Medical Physics : from the discovery of X-rays to CT/PET diagnostics and conformal radiation therapy.
Medical physics, as all modern physics, started in 1895 with the discovery of X-rays, that opened the way to long lasting applications in medical diagnosys and cancer therapy. The developments, to be described in the first part of the lecture, have taken more than a century and have brought to Computer Tomography (CT) and to Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). In the years 1930's medical physics had a second boost with the discovery of artificial radioactivity and the invention of the cyclotron. Since then in diagnostics one has seen the introduction of SPET (Single Photon Emission Tomography) and PET (Positron Emission Tomography). Cancer therapy has been the second field of great developments. The last part of the lecture will describe the status of hadrontherapy, that uses beams of either protons or carbon ions to deliver very conformal doses to deep seated tumour targets.
