MSc — 2027 entry Medical Physics

This course starts with an overview of human biology, followed by a discussion of the nature of the interaction of ionising and non-ionising radiation with biological systems. The course emphasises the effects at the cellular level and the impact that this has on the individual and across the population. The behaviour and effects of ingested and inhaled radionuclides are also covered.

The module will give students an understanding of the broader context in which they will operate as medical physicists and of the implications of communicating at the correct level for each type of audience. It includes two sections that will run in parallel. One section of the module revolves around the profession of the medical physicist in the context of the NHS, but also in academia and industry, and will include elements of risk assessment, intellectual property protection and research ethics, together with an overview of ionising radiation regulations. The other section is focused on scientific communication with a research audience, therefore centering on information retrieval and identification of appropriate sources of information, and with the general public.

This module presents an introduction to key topics in radiation physics, the interactions of radiation with matter, and the principles of radiation measurement and dosimetry. The module also covers introductory material describing the function and operation of radiation detectors.

The module will provide students with practical skills and background knowledge needed to work in a radiation laboratory. Laboratory sessions are designed to provide the student with practical experience in handling radioactive substances, detectors and instrumentation.

All students aiming for the MSc degree qualification undertake an MSc dissertation project. Students choose a project either from a list of proposed topics within the University, or in some cases arrangement is made for the project to be undertaken in industrial, research or hospital-based environment. The majority of part-time students arrange to undertake the project in their place of work. Students are assigned a supervisor relating to the project chosen. Students undertaking their project outside of the University are assigned both an internal and an external supervisor. The work is assessed as follows:   Project write-up A write up of no more than 40 pages in total, including title page, brief abstract, text, diagrams and references must be submitted. Supervisors will give guidance on the layout of the project and the first draft of material where appropriate. When referencing in your written work, you should use the Harvard referencing system unless otherwise directed by the Module Co-ordinator. Further information relating to referencing in your work, can be found on the University Library website at http://www.surrey.ac.uk/library/subject/bibref/  

Radiations of various types are widely used for therapeutic purposes. The bulk of hospital physicists work with ionising radiation and hence the topic is fundamental for anyone entering the profession. In this module, an introduction is given to radiotherapy systems, for beam delivery, guidance and dosimetry. Around one-third of the module is then devoted to a number of key uses of non-ionising radiation in delivery of various therapies, with sources based on laser light, uv and high-intensity focused ultrasound.

Ionising radiation is widely used for diagnostic purposes, and multi-modality imaging is now becoming ubiquitous. The majority of hospital physicists work with ionising radiation and hence the topic is fundamental for anyone entering the profession. In this module, an introduction is given to imaging systems and image perception. Detailed lectures then cover X-radiography, X-ray computed tomography, radiopharmaceuticals, nuclear medicine. The lectures will be supported by an assessed nuclear medicine practical and by tutorials in image processing and image registration.

The module is designed to give students knowledge of the basic physics that underpins nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMR / MRI) and ultrasound, together with details of common imaging strategies.It delivers material on the basic principles of NMR and medical MRI . It also provides an introduction to ultrasound, a major non-ionising radiation imaging modality, with lectures complemented by three laboratory sessions.

The module is aimed at giving students an understanding of the use of computers in the broader context of medical physics and radiation protection. This will range from the use of Monte Carlo modelling using TOPAS for dosimetry and experimental design, to the use of Python to code simple problems related to image processing and data science. In addition, they will learn the importance of data security and data governance with specific application to a clinical context.

This module presents an introduction to key topics in radiation physics, the interactions of radiation with matter, and the principles of radiation measurement and dosimetry. The module also covers introductory material describing the function and operation of radiation detectors.

Ionising radiation is widely used for diagnostic purposes, and multi-modality imaging is now becoming ubiquitous. The majority of hospital physicists work with ionising radiation and hence the topic is fundamental for anyone entering the profession. In this module, an introduction is given to imaging systems and image perception. Detailed lectures then cover X-radiography, X-ray computed tomography, radiopharmaceuticals, nuclear medicine. The lectures will be supported by an assessed nuclear medicine practical and by tutorials in image processing and image registration.

The module is aimed at giving students an understanding of the use of computers in the broader context of medical physics and radiation protection. This will range from the use of Monte Carlo modelling using TOPAS for dosimetry and experimental design, to the use of Python to code simple problems related to image processing and data science. In addition, they will learn the importance of data security and data governance with specific application to a clinical context.

The module will give students an understanding of the broader context in which they will operate as medical physicists and of the of the importance of correct information retrieval. It will also introduce them to working safely, to experimental work and data analysis and to collaborating effectively in a team.

This course starts with an overview of human biology, followed by a discussion of the nature of the interaction of ionising and non-ionising radiation with biological systems. The course emphasises the effects at the cellular level and the impact that this has on the individual and across the population. The behaviour and effects of ingested and inhaled radionuclides are also covered.

This module presents an introduction to key topics in radiation physics, the interactions of radiation with matter, and the principles of radiation measurement and dosimetry. The module also covers introductory material describing the function and operation of radiation detectors.

All students aiming for the MSc degree qualification undertake an MSc dissertation project. Students choose a project either from a list of proposed topics within the University, or in some cases arrangement is made for the project to be undertaken in industrial, research or hospital-based environment. The majority of part-time students arrange to undertake the project in their place of work. Students are assigned a supervisor relating to the project chosen. Students undertaking their project outside of the University are assigned both an internal and an external supervisor. The work is assessed as follows:   Project write-up A write up of no more than 40 pages in total, including title page, brief abstract, text, diagrams and references must be submitted. Supervisors will give guidance on the layout of the project and the first draft of material where appropriate. When referencing in your written work, you should use the Harvard referencing system unless otherwise directed by the Module Co-ordinator. Further information relating to referencing in your work, can be found on the University Library website at http://www.surrey.ac.uk/library/subject/bibref/  

Radiations of various types are widely used for therapeutic purposes. The bulk of hospital physicists work with ionising radiation and hence the topic is fundamental for anyone entering the profession. In this module, an introduction is given to radiotherapy systems, for beam delivery, guidance and dosimetry. Around one-third of the module is then devoted to a number of key uses of non-ionising radiation in delivery of various therapies, with sources based on laser light, uv and high-intensity focused ultrasound.

The module is designed to give students knowledge of the basic physics that underpins nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMR / MRI) and ultrasound, together with details of common imaging strategies.It delivers material on the basic principles of NMR and medical MRI . It also provides an introduction to ultrasound, a major non-ionising radiation imaging modality, with lectures complemented by three laboratory sessions.

The module will build on the concepts learned in the first year to prepare students for leadership in healthcare and for effective communication with patients. It will expand the range of radiation laboratory experiments carried out in Year 1