BSc Physics with Theoretical Physics / Course details

Physics of Medical Imaging

To illustrate, using medical imaging, how physics is applied to the problems of clinical measurement, diagnosis, patient management and biomedical research.
To provide an understanding of the phenomena and processes of medical imaging.
 

1. Introduction to medical imaging      (1 lecture)
The role of physics in medical imaging and the range of imaging methods.

2. Ultrasound imaging    (2 lectures)
Transducers, properties of the ultrasound beam, interaction of the beam with the patient, acoustic impedance, scanning modes, Doppler ultrasound and flow imaging.

3. X-ray imaging and X-ray CT   (4 lectures)
X-ray tubes and the generation of X-rays, X-ray spectrum, interaction of X-rays with the patient, attenuation, image receptors, X-ray image properties, measurement noise, contrast, resolution, X-ray computed tomography (CT), 2-D and 3-D imaging, filtered back projection, Hounsfield Units.

4. Image mathematics and introductory image processing    (2 lectures)
Digital image representation, Fourier reconstruction methods, iterative reconstruction, modulation transfer functions, 2D convolution, image filtering and noise reduction, image segmentation, image registration.

5. Positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)    (4 lectures)
Radioisotopes, radiotracers and molecular imaging, scintillators, gamma cameras, resolution, sensitivity, collimators, coincidence, PET-CT and SPECT-CT, tracer kinetic modeling.

6. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)    (7 lectures)
Basic concepts of MR physics, spin polarization, resonance, relaxation, spin echoes, gradient echoes, spatial encoding using magnetic field gradients, k-space and image reconstruction, relaxation enhancement, MRI scanner hardware, functional MRI, MR spectroscopy.

7. Other imaging modalities in medical research    (3 lectures)
Electric and magnetic fields in the brain, magnetoencephalography, electrical impedance tomography, electroencephalography,

23 lectures in total including revision and worked examples
 

Example exam questions on the lecture content will be provided and model answers will be issued.

Because of the breadth of the material, students will be provided with a reading list and/or detailed notes as appropriate.