Research topics in Medical Physics

[Md Physicist]

Hi

I graduated last summer with major physics and minor medical physics
(minor includes 3 courses : Ionizing radiation, non-Ionizing radiation, radiation protection and a project in QA/QC )
I work now in medical physics department as a demonstrator which is a small one with few staff

I will go after a year to do my master in medical physics
but until then I would like to do some research or at least participate in one
Any one can guide me in what area I should do based in my level of study ?

thank you

 

[Choppy]

Medical physics research projects, particularly those on a smaller scale, are often driven by clinical demands and available technology. My advice would be to talk with the physicists you work with and see what projects they are working on and then ask if you can help out.

 

[Md Physicist]

Thank you for your reply Choppy
but there is no research project going on in the department !

 

[meanrev]

While it won't put your radiation work/study to use, there are plenty of applications for assistive devices requiring biomechanical simulation. D. A. Winters's Biomechanics text (www (dot) amazon (dot) com/Biomechanics-Motor-Control-Human-Movement/dp/047144989X) is a starting point.

Some of the groups that I am familiar with are MIT's Biomechatronics team (biomech (dot) media (dot) mit (dot) edu/research/research.htm) and Harvard's Biorobotics team (biorobotics.harvard.edu/research.html). Among the more physics-heavy work they do involve active knee prosthesis via magnetostrictive joints, biomechanical simulation for surgical planning and numerical optimization for stability/dexterity/anthropomorphism/bioactuation. I haven't been involved for a year already, but the last I was involved, the research hospitals of Harvard Med had mined a LOT of data but hasn't done anything useful with it because no one had the physics/statistical machinery to do anything with it. Depending on how much time you have, you might get something from volunteering to do something with it. I found stability and anthropomorphism to contain many nontrivial problems, particularly because of the large degrees of freedom and the complex geometries.

P.S. Sorry for the (dot)s, the forum wouldn't let me post links until I have reached 10 posts.

 

[Choppy]

Thank you for your reply Choppy
but there is no research project going on in the department !

Perhaps not a specific research project, but usually there is some kind of commissioning work going on, and often this will involve answering questions that haven't already been answered in the literature. Some projects can also evolve out of testing a product to make sure that it performs to the specifications stated by the manufacturer and under what conditions.

I think it would be extremely difficult for someone with only an undergraduate background and minimal clinical experience to make the jump to figure out what kind of things would be worth pursuing on a research-level. That's why its important to talk with the physicists at your centre.

The other thing to remember is that even if you don't produce publishable research, it still looks good professionally to have a bullet on our CV that says you assisted with the commissioning of a new technology.

 

[Md Physicist]

While it won't put your radiation work/study to use, there are plenty of applications for assistive devices requiring biomechanical simulation. D. A. Winters's Biomechanics text (www (dot) amazon (dot) com/Biomechanics-Motor-Control-Human-Movement/dp/047144989X) is a starting point.

Some of the groups that I am familiar with are MIT's Biomechatronics team (biomech (dot) media (dot) mit (dot) edu/research/research.htm) and Harvard's Biorobotics team (biorobotics.harvard.edu/research.html). Among the more physics-heavy work they do involve active knee prosthesis via magnetostrictive joints, biomechanical simulation for surgical planning and numerical optimization for stability/dexterity/anthropomorphism/bioactuation. I haven't been involved for a year already, but the last I was involved, the research hospitals of Harvard Med had mined a LOT of data but hasn't done anything useful with it because no one had the physics/statistical machinery to do anything with it. Depending on how much time you have, you might get something from volunteering to do something with it. I found stability and anthropomorphism to contain many nontrivial problems, particularly because of the large degrees of freedom and the complex geometries.

P.S. Sorry for the (dot)s, the forum wouldn't let me post links until I have reached 10 posts.

Thank you for your reply
although I don't know much about Biomechatronics but it looks interesting
I will check those websites
thank you

 

[Md Physicist]

Perhaps not a specific research project, but usually there is some kind of commissioning work going on, and often this will involve answering questions that haven't already been answered in the literature. Some projects can also evolve out of testing a product to make sure that it performs to the specifications stated by the manufacturer and under what conditions.

I think it would be extremely difficult for someone with only an undergraduate background and minimal clinical experience to make the jump to figure out what kind of things would be worth pursuing on a research-level. That's why its important to talk with the physicists at your centre.

The other thing to remember is that even if you don't produce publishable research, it still looks good professionally to have a bullet on our CV that says you assisted with the commissioning of a new technology.

There is some comissioning work on the department, m participating on that now
and we also do testing for the machines in radiology and NM to make sure they work within specification

M interested to participate in a research project
I can start by simple one if I was on my own
Or mybe go to other departments in college of medicine or other Colleges on the University
but I didnt know where to go or which department may have some reseach project which can involve medical physicist

thank you for your reply