DIVERSITY IN HEALTH PHYSICS: BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL ASPECTS

Saloni Chawla, Pratishtha, Alka KatariaCENTRE FOR MEDICAL PHYSICS

PANJAB UNIVERSITY, CHANDIGARH

HEALTH PHYSICS INTRODUCTION

Health physics is branch of physics which deals with the physical and biological perspective of human health. It is the Science concerned with the recognition, evaluation, and control of health hazards to permit the safe use and application of ionizing radiation. Emerging interest in health physics makes it the center of interest among the other profession.

HEALTH PHYSICS

Military

Medical

Power Reactor

Environment

Education

Regulatory Enforcement

and Occupational

Safety

MEDICAL PHYSICS

• The field of Health Physics is related to the field of medical physics and they are similar to each other in that practitioners rely on much of the same fundamental science (i.e., radiation physics, biology, etc.) in both fields.

• Health physicists, however, focus on the evaluation and protection of human health from radiation, whereas Medical Health Physicists and Medical Physicists support the use of radiation and other physics-based technologies by medical practitioners for the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Medical

Health Physics

Radiology

Radiotherapy

Nuclear Medicine

RADIOTHERAPY

• This field deals with the use of radiation for treatment of cancer by either killing or controlling their number .

• It is divided into external and internal radiotherapy based on the treatment .

• In External treatment the machine remains outside of your body and doesn’t come into contact with you. Radiation beams are directed towards the cancer.

• In Internal treatment radiation source is put inside the body or near the cancer.

RADIOLOGY

• It is an imaging technique in which electromagnetic radiation especially X-rays to view the structure of a non-uniformly composed and opaque object such as the human body.

• It's commonly used to treat cancers but sometimes used to treat tumors and other conditions, such as thyroid disease and some blood problems

• It has two branches : Diagnostic Radiology Interventional Radiology • CT Scan, Mri,Mammography fall under RADIOLOGY.

NUCLEAR MEDICINE

• Nuclear Medicine Technology is a diagnostic and therapeutic science.

• Patients are given small amounts of radioactive medicines called radio -pharmaceuticals which emit radiation.

• They are prepared with care and before use they are tested and approved too.

• Gamma cameras are used in this field unlike CT Scan, MRI they don’t give any radiations.

POWER REACTOR

• They are responsible for protection at all phases of reactor.

• Selecting, purchasing and maintaining radiation protection, laboratory, and detection equipment are some of the responsibilities.

• In addition, survey and laboratory results are analyzed to ensure the reactor is operating within prescribed limits.

• They are trained to make assessments of the potential environmental impact and to ensure that the facility complies with federal regulations.

DEFENSE• First is a career as a commissioned officer in

the department of the military

• The second path is as a civilian employee in the defense.

• As a military health physicist one work in a health care setting, in an industrial setting, often as a radiation safety officer, or even developing policy and regulations.

• There are some opportunities unique to the military, such as duty at sea on a nuclear-powered surface ship or in a submarine.

EDUCATION• Upon completing a master's degree or PhD in

health physics ,teaching opportunities exist • These programs offer health physics degrees at the

associate's, bachelor's, master's, and PhD levels.• Health physicists in education may be found in both

college and university classrooms and laboratories, as well as at off-campus training sites where they supervise student instruction.

• Educators typically conduct their own health physics research projects, often with the assistance of their students

REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT &OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

• Health physicists working in the different areas and establish the future rules and regulations regarding the manufacture, use, and disposal of radioactive material.

• They also ensure current safety requirements are properly implemented .

• Occupational safety aspects include work with power companies ,industries manufacture private-sector employers.

ENVIRONMENTAL

• This profession is most closely associated with protecting the public and environment from unnecessary exposure to man-made and technologically enhanced natural radioactivity.

• Many of them are employed in environmental surveillance for radioactivity, low-level radio analytical, laboratories ,Instrument design, radiochemical technique development .

• Decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) is an area demanding environmental health physicists.

SPECIALITIES

NUCLEAR POWER

RADIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

RADIATION WASTE MANAGEMENT

RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE/PLANNING

REFERENCES • www.careersinpublichealth.net/careers/health-physicist• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_physics• hps.org/public information/hpcareers.html• ruangbacafmipa.staff.ub.ac.id/files/2012/02/Health-

Physics-by-Herman-Cember.pdf• www.cancervic.org.au/about-cancer/types-treatments-

trials/radiotherapy• www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=gennuclear• http://interactive.snm.org/docs/whatisnucmed2.pdf