Problems and Solutions in Medical Physics

Kwan Hoong Ng, PhD, FinstP, DABMP, received his MSc (medical physics) from the University of Aberdeen and PhD (medical physics) from the University of Malaya, Malaysia. He is certified by the American Board of Medical Physicists. Professor Ng was honoured as one of the top 50 medical physicists in the world by the International Organization of Medical Physics (IOMP) in 2013. He also received the International Day of Medical Physics Award in 2016. He has authored/co-authored over 230 papers in peer-reviewed journals, 25 book chapters and co-edited 5 books. He has presented over 500 scientific papers and more than 300 invited lectures. He has also organised and directed several workshops on radiology quality assurance, digital imaging and scientific writing. He has directed research initiatives in breast imaging, intervention radiology, radiological safety and radiation dosimetry. Professor Ng serves as a consultant for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is a member of the International Advisory Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO), in addition to previously serving as a consulting expert for the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). He is the founding and emeritus president of the South East Asian Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (SEAFOMP) and is a past president of the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (AFOMP). Chai Hong Yeong, PhD, is a medical physicist and an associate professor at the School of Medicine, Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia. Dr. Yeong received her BSc degree in health physics in 2005, master of medical physics in 2007, and PhD in medical physics in 2012. She is currently a council member of the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (AFOMP), South East Asia Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (SEAFOMP), Malaysian Institute of Physics (IFM) and a founding member of the ASEAN College of Medical Physics (ACOMP). Dr. Yeong has published more than 36 peer-reviewed journal papers, one academic book, 2 book chapters, 10 proceedings and more than 80 scientific papers. Her research interests focus on theranostics, image-guided minimally invasive cancer therapies, nanotherapeutics, 3D printing and radiation protection in medicine. She is currently leading the Cancer Innovation and Metabolic research group at the Taylor’s University. Alan Christopher Perkins, PhD, FIPEM, HonFRCP, is a clinical professor of medical physics in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham and honorary consultant clinical scientist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust where he is a divisional lead for research and innovation. He has had over 35 years’ experience in nuclear medicine and medical physics and broad managerial experience in the NHS. He has undertaken extensive research and development work with clinical, academic and industrial collaborators in nuclear medicine, gastroenterology, radiopharmacology, drug delivery and radiation protection. His contribution to this work has resulted in authorship of over 200 peer-reviewed publications and 6 published books. Professor Perkins is a past president of the British Nuclear Medicine Society and the International Research Group on Immuno-scintigraphy and Therapy, a previous vice president of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine and currently a governor and chair of the Research Strategy Board for Coeliac UK. He is an editor of the UK journal Nuclear Medicine Communications, and for over nine years has represented the UK on the High-Level Group for the Security of Medical Radioisotope Supplies at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He has consulted for a number of commercial organisations and has acted as an expert witness for pharmaceutical litigation in the United States.

"Problems and Solutions in Medical Physics – Nuclear Medicine Physics represents an innovative way of teaching. Instead of using the conventional flow of introducing the basic principles, explaining the theory, providing the numerical equations linking the physical figures of merit, providing examples and finally proposing to the reader some practical exercises, the authors Kwan Hoon Ng, Chai Hong Yeong and Alan Christopher Perkins have chosen a completely different approach.They start from a problem and ask the reader to provide an answer. The problem can be theoretical, descriptive, technological or practical. Irrespective of the nature of the problem, the authors provide a detailed and comprehensive solution for each of them. In doing so the introduce the underlying theory, suggest the qualitative link between the variables involved, illustrate the numerical equations which allows to quantitate the relationship between the variables and guide the reader step by step in the numerical calculations necessary to obtain the final solution, when needed.Following this approach, they cover all the different areas of the Nuclear Medicine specialty: radionuclide and radiopharmaceutical production; imaging, with a special focus on the instrumentation (counters, planar camera, SPECT and PET), the techniques and the ways to ensure the quality of the imaging; radionuclide therapy; internal dosimetry and radioprotection.I was fascinated by this approach, which I found in line with the modern educational techniques. Having had the privilege of chairing the EFOMP - European School for Medical Physics Expert, I was always challenged with the increasing need and demand coming from our students of practical, hands-on, question and answer sessions. I am pleased to recognize that this book provides many, if not all, the answers to the questions that a Medical Physicist must answers in his everyday clinical practice as a health professional."—Dr. Marco Brambilla, President of EFOMP and Head of Medical Physics Department, University Hospital of Novara, in the IOMP Journal Medical Physics International (MPI), May 2020.

• Volume 1: Diagnostic Imaging Physics: 1. Projection Radiography. 2. Digital Imaging. 3. Fluoroscopy. 4. Mammography. 5. Computed Tomography. 6. Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 7. Ultrasound. 8. Radiation Protection and Safety in Radiology. Appendices. Index. Volume 2: Nuclear Medicine Physics: 1.Radioactivity and Nuclear Transformation. 2. Radionuclide Production and Radiopharmaceutical. 3. Non-Imaging Detectors and Counters. 4. Instrumentation for Gamma Imaging. 5. SPECT and PET Imaging. 6. Image Quality in Nuclear Medicine. 7. Radionuclide Therapy. 8. Internal Radiation Dosimetry. 9. Quality Control in Nuclear Medicine. 10. Radiation Safety and Protection. Appendices. Index. Volume 3: Radiotherapy Physics: 1. External Beam Therapy Equipment. 2. Photon Beam Physics. 3. Electron Beam Physics. 4. Treatment Planning for External Beam Radiotherapy. 5. Radiation Dosimetry. 6. Special Procedures and Advanced Techniques in Radiotherapy. 7. External Beam Commissioning and Quality Assurance. 8. Brachytherapy Treatment and Quality Assurance. 9. Basic Radiobiology. 10. Radiation Protection and Safety in Radiotherapy. Appendices. Index.