Measurements in medical physics 1.
academic year 2020-2021
1st semester

obligatory course

COURSE DATA

Course title: Measurements in medical physics 1

Credits: 1

Course code: AOK-OAK103

Assessment: term mark

Laboratory practicals: 2 periods every 2nd week

AIM OF THE COURSE

These laboratory practicals prepare students for the investigation of physiological phenomena and offer models through which they can get acquainted with physics-based phenomena and methods in clinical practice. Students receive individual measurement tasks to introduce them to experimental work and the fundamental methods of data processing.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE COURSE

Pursuant to current disease control guidelines, laboratory practicals are held in contact form. Practicals are held every second week (alternating with the seminars of the course Medical physics 1). Attendance and active participation in the laboratory practicals are obligatory. Only students who have done all the practicals in the semester can get a grade.

Guides for the practicals are available on the homepage of the Institute (http://www2.szote.u-szeged.hu/dmi/index.php/handouts) and in the CooSpace system. Students are obliged to prepare for the actual practical beforehand; if a student proves blatantly unprepared, the instructor has the right to refuse the student’s further participation and register the student as absent.

Students are also bound to handle the devices in the laboratory with care and according to protocol. Only students who have done all the practicals in the semester can get a grade.

Justified absence from the practical can be made up for either with another group (if the capacity of the room and the language of the actual class allow it) or at the make-up occasions in the last week of the semester, but no more than two practicals can be made up for in two separate occasions. In case of any missed practical at the end of the semester the course will not be accepted and needs to be repeated. Students with more than two absences will be automatically denied the completion of the course.

From the 2nd week of the semester, we shall set an online CooSpace test before each practical to check if students are prepared. Laboratory practical tests will focus on the theoretical background of the current practical and the theoretical background of, as well as the practical observations made, experiences gained, tools used and calculations done during ANY previous practical. Each question in the 10-point test has the same weight. We award fractional points for partially correct answers. The time allowed for the completion of the test is 15 minutes. The test must be started within a one-week time window and can be attempted 3 times, of which the one with the best result will be counted. Completion cannot be interrupted. You cannot go back to a previous question. You can only proceed forward from question to question. The test can be completed in the week before the practical from 0:00 on Monday to 23:55 on Sunday. Each laboratory practical test consists of 10 questions and can earn you a maximum of three points according to the conversion rules that follow:

- below 25%:0 points

- 25%–:           1 point

- 50%–:           2 points

- 75%–:           3 points

Students will have to take a 10-point laboratory practical test at the end of the semester to prove that they have acquired the necessary practical skills.

The course is worth 1 credit. Assessment is in the form of a term mark. Only students who have done all practicals in the semesters (having made up for missed practicals, if there are any) and obtained at least a semester total of 10 points are eligible for a term mark. Failed (1) marks can be improved once per semester as a practical resit according to the Study and the Examination Requirements of the University.

Practical points are converted to marks as follows:

• 0–9 practical points: failed (1)
• 10–13 practical points: passed (2)
• 14–17 practical points: accepted (3)
• 18–21 practical points: good (4)
• 22–25 practical points: excellent (5)

SYLLABUS OF THE LABORATORY PRACTICALS

1. Anthropometric measurements. Fundamental aspects of measurements: derived quantities, measurement error
2. Optics of the eye
3. Introduction to the use of the Biopac measurement system (in the event of switching to distance education in the practicals: Introduction to the LabChart data analysis program)
4. Blood pressure measurement principles and their application.
5. Analysis of blood pressure data.
6. Sound as a mechanical wave.

OBLIGATORY TEXTBOOKS

Course handouts.