Alf Sciochi, "A Brief Survey of Medical Physics – never a dull moment!"

Electromagnetism, high energy, atomic, and nuclear physics, and interactions of photons and charged particles with the human body all come together to detect disease with imaging devices and treat cancer patients with radiotherapy. Medical physicists have used linear accelerators and invented accessories and algorithms to shape radiation and modulate it spatially and temporally to sculpt the radiation dose into the shape of the tumor while avoiding the critical organs. Medical physicists have used their creativity, knowledge, and analytical skills to treat cancer, not only in the clinic, but also in industry. Advanced imaging devices can visualize internal anatomy as it changes while a patient breathes. State of the art treatment devices can image tumors releasing annihilation photons, track them, and send photons back to treat the tumor. In the clinic, physicists find ways of testing these devices and develop clinical workflows to ensure their safe use. Medical Physicists have challenging and rewarding careers, and this presentation will describe what they do, the career paths, and how one can become a medical physicist.