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.

Measurements in medical physics 2
2nd semester

obligatory course

COURSE DATA

Course title: Measurements in medical physics 2

Credits: 1

Course code: AOK-KUA510

Assessment: term mark

Laboratory practicals: 2 periods/2 weeks

AIM OF THE COURSE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE COURSE

• 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. Electrocardiography.
2. The physical principles of spectroscopy.
3. Introduction to nuclear medicine.
4. Measurements with ultrasound.
5. Tomographic image reconstruction.

OBLIGATORY READING

• Course handouts.

Medical physics 1
2020-2021, 1st semester

obligatory course

COURSE DATA

Course title: Medical physics 1

Credits: 2

Course code: AOK-OAK101

Assessment: end-semester examination

Lecture: 2 periods every second week

• Thursdays, 12:00–13:30, online as a YouTube stream

Seminar: 2 periods every second week

AIM OF THE COURSE

In accordance with the widespread involvement of physical principles and methods in almost all areas of medical sciences, this compulsory course offers an introduction to applications of physics in medicine and clinical research.

The physics syllabus is designed to facilitate the understanding of certain phenomena in the physiology of the human body (kinetics of the body, muscle function, circulation, respiration, sensing, transport phenomena) by studying the underlying physical principles.

The 2 hours/fortnight physics lecture is accompanied by 2 hours/fortnight seminars. These seminars are dedicated to discussing lecture material and clarifying the questions that may arise.

Both semesters are concluded by an end-semester examination. Assessment is based on the material covered in the lectures and seminars and on the relevant chapters of the obligatory reading.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE COURSE

Pursuant to current disease prevention regulations, lectures are held online in the platform to be announced by our institute. We help students prepare for the examinations by publishing our annotated slides.

To complete this course successfully, one needs to have a certain grasp of the fundamentals of physics. Students can check if they have this level of knowledge by completing a survey test in the first two weeks of the semester. We offer the online elective course Fundamentals of medical physics to help students brush up their physics skills.

The lectures are complemented by biweekly online seminars whose aim is to help students reach a deeper understanding of the lecture material. The site for these online seminars is Microsoft Teams. Attending seminars is obligatory and active participation is expected. In default of this, the seminar instructor has the right to refuse the signature for the seminars. Students can have no more than two absences with leave from the seminars. Seminar absences are to be made up for according to the directions of the instructor. Students must ensure that they have the registrations necessary for the use of Microsoft Teams. Our institute provides a handout to assist the necessary registration steps.

To check if students have appropriated the material, we shall set an online test in every biweekly period. The material of each test will be announced by a schedule published in CooSpace. The 10-question tests consist of 7 theoretical and 3 calculation questions, randomly selected by the online system from a question pool. Each question is worth 1 point. We award fractional points for partially correct answers. The time allowed for the completion of the test is 20 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.

The results of the 5 mid-term online tests will be added up. The total will be converted into 5 mid-term points according to the following thresholds (without any rounding):

• below 25%: 0 points
• 25%–: 1 point
• 40%–: 2 points
• 55%–: 3 points
• 70%–: 4 points
• 85%–: 5 points

Only students who have obtained the signature for the seminar are eligible to take the examination. If a student fails to meet this, they must take a seminar resit from the combined material of the seminars in the semester. Failing the resit means they cannot register for an examination.

EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS

The course is worth 2 credits, awarded on the basis of an end-semester examination. Students take a computer-aided test examination at the end of the semester. 15% of test questions cover the material of the seminars, 25% of them consist of fundamental physics questions and 60% of them are medical physics questions. Students have to sign up for the examination through the Neptun system. Examination registrations are finalised automatically 24 hours before the examination. Repeated examinations are to be taken according to the general regulations of the Study and the Examination Requirements of the University. No first examinations are allowed during the resit week of the examination period.

At the examination a maximum of 35 points can be achieved, to which the 5 points obtainable from mid-term work are added, making a total of 40 points. Grades of the examination are determined as follows (with the examination results rounded to two decimals where needed):

• 0–20.99 points: fail (1)
• 21.00–25.99 points: pass (2)
• 26.00–30.99 points: satisfactory (3)
• 31.00–35.99 points: good (4)
• 36.00–40.00 points: excellent (5)

The test can be completed once. The time of completion is 60 minutes. Each examination question is worth 1 point, with fractional points awarded for partially correct answers. Completion cannot be interrupted. You cannot go back to a previous question. You can only proceed forward from question to question. During the examination, students are allowed to use the printed or digital version of a formula sheet provided by the institute. This contains the formulae relevant to the calculation questions in the mid-term and end-semester tests.

In all other respects, refer to the current version of the Academic and Examination regulations or, for issues not clarified there, to the announcements of our institute.

SYLLABUS OF THE LECTURES

1. Biomechanics. Muscle function
2. Fundamentals of the senses: oscillations, waves, optics
3. Hearing and vision
4. Flow of fluids
5. Thermodynamics
6. Diffusion and other transport processes
7. Signal analysis

SYLLABUS OF THE SEMINARS

1. SI and other fundamentals
2. Biomechanics
3. Oscillations and waves. Optics
4. Hearing and vision
5. Flow of fluids
6. Thermodynamics

OBLIGATORY TEXTBOOKS

• S Damjanovich, J Fidy and J Szöllősi (eds): Medical biophysics. Medicina, 2009.

SUGGESTED TEXTBOOKS

• Paul Davidovits: Physics in Biology and Medicine. Fourth edition. Academic Press, 2013.

Medical physics 2

obligatory course

COURSE DATA

Credits: 2
Lecture: 2 hours/ week – course code: AOK-KUA509 – assessment: end-semester examination

• Thursday 8-10, Large Education Centre, György Ivánovics lecture hall

Seminar: 2 hours/ 2 weeks
Obligatory textbooks:

• S Damjanovich, J Fidy and J Szöllösi (eds): Medical Biophysics. Medicina, 2009. 

Suggested textbooks:

• Paul Davidovits: Physics in Biology and Medicine. Fourth edition. Academic Press, 2013.

Year/semester: 1st year, 2nd semester

The requirements of the Institute, syllabus, topic lists and educational handouts are available on this website.

AIM OF THE COURSE

In accordance with the widespread involvement of physical principles and methods in almost all areas of medical sciences, this compulsory course offers an introduction to applications of physics in medicine and clinical research.

The syllabus is designed to cover the fundamentals of physics indispensable in physiology, medical diagnostics and therapy, by providing theoretical and practical knowledge essential for students of medicine. The course provides students with an understanding of certain phenomena in the physiology of the human body (resting potential, action potential, bioelectricity), of diagnostic methods (X-ray images, CT, MRI, ultrasonic diagnostics, etc) and of therapeutic processes (laser, light, radiation or heat therapy, etc) by showing the underlying physical principles.

The 2 hours/week physics lecture is accompanied by 2 hours/fortnight seminars.

There is a five-grade written examination covering the material of lectures, seminars and the relevant chapters of the obligatory textbooks at the end of the semester.

Syllabus of the lectures

1. Electricity, magnetism and electromagnetism.
2. Bioelectric phenomena.
3. Quantum physical phenomena in life (and medical) sciences.
4. Spectroscopy (optical, with an outlook to general spectroscopy). Atomic physics. Atomic spectra. Electromagnetic radiation. Luminescence.
5. X-rays: general properties, use in diagnostics. Absorption of X-radiation. Producing X-rays, interaction with living substances.
6. Nuclear physics. Radioactivity. Nuclear radiation, dosimetry.
7. Practical application of radioactive isotopes. Particle accelerators in medical practice.
8. Principles of the laser. Medical applications of lasers.
9. Medical imaging techniques: ultrasound, CT, MRI/NMR, PET, infrared diagnostics.
10. Physical basis of therapeutic methods: laser-, light, radio- and heat therapy; therapeutic use of electricity.
11. Physical methods in physiological research: microscopy (optical-, scanning-, electron-), mass spectrometry.
12. Molecular and cellular diagnostics: sedimentation, electrophoretic methods, flow cytometry

Syllabus of the seminars

1. Electricity.
2. Magnetism, electromagnetism, bioelectricity.
3. The electromagnetic spectrum. Spectroscopy. Lasers.
4. X-rays.
5. Nuclear physics; radioactivity.
6. Imaging and therapeutic methods.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE COURSE

Attendance of the lectures is strongly recommended; downloading the lecture slides cannot substitute for the participation at the lecture. We perform attendance checks regularly.

The lectures are complemented by biweekly seminars whose aim is to help students reach a deeper understanding of the lecture material. Attending seminars is obligatory and active participation is expected. In duly justified cases (disruptive behaviour, blatant passivity or lack of preparedness) the seminar instructor has the right to refuse the student’s further participation and register the student as absent.

Students can have no more than two absences with leave from the seminars. Seminar absences are to be made up for according to the directions of the instructor.

To check if students are prepared, we shall set a short test at the beginning of each seminar. The basis of the seminar tests is the material covered in the previous seminar and the topic list and sample questions available in the CooSpace scene of the course. All seminar tests consist of 3 multiple-choice questions (each worth 1 point) and a single calculation task (worth 2 points).

Only students who have gained the approval of the instructor for their seminar work and achieved at least 20% in the seminar tests (that is, 6 points out of the semester total of 25 points) are eligible to take the examination. If a student fails to meet this, they must take a seminar resit, in which the passing mark is 50%. Failing thee resit means they cannot register for an examination and have to repeat the whole course.

The seminar totals will be converted to examination points as follows:

• 0–5 points: resit must be taken to be able to register for an examination
• 6–9 points: 1 examination point
• 10–13 points: 2 examination points
• 14–17 points: 3 examination points
• 18–21 points: 4 examination points
• 22–25 points: 5 examination points

EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS

The course is worth 2 credits, awarded on the basis of an end-semester examination. Students take a computer-aided multiple-choice test examination at the end of the semester. Students have to sign up for the examination through the Neptun system. Repetition of examinations is according to the general regulations of the Study and the Examination Requirements of the University.

At the examination a maximum of 35 points can be achieved, to which the 5 points obtainable from the seminars are added, making a total of 40 points. Grades of the examination are determined as follows:

• 0–20 points: failed (1)
• 21–25 points: passed (2)
• 26–30 points: accepted (3)
• 31–35 points: good (4)
• 36-40 points: excellent (5)

Students who are registered as present at at least 50% of the attendance checks will receive the better mark when lacking just one point: eg, get a passed (2) for 20 points.