What are some possible research topics in medical physics and lasers?

[js1magee]

Hi everyone,

Ive just joined this website today so I'm new to this forum stuff!

Anyway, I'm in my 4th year at University studying Physics, and this year I am to take a class called Research Skills. In this class we are to come up with some ideas about possible inventions/ideas etc and write an application for funding for it (you don't actually carry out the project work though). Its similar to Dragons Den if anyone watches that TV programme!

I was just wondering if people had any ideas about what sort of things I could research. I am particulary interested in Medical Physics and Lasers.

Thanks in advance

Jill

 

[Choppy]

Some hot topics in medical physics right now:
- proton therapy
- intensity modulated arc therapy
- MRI-based image guidance in radiation therapy

Or you might want to check out:
PMB's Highlights of 2007 at
http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/-page=extra.highlights2007/0031-9155

 

[Andy Resnick]

There's nearly an unlimited number of things worth researching- it helps that you don't actually have to obtain funding :)

It's tough to answer this without providing details, so I'll use my own research as an example.

My advice would be to start with a topic that interests you, come up with a few ideas that make you think "Wow, it would be awesome if I could do that", or "If I knew how to do that, I could understand all kinds of things".

The next step is the critical first step in any research project- survey the field to see what other people have done and figured out. Use that information to modify and clarify your ideas.

In the end, you will (hopefully) generate a simple, well-defined question, for example "When a wildtype cell is exposed to unsteady flow, can it be induced into a cystic phenotype"? The best questions to ask are ones where answering the question leads to more questions, for example, in the process of answering the above, I can also try to answer:

Do different chronic apical flow conditions induce different epithelial phenotypes?

Do laminar and pulsatile flows provoke different epithelial cell responses?

Part of the research plan is then to identify specific experiments and techniques which you will use to answer the questions.

Does that help?

 

[js1magee]

Thanks to both of you for replying :-). Your ideas and advice will certainly help me make a start on my project!

Jill

EDIT: Andy I just found out you work within Biophysics. Thats what my degree at University is! Just thought I'd let you know!

 

[babjiphysics]

i have just joinded in site and iam a research scholar in nagarjuna university inglass science i require some new topic for may research