OVERVIEW

The aim of the course is to offer an overview
- on the structure and functionality of the human body senses
- on the heart-lung circulation of the blood
- on the transmission of the nervous signal from the brain
- on the use of ionizing and non-ionizing radiations in medicine
- on the use of digital images in clinical diagnostics
- on the statistical processing of clinical data
as an anticipation of the teachings given in the Specialization  School in Medical Physics

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course offers an overview of ionizing radiation applied to medicine, the use of digital images in diagnostics and the statistical processing of clinical data

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim is to show an application of physics that can be evaluated for future use considering that the medical physicist specialized  dector is the only one able to collaborate with the medical doctor in close contact with the patient

PREREQUISITES

Good knowledge of the basic physics obtained of the first three-year degree

TEACHING METHODS

Teaching is presented through classroom lectures and guided visits to hospital centers for greater involvement and participation of students

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Biomechanics and fluids and sense physics - Scale problems in living organisms. Biological materials. Mechanics of rigid body and movement. Structural instabilities. Stretching compression in tissues and bones. Equations of motion for fluids applied to humans. Elastic vessels and their equilibrium conditions. Blood circulation. Receptors of the senses: touch, taste and smell. Vision: structure and functioning of the eye. Hearing and balance: structure and functioning of the ear. The role of the brain.
Radiation and clinical apparatus - Effects of electromagnetic fields on the human organism and electrical safety. Laser applications in clinical practice. Use of the Doppler effect: ultrasound. Ionizing radiation and X radiation: radioscopy and radiography. Dosimetry and Nuclear Medicine. Computerized axial tomography (TAC). Positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission (SPECT). The physical principles of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Particle accelerators for clinical use. Radiotherapy.
Clinical images - Digital images: image processing, filtering and reconstruction. Treatment plans. Conformational treatment in radiotherapy.
Medical Statistics - Clinical Studies. Treatment and processing of clinical data. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Testing hypotheses and contingency tables. Survival studies.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lecture ransparencies available in Aulaweb
Insights available on
• B. Brown and others, Medical Physics and biomedical engineering, IoP editions
• D.Hall, Basic acustic, J.Wiley Edition
• F Hoppensteadt, Mathematics in medicine and life science, Springer Edition
• G.Norman, D Streiner, Biostatistica, Ambrosiana Publishing House (2000).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

SANDRO SQUARCIA (President)

PIERO CALVINI

ALESSANDRA PESCE

PAOLO PRATI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

2018 March 6

Class schedule

PHYSICS AND MEDICAL STATISTICS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will be passed through a written essay, presented as a seminar, on a subject of the course chosen by the student followed by an oral examination on other topics chosen by the examiners

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Verify that the student understands the basics of teaching and ensure the fasibilty  future studies in the field

Exam schedule