PHY114 Medical Radiation Physics (8)
CSU Discipline Area: Medical Radiation Science (MEDRA)
Duration: One session
Abstract:
This subject provides an introduction to the topics of waves, sound, optics, atomic and nuclear physics, radiation metrology, radiation interaction with matter, and radiation detectors, as relevant to equipment and physical processes in medical imaging and nuclear medicine technology.
+ Subject Availability Modes and Locations
No offerings have been identified for this subject in 2013.Continuing students should consult the SAL for current offering details prior to contacting their course coordinator: PHY114
Where differences exist between the handbook and the SAL, the SAL should be taken as containing the correct subject offering details.
Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:
understand the basic theory of wave motion, sound and optics, as relevant to medical radiation science
understand the basics of atomic and nuclear physics, including x-ray and radionuclide production
understand the basic concepts of radiation metrology
understand how various radiations, including x- and nuclear- radiations interact with matter
understand the principles governing the operation of different radiation detectors used in medical imaging and nuclear medicine technology
be competent in logically solving problems in all topics using basic mathematical methods
be competent in performing laboratory experiments pertaining to theory topics, and possess a degree of expertise in the critical analysis of data, and laboratory report writing.
Syllabus:
The subject will cover the following topics:
Review of Basic Maths Concepts (~ 5% weighting) scientific notation, unit conversion, error analysis, algebra, logs and exponentials, geometry and trigonometry, basic differential and integral calculus. Waves, sound and optics (~ 25% weighting) Vibrations: Hookes law, simple harmonic motion, vibration amplitude, period, frequency, vibration energy, angular frequency, damped oscillations. Wave Motion: Wave classification, wavelength, wave amplitude, period, frequency, wave speed, superposition principle, constructive and destructive interference, Fourier analysis and synthesis, wave reflection and transmission. Sound Waves: Sound wave production and propagation, displacement vs. pressure expressions, sound speed, sound wave energy & intensity (absolute and dB notation), Doppler effect, sound interference, standing waves in strings and pipes, forced vibrations, resonance, beats, sound quality. Ray Optics: Reflection, refraction, Snells law, dispersion and prisms, critical angle and total internal reflection, optical fibres, image formation in flat mirrors, brief definition of curved mirrors, thin lenses, lens aberrations. Wave Optics: EM spectrum, Huygens' principle, interference & diffraction (double and single slit), diffraction grating. Selected Optical Instruments: Camera, human eye, Michelson interferometer. Atomic and nuclear physics (~ 25% weighting) Atomic Physics: Laws of modern physics, relativity and mass-energy equivalence, wave-particle duality, photoelectric effect, x-ray production, Bragg's law and x-ray diffraction, Compton effect, pair production, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, quantum tunnelling, Bohr's atomic model, wave-mechanical model, particle in a box, quantum numbers, spin, Pauli's exclusion principle, Periodic table. • Nuclear Physics: Atomic nucleus and properties, isotopes, nuclear force, nuclear stability, nuclear spin, NMR, binding energy, radioactivity, half-lives, basic mechanisms of radioactive decay, carbon dating, decay series, internal conversion, Auger electrons, electron capture, isomeric transitions.Elementary particles, anti-matter, fundamental forces, positron emission in nuclear medicine, annihilation radiation, pair production.Radionuclide production, fission, neutron capture, nuclear reactors, cyclotrons, Technetium generator in nuclear medicine. Radiation studies and radiation detectors (~ 25% weighting) • Radiation Metrology: Beam quantities, dose quantities, average & point value concepts, "thin" and "broad" beam concepts in measurement. • Radiation Interaction with Matter: Cross-section, collision probability. Uncharged particles: exponential attenuation law, half-value thickness, attenuation coefficients, absorption coefficients, single vs. multi energy photon beams. Charged particles: simplified Beth Bloch law, quantitative behaviour. • Radiological Applications: Elementary radiological dose relationships. • Radiation Detectors: Luminescence and photo-stimulation, ionisation chamber, GM tube, crystalline and liquid scintillation counters, pulse height spectrometry, solid-state detectors, TLD's, gamma camera. Practical work (~ 20% weighting) Compulsory physics practical sessions for PHY114 will be conducted in the Physics laboratory at scheduled times during the Session. Selected experiments relating to important aspects of the theory learned in Topics 1, 2 and 3 will be conducted by every student.
The information contained in the 2013 CSU Handbook was accurate at the date of publication: 24 April 2013. The University reserves the right to vary the information at any time without notice.