Medical physics

Medical physics applies physical principles and methods to medicine, especially medical imaging, radiation therapy, radiation protection, and the safe use of medical technologies.

Diagnostic radiology: Medical imaging that uses X-rays to diagnose disease and injury. Medical physicists optimize image quality and radiation dose in X-ray-based imaging.
X-ray: Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light, used in imaging and treatment. X-ray interactions with tissue create contrast and determine dose.
Ionizing radiation: Radiation energetic enough to remove electrons from atoms or molecules. It underlies X-ray imaging, nuclear medicine, and radiation therapy.
William D. Coolidge: An American physicist and inventor who developed the hot-cathode X-ray tube. His tube made controlled, reliable X-ray production practical for medical imaging.
Nuclear medicine: A medical specialty that uses radioactive tracers to image or treat disease. Physics methods support tracer imaging, activity measurement, and radiation safety.
Computed tomography: An imaging method that reconstructs cross-sectional views from measurements taken as an X-ray source rotates. It combines X-ray attenuation measurements with mathematical image reconstruction.
Attenuation: The reduction in intensity of radiation or a wave as it passes through matter. Attenuation differences create much of the contrast in X-ray images.
Godfrey Hounsfield: An English electrical engineer who developed the first practical computed tomography scanner. His scanner established CT as a major medical imaging technology.
Radiation therapy: The treatment of disease, especially cancer, using ionizing radiation. Medical physicists help plan and verify radiation treatments.
Radiation dosimetry: The measurement and calculation of absorbed ionizing-radiation dose. Dose measurement connects radiation delivery to its physical and biological effects.

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