Medical Physics
Published in
Oct 12, 2021 04:35 PM
Technical competence and commitment to the safe use of ionizing radiation in medicine
The safe use of ionizing radiation in diagnosis and therapy requires the proper radiological protection of patients, medical staff and the public. More than 50 million radiological examinations, 4 million mammography scans, 2.5 million procedures for therapy and diagnosis using radiopharmaceuticals and 450 thousand radiation therapy procedures are performed annually in Brazil.
The Division of Medical Physics of the IRD counts on a team of qualified professionals that conducts scientific research, develops technologies, provides advice and contributes to the radiological protection training of professionals and researchers working in Diagnostic Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy.
Fields of expertise:
- Development of quality control programs in diagnostic radiology;
- Development of quality management and dose and image optimization programs in conventional and digital mammography;
- Dosimetry and image quality control in dental radiology;
- Development and implantation of the program "National Assessment of Radiological Protection and Quality Control in Interventional Cardiology Services";
- Dosimetry of medical staff submitted to high exposure levels in interventional radiological procedures;
- Development and maintenance of a database containing dosimetric information from patients and staff involved in interventional radiological procedures;
- Assessment of doses and risk of cancer following radiation exposure from CT scans;
- Preclinical and clinical dosimetric studies in the development of new radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and therapy in nuclear medicine, by imaging techniques and numerical simulation;
- Optimization of medical protocols and quality control of SPECT/CT and PET/CT hybrid equipment according to national standards and international recommendations;
- Evaluation of occupational and public exposures in new nuclear medicine diagnostic and therapeutic techniques;
- Quality control in radiation therapy, including equipment performance, precision and accuracy in patient dose delivery and treatment planning;
- Computational and physical clinical dosimetry of patients undergoing radiation therapy;
- Radiation protection of patients, workers and members of the public in radiation therapy;
- Radiation protection training for professionals and undergraduate and graduate students, by academic advising, courses and practical training, in the different fields of ionizing radiation applications in medicine
* Our mission is to contribute to the safe use of ionizing radiation in medicine, more accurate diagnoses and more effective treatments.
* IRD collaborates with universities, research institutes, health authorities, medical and scientific societies and other national and international organizations.