![Active physics pdf Active physics pdf](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125752642/329619325.jpg)
Our academic research includes medical imaging, physiological monitoring, radiotherapy and biomedical engineering. Ours is a joint department with Medical Physics in the UCLH NHS Trust, and our staff work side by side with hospital physicists, clinical doctors and other health professionals, enabling us to provide our students with a fully connected curriculum. We offer a range of accredited BSc, MSc, MRes and PhD degrees and Postgraduate Diplomas in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. We are a friendly, diverse department. We know all of our students by name, and you'll be taught in small, interactive classes by the leading experts in their field.
I was the Chief of Physics and Director of the Medical Physics Graduate Program for over 20 years, and am still active within the program and within the AAPM. I regularly teach a seminar course on writing good journal articles and serve as a judge for the annual Graduate Student Research Award. The best preparation would really be a combination of electrical or biomedical engineering and physics with some biology, chemistry, and anatomy thrown in for good measure. This is because much of the research in medical physics involves research in imaging or radiation therapy.
The department offers a range of accredited first degree and postgraduate programmes, research degrees and doctoral training. Find out more.
We have active programmes of research covering a very broad range of topics in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. Find out about our principal research groups, institutes and centres.
Find out about our engagement with industry, and our extensive programme of public engagement and outreach activities.
Learn about the history of the department, the kinds of careers our graduates go on to, current vacancies, and how to find us.
Catch up with what our alumni are up to, find out about the latest alumni events and networking opportunities and sign up to the UCL Alumni Online Community.
Find out about what life is like in our department, the careers options available to our graduates, and meet some of our amazing staff and students.
- Home
- Services
- Medical physics
- Services
Your views
Your feedback is vital to us as we continue to increase the quality of our services.
Responsibilities of the Medical Physics Department
The Medical Physics Department is responsible for the commissioning and safe use of machines which emit radiation, such as:
- linear accelerators, simulators and computed tomography (CT) scanners used in radiotherapy
- gamma cameras and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)
- dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and positron emission tomography (PET)/CT scanners used in nuclear medicine
The department is also responsible for the safety of X-ray machines used in radiology, as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines and lasers used in many areas of the hospital. Overall, Medical Physics is responsible for over £15,000,000 worth of equipment throughout the Trust.
Staff are also involved in a wide range of direct patient-orientated activities, including:
- carrying out diagnostic scans on patients
- planning patient treatments
- assisting in brachytherapy implants
- making bespoke immobilization shells
Medical Physics also has teaching responsibilities for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) staff and university students. For example, staff teach on several MSc courses in physics and oncology, and on clinical oncology and diagnostic radiology FRCR courses. The department also provides local and national courses on radiation safety and other topics.
Medical Physics has a primary clinical service function, but the role of clinical scientists and clinical technologists in the health services includes a significant research and development component. There are two reasons for this:
- Excellence in any clinical area is only maintained by the process of continuing reappraisal, as well as the search for and application of new knowledge
- Secondly, in times of recruitment and retention difficulty, the presence of active research groups encourages retention and aids recruitment