Medical Application of Ionizing Radiation

Course guarantor:

Tereza Hanušová, Anna Jelínek Michaelidesová

Lecturer:

Anna Jelínek Michaelidesová

Tutor:

Anna Jelínek Michaelidesová

Supervisor:

Department of Dosimetry and Application of Ionizing Radiation

Synopsis:

The lectures aim at medical physics in applications of ionising radiation in medicine - in diagnostic and interventional radiology, nuclear medicine, and radiotherapy.

Requirements:

Required prerequisities are 16ZDOZ12, 16DETE, 16JRF12.

To obtain the course credit, you must complete a test scoring at least 60 out of 100.

After receiving the course credit, successful completion of an oral examination is required to earn the credits.

Syllabus of lectures:

1. RADIOBIOLOGY. Cell biology, DNA structure, DNA damage and repair, basics in oncology.

2. X-RAY DIAGNOSTICS. Bremsstrahlung and characteristic radiation sources, technical performance, filtration, half value layer, effective energy, energy spectra, X-ray tube parameters, quality control.

3. COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY. Image reconstruction methods, filtered backprojection, data acquisition, Radon tranform, sinogram, Fourier transform, beam-detector geometry, helical CT.

4. IMAGE ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING. Analogue image, film, radiography, fluoroscopy, image digitization, image formats, DSA, image analysis, image storage, imaging methods.

5. NUCLEAR MEDICINE. Radionuclide and radiopharmaceutical production, generators, halftime - physicsl, biological, effective, radionuclide purity, measurements of activity, in vivo vs. in vitro measurements, detectors in NM.

6. SCINTIGRAPHY, PLANAR IMAGING. Scintilation (gamma-) camera, principles, quality assurance.

7. TOMOGRAPHICAL IMAGING IN NM. SPECT, image acquisition and reconstruction, PET - principles, radionuclides, radiopharmacs, spatial resolution, clinical applications.

8. RADIATION ONCOLOGY. History, aims of radiotherapy, target volumes, critical organs, simulator.

9. RADIATION TREATMENT PLANNING. Treatment planning system, field modifiers - (danymic) wedges, blocks, MLC, beam weighting, dose distribution and methods of its verification.

10. QUALITY CONTROL. Clinical dosimetry, absolute dosimetry, phantom measurements, TMR, OAR, OF, WF, BF, in vivo dosimetry, tests periodicity, legislation.

11. SPECIAL RADIATION THERAPY. IMRT - intensity modulated radiotherapy, inverse planning, stereotactic irradiation, Leksell gamma knife, hadron therapy.

12. RADIATION PROTECTION IN HEALH CARE. Relevant quantities, methods of their determination, legislation.

Syllabus of tutorials:

Study Objective:

Knowledge:

A comprehensive overview of application of ionizing radiation in medicine, X-ray diagnostics, computed tomography - CT, PET, SPECT, NM.

Abilities:

Orientation in these methods and their application in specific cases.

Study materials:

Key references:

[1] Jacob Van Dyk, The Modern Technology of Radiation Oncology: A Compendium for Medical Physicists and Radiation Oncologists, 1999

[2] Jerrold T. Bushberg, et al., The Essential Physics of Medical Imaging (2nd Edition) 2001

[3] Faiz M. Khan, The Physics of Radiation Therapy , 1994

Recommended references:

[4] James A. Sorenson, Michael E. Phelps, Physics in Nuclear Medicine, 2002

Note:

Lectures available for Erasmus programme

Time-table for winter semester 2026/2027:

Time-table is not available yet

Time-table for summer semester 2026/2027:

Time-table is not available yet

The course is a part of the following study plans:

• Jaderné inženýrství - Aplikovaná fyzika ionizujícího záření (PS)