physics is the application of physics, electronics and computing to medical problems. There are a large number of specialities such as nuclear medicine, which uses radioactive materials for diagnosis of disease, radiotherapy, which employs linear accelerators to destroy cancerous tissue, as well as medical electronics and magnetic resonance imaging. The MSc in Medical Physics is the first step towards qualification as a Medical Physicist.

The MSc programme has been designed to integrate with the UK NHS's grade-A Medical Physicist Training Scheme, and has been accredited for this purpose by the Institute of Physics & Engineering in Medicine.

Syllabus

The MSc programme consists of three terms each lasting approximately 4 months. The first term comprises lectures and practicals covering the whole range of the subject; in the second term students specialise in three areas. The third term is a research-style project.

Examples of recent MSc projects include:

• Reconstruction filtering of gamma camera PET data.
• Multi-leaf collimators in radiotherapy.
• Measurement of T1 values in dynamic breast MRI.
• Computer analysis of ultrasound scans of the eye.

Assessment

The programme is assessed by continuous assessment (including practical write-ups, essay assignments and student presentations), by assessment of the project work and thesis, by written examinations and by oral examination.

Dedication

12 months, full-time.