INSTITUTION: The Mico University College

DEPARTMENT: Natural Sciences

PROGAMME: B. Ed (Science Education)
SPECIALISATION: Physics
COURSE CODE: NPHY3501

COURSE TITLE: MEDICAL PHYSICS

DURATION: 90 hours (45 lectures + 45 lab/field)
NO. OF CREDITS: 4
PRE-REQUISITES: Introductory Physics 1B – Forces; Physics II B – Energy

RATIONALE:
The advancement in information and communications technology in the 21st century has
brought about a transformation of prospective employers’ and the wider society’s expectations
of university graduates. There seems to be a consensus that graduates with multidisciplinary
knowledge are better able to cope with the complexities of the 21st century, so the expectation
of stakeholders in education is that universities produce versatile and engaging graduates with
multidisciplinary knowledge and many capabilities.

In order to meet the demand for graduates with multiple capabilities, higher education in the
21st century must introduce the learner to a variety of disciplines and professional areas while
imparting the necessary values and attitudes for them to engage in lifelong learning.

Against the background of the requirements for higher education institutions to produce
versatile graduates, the B.Ed (Science Education) programme of the Mico University College has
been restructured to introduce the learners to the utilization of core principles of Physics in
diverse areas, of which medicine in one.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course introduces the learner to the application of core principles of physics into areas of
the medical sciences. The content of the course will introduce the learner to the biomechanics
of muscle of the human body, locomotion, speech, hearing and sight and to four forms of
medical imaging. The learner will also be given an opportunity to peek into the world of imaging
technologies and how they are operated.
The course will present the concepts to the learner in a real life context through practical
exercises and investigations of applications of the theoretical concepts in real life contexts. The
course leader will employ a diversity learning activities and assessment strategies which include
demonstrations and research investigations.

There are four units in this course

Unit 1: Human muscular biomechanics and locomotion
Unit 2: Physics of human speech, hearing and sight
Unit 3: Medical imaging
Unit 4: Dosimetry and medical imaging technology
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GENERAL OBJECTIVES:
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
1. develop a basic understanding of medical physics concepts
2. integrate and apply various physics concept in other areas
3. enhance critical thinking and problem solving skills
4. develop general and scientific communication skills

UNIT: 1
TITLE: HUMAN MUSCULAR BIOMECHANICS AND LOCOMOTION
DURATION: 30 hours

OBJECTIVES: On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1.1. Describe the four behavioural properties of muscle tissue.

1.2. Explain and use a simple mechanical model of skeletal muscle.
1.3. Distinguish between eccentric and concentric contraction of skeletal muscle.
1.4. Interpret graphs of length-tension and force-velocity relationships of skeletal muscle.
1.5. Calculate muscular strength and muscular power of skeletal muscle.
1.6. Perform experiments to determine muscular strength and muscular power.
1.7. Discuss the kinematics, muscular action and energetics of walking and running.
1.8. Use mechanical systems to model slow walking and running.
1.9. Complete calculations regarding slow walking and running using mechanical models.
1.10. Perform experiments to assess the accuracy of mechanical models of slow walking and
running.
1.11. Evaluate the usefulness of developing mechanical models of living organisms.

SUMMARY OF CONTENT
 Behavioral properties: extensibility, elasticity, tension development, irritability.
Hill mechanical model of muscle. Application of the Hill mechanical model equation,

, to muscle behaviour.

 Concentric and eccentric contraction as contraction with shortening and lengthening of

muscle respectively.
 Identify regions of concentric and eccentric contraction and isometric maximum on
force-velocity graph.
 Active tension due to muscle stimulation, passive tension due to muscle extension, total
tension sum of active and passive tensions.
 Muscular strength is torque muscle produces at joint (e.g biceps at elbow joint).
Muscular power is muscular strength x angular velocity at a joint.


 Phases of gait cycle for human slow walking and running
 Ballistic pendulum model for slow walking
 Evaluate “goodness of fit” of mechanical models.
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SUGGESTED LEARNING ACTIVITIES

 Student interaction with Power Point presentations, web pages and videos on the
course site on Mico Learning Management System
 Student discourse on content of unit facilitated by lecturer
 Investigations
 Peer tutoring
 Tutorials

FORMATIVE AND/OR DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT

 Performance assessment
 Investigation reports
 Unit test (15 MCQs)

UNIT: 2
TITLE: PHYSICS OF HUMAN SPEECH, HEARING, SIGHT
DURATION: 24 hours

OBJECTIVES: On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

2.1. Explain the mechanical occurrences in each of the stages of human speech.
2.2. Use mechanical models to make calculations regarding vocal sounds.
2.3. Use mechanical analogues to describe the functioning of the outer, middle and inner ear
and make calculations.
2.4. Interpret auditory sensitivity graphs.
2.5. Perform experiments to compare auditory sensitivities of humans.
2.6. Explain the sources of loss of light between entering the eye and reaching the retina.
2.7. Interpret transmission-wavelength graphs for light entering the eye.
2.8. Calculate the loss of intensity of light due to absorption and scattering in the eye.
2.9. Use models of the eye as a compound lens and thin lens approximations of the eye to
make calculations
2.10. Perform simple experiments to determine the transmittance of a bovine eye.
2.11. Justify the use of mechanical and optical models to determine quantities associated with
speech, hearing and vision.

SUMMARY OF CONTENT
 Student interaction with Power Point presentations, web pages and videos on the
course site on Mico Learning Management System
 Student discourse on content of unit facilitated by lecturer
 Stages of phonation: airstream (lungs), phonation (larynx), articulation (vocal tract
tube).
 Glottal cycle
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 Equation for pressure gradient during phonation,

 Fundamental frequency of vocal fold, .

 Outer ear modeled as a tube closed at one end

 Transmission of force by ossicles.
 Cochlear tube vibrations. Hair cell vibrations.
 Intensity level vs frequency curves for different loudness levels.
 Audiograms
 Loss of light incident on the eye due to reflection of light at interfaces between various
ocular media, absorption and scattering in ocular media.

 Fraction of light reflected, .

 Transmission decreased according to Beer’s Law.
 Efficiency of scattering varying as 1/λ4.
 Emsley schematic model of the eye.

SUGGESTED LEARNING ACTIVITIES

 Student interaction with Power Point presentations, web pages and videos on the
course site on Mico Learning Management System
 Student discourse on content of unit facilitated by lecturer
 Practical exercises
 Group presentations
 Problem solving
 Tutorial

FORMATIVE AND/OR DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT

 Written assignment
 Performance assessment
 Laboratory report
 Unit test (15 MCQs)

UNIT: 3
TITLE: MEDICAL IMAGING
DURATION: 30 hours

OBJECTIVES: On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

3.1. Describe how X-rays are produced in X-ray tubes.

3.2. Explain and make calculations regarding the effect of matter on X-rays.
3.3. Use light experiments to simulate the effect of matter on X-rays.
3.4. Explain the use of X-rays in mammography and CT and make simple calculations.
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3.5. Explain the principle of imaging using radionuclides

3.6. Outline the desirable properties of a radionuclide that is used for imaging.
3.7. Perform simple experiments to simulate imaging with the use of radionuclides.
3.8. Explain the piezoelectric effect.
3.9. Explain the principles of ultrasound imaging and use the terms echo, resolution, speckle,
Doppler as they relate to ultrasound imaging.
3.10. Interpret aspects of ultrasound images.
3.11. Explain the principles of magnetic resonance imaging.

SUMMARY OF CONTENT
 Bremsstrahlung and characteristic X-rays.
 Rayleigh, Compton scattering, linear attenuation.
 Linear attenuation equation
 Half-Value Layer
 Features of a mammography unit.
 Features of CT
 Calculate geometrical unsharpness
 Gamma camera operation
 Properties of radiopharmaceutical: Physical half-life of a few hours, emission of mono-
energetic gamma rays of about 150 keV, easily and firmly attached to pharmaceutical at
room temperature, readily available at hospital site, high activity per unit volume, decay
to a stable daughter, preferable decay by isomeric transition or electron capture.
 Effective half-life.
 Piezoelectric effect as tension and compression generated potential differences.
 Echo – reflected part of ultrasound upon interaction with internal body structure.
Resolution – ability to distinguish two points as being separate in space. Speckle – noise
which degrades the fine details of ultrasound image. Doppler – shift in wavelength of
the echo when there is relative motion between the reflecting structure and the
transducer
 MRI images formed by signals from protons in water and lipid.

SUGGESTED LEARNING ACTIVITIES

 Student interaction with Power Point presentations, web pages and videos on the
course site on Mico Learning Management System
 Student discourse on content of unit facilitated by lecturer
 Peer tutoring
 Field trips
 Practical exercises
 Research

FORMATIVE AND/OR DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT

 Practical exercise/field trip reports
 Individual/group performance assessment
 Peer assessment
 Unit test (15 MCQs)
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UNIT: 4
TITLE: DOSIMETRY AND MEDICAL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY
DURATION: 6 hours

OBJECTIVES: On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

4.1. Use units of exposure and dose in medical imaging.

4.2. Describe how to operate two commercial imaging devices that use different imaging
techniques.
4.3. Evaluate the applicability of imaging theory in commercial applications.

SUMMARY OF CONTENT
 Absorbed and equivalent dose
 Operation of mammography unit, CT scanner, gamma camera, ultrasound machine.
 Interpretation of images from each device.

SUGGESTED LEARNING ACTIVITIES

 Field visits
 Personal reflections

FORMATIVE AND/OR DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT

 Field visit report

ASSESSMENT
Coursework: 50%
 Lab/fieldwork reports 15%
 In-course tests (2 MCQs) 20%
 Other assignments 15%

Final Examination: 50%

one paper, 2 hours
 3 essays, chosen from 5 questions (60 mks)

RECOMMENDED READING
Herman, I P. (2007). Physics of the human body. Berlin, Springer.
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Other readings to be posted on the Medical Physics course site on The Mico University College
LMS.