INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MEDICAL PHYSICS

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MEDICAL PHYSICS

Every year on November 7th, the International Day of Medical Physics raises awareness about the role that physics play regarding patient care. It’s also a day to acknowledge important medical physicists throughout history.

Physics is the science that studies matter, motion, and energy. It’s known as one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines. The main goal of physics is to study how the universe behaves. The study of physics is very beneficial to humans. Thanks to physics, we learn about how electricity, sound, gravity, inertia, and heat work. Medicine is another area in that physics benefits humans. Sometimes the use of medicine in physics is referred to as biomedical physics or applied physics in medicine.

One area in which physics greatly benefits medicine is radiology and nuclear medicine. Both of these areas of medicine allow for important diagnostic tests, such as MRI, CT scans, x-rays, and ultrasounds. These kinds of tests make it possible to see the inside of the body, which is invaluable for a proper diagnosis. Radiation therapy is another area of great importance as it helps in the treatment of cancer.
Medical physics has also helped further research, testing, and treatment in other areas of medicine. These areas include cardiology, neurophysiology, audiology, and physiological monitoring.

HOW TO OBSERVE #InternationalDayOfMedicalPhysics
Every year, medical physicists around the world celebrate this day with live webinars, educational seminars, and conferences. To participate:

Learn more about how X-rays and other medical imaging tests work.
Thank the radiologists in your community hospital for their hard work and dedication.
Read about famous medical physicists in modern-day history, such as Caridad Borras, David W Townsend, Dr. Eiichi Tanaka, Maryellen L. Giger, and Godfrey Hounsfield.
Watch the documentary “The Genius of Marie Curie: The Woman Who Lit Up the World” or the film, “Radioactive.”
Share this day on social media with #InternationalDayOfMedicalPhysics.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MEDICAL PHYSICS HISTORY
The International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) has organized this annual event since 2012. They chose November 7th as on this date in 1867 physicist Marie Sklodowska-Curie was born in Poland. Also known as Madame Curie, she is best known for her pioneering research on radioactivity.

Past themes for the day have included:
2021: Communicating the Role of Medical Physicists to the Public
2020: Medical Physicist as a Health Professional
2019: It’s a Medical Physics World!
2018: Medical Physics for Patient Benefit

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