BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA

UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES

NATIONAL NURSING TRAINING PROGRAM
INTRODUCTORY COURSE 2021
ARAGUA OF BARCELONA
ANZOÁTEGUI STATE

APPLICATION OF PHYSICS IN HEALTH SCIENCES

Teacher: Students:
Luis Bellorin Yannellys Pinto CI 17.735.946

December, 2021
 APPLICATION OF PHYSICS IN HEALTH SCIENCES

Physics is a science whose objective is to study the components of matter and their
mutual interactions. Based on these interactions, Physics explains the properties of matter
as a whole, as well as the different phenomena that we observe in Nature.”
To cover these objectives, physics is concerned with observing and collecting the
data that such events provide and grouping them in such a way that their ordered
compendiums allow us to better understand nature.
It can be said that the vision of natural phenomena that physics provides us today is
the triumph of rational thinking initiated more than two thousand years ago by
philosophers. The methodology of modern Science was incorporated into this rationality
about five hundred years ago. This method consists of asking specific questions to nature
by carrying out experiments. Galileo, with his famous experiments, caused the birth of
physics as we understand it today. The first experiments in physics were carried out without
means or in any case with very precarious means. Galileo, for example, used the leaning
tower of Pisa to drop stones of different sizes from above. Lacking a watch, he used his
own pulse to measure time in some of his experiments.
Opposite these very primitive means are the gigantic devices of modern physics,
such as particle accelerators, and although they seem like something qualitatively new, in
essence their principle remains the same: A specific question is posed to nature under
certain conditions. , an experiment is carried out.
Medical physics is a branch of physics that deals with the study and development of
its applications in the field of health sciences. Provides a methodological basis to use new
diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, establish criteria for the correct use of physical
agents in medicine, generate guidelines and guides for the radiological protection of
workers and patients, participate in the design of special instrumentation and establish
standards for the measurement of biological variables.
 It differs from biophysics in that the latter is the interdisciplinary study of biological
problems and phenomena that occur in all living matter - that is, human beings, other
animals and plants -, which includes areas such as biometrics.
Medical physics really came into its own at the beginning of the 20th century, with
the work of people such as Wilhelm Roentgen, Henri Becquerel and Marie Curie, who
discovered X-rays and various radioactive substances. At first, a hopeful world (as often
happens with technologies of recent development and impressive impact) dreamed of
detecting all diseases and eliminating them, particularly cancer. After the First World War,
radium-based drugs appeared, as well as hospital centers (the basis of modern oncology
centers), which were called "radium institutes."
Medical physics, initially dedicated to the study of the specific phenomenon of
ionizing radiation in humans, currently has an immense range of applications, covering
practically the entire spectrum of radiation and related inventions. However, they can be
summarized in four aspects, all of them interrelated: a) quality assurance and control; b)
radiation safety; c) teaching and research; d) management and administration.
In medical physics, the most common areas of interest in cutting-edge research and
hospital practice are usually the following:
 The study of bioelectrical emissions from organs such as the heart and brain
(electroencephalography and electrocardiography).
 Biomagnetic investigations of the brain (tracing of possible magnetic sources).
 Research on medical uses of infrared radiation (thermography).
 Research for cancer treatments, using heat (hyperthermia).
 The study of radiation risks and how to protect against them (biosafety -
radiological protection).
 Imaging diagnosis, with different wavelengths, of the electromagnetic spectrum (X-
rays, ultrasound, magnetic resonance, associated with diagnostic radiology).
 Diagnosis through the use of images from the emission of radioisotopes (nuclear
medicine).
 The treatment of cancer through ionizing radiation (radio-oncology).
 Surgical intervention using laser (laser surgery).
 BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
NATIONAL NURSING TRAINING PROGRAM
INTRODUCTORY COURSE 2021
ARAGUA OF BARCELONA
ANZOÁTEGUI STATE

APPLICATION OF PHYSICS IN HEALTH SCIENCES

Teacher: Students:
Luis Bellorin Biannella Cabrera, CI: 15,274,895

December, 2021
 APPLICATION OF PHYSICS IN HEALTH SCIENCES

Physics, from the Greek physis ("nature"), is the natural science that studies,
through fundamental laws, energy , matter , time and space , that is, the universe itself.
Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, whose roots date back to the
beginnings of civilization, when man began to try to understand the forces that governed
the world around him.
It is a discipline that is both theoretical (describes the laws of the universe) and
experimental (puts hypotheses regarding these laws into practice), and adheres to the
verification and legitimation model promoted by the scientific method . It is one of the
fundamental or central sciences that exist, and within its field of study chemistry, biology
and electronics , among others, often converge.
Initially, physics was part, like so many other sciences, of philosophy or natural
philosophy of antiquity, but after the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century it emerged
as an independent field, interested in the fundamental laws of reality and using the language
formal mathematics to express them. Currently, however, physics is one of the disciplines
that contributes the most to the change in the scientific, industrial and technological
paradigm .
Now, medical physics is the application of the principles, techniques and tools of
physics in the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. It applies physical fundamentals
in multiple therapeutic techniques, providing the bases for the understanding of modern
medical technologies and establishing criteria for the use of physical agents in the area of
health.
The medical physicist also participates, along with other professionals, in the
preparation of biomedical measurement variables, such as the calibration of equipment and
radiation protection control measures to control the quality of physical equipment used in
healthcare.
In some countries there is a professional called a dosimetrist, who is a professional
with an average university degree (for example: radiotherapy technologist) who has
completed additional training in clinical dosimetry and physical aspects of quality
assurance in radiotherapy. It should be emphasized that the responsibility for treatment
planning, as well as the implementation and development of quality assurance for the
physical aspects of radiotherapy, rests with the medical physicist, and that the dosimetrist
must work under the supervision of a medical physicist.
Medical physics was created when advances in physics could be applied in the
medical area. Leonardo Da Vinci, around the 16th century, can be considered the first
medical physicist for his studies in biomechanics on the movement of the heart and blood
in the cardiovascular system. The physical knowledge of optics made possible the invention
of the microscope in the 17th century, which helped doctors understand biological
structures, as well as discover the existence of microorganisms.
Around the 18th century, the Italian scientist and doctor discovered that muscles and
nerve cells were capable of producing electricity. From this relationship between electricity
and the human body, as well as the advances in science in electromagnetism in the 19th
century, new contributions to medical treatment or diagnosis were developed by scientists
such as Arsène d'Arsonval. The discovery of the electrocardiogram and the
electroencephalogram was possible thanks to new technologies such as sensitive voltmeters
or galvanometers created by Willem Einthoven. This knowledge gave rise to new scientific
areas such as bioelectricity and bioelectromagnetism.
A notable example of scientists mixing the fields of physics and medicine is
Hermann von Helmholtz. His first scientific work was on energy conservation, inspired by
his studies on muscle metabolism. He also revolutionized the field of ophthalmology with
the invention of the Ophthalmoscope and conducted studies on acoustics and hearing.
Areas of specialty
 Diagnostic imaging
 Magnetic resonance imaging is another application of physics in the health area.
 Radiology, including conventional x-rays, fluoroscopy, mammography, bone
densitometry, angiography, and computed tomography (CT)
 Ultrasound, including intravascular ultrasound
 Non-ionizing radiation (laser, ultraviolet etc.)
 Nuclear medicine, including SPECT and positron emission tomography (PET)
 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) and other functional neuroimaging methods to investigate the brain.
  For example, nuclear magnetic resonance (also known as magnetic resonance
imaging avoids the dangers of radiation), using the phenomenon of nuclear
resonance to observe the human body.
 Magnetoencephalography
 Electrical impedance tomography
 Diffuse optical image
 Optical coherence tomography
Disease treatment
 Defibrillation
 High-intensity ultrasound loading, including lithotripter
 Interventional radiology
 Non-ionizing radiation laser, ultraviolet etc. including Photochemotherapy and
Lasik
 Nuclear medicine, including radiotherapy with open sources
 Photomedicine, the use of light to treat and diagnose diseases.
 Radiotherapy
 Tomotherapy
 Cyberknife
 Gamma knife
 Proton therapy
 Brachytherapy
 Boron neutron capture therapy
 Terahertz radiation
Although the emergence of medical physics is associated with the use of ionizing
radiation, this discipline is not limited only to this type of radiation. Thus, the growing
contribution to medical physics is a natural consequence of the evolution of science and
modern technologies.