Coloquio de Física - Future directions in Medical Physics

   Departamentos        Ciencias - Sección Física

Ponente: Robert Jeraj (University of Wisconsin - Madison, EE.UU.) Medical Physics is a highly interdisciplinary field at the intersection of physics, medicine, and biology, whose aim is to develop novel applications of physical processes and techniques in various areas of medicine and biology. Medical Physics had and continues to have a profound impact by developing improved imaging and treatment technologies, and by helping to advance our understanding of the complexity of the disease. The contemporary trend in medicine towards personalized therapy and the emphasis on accelerated translational research are influencing Medical Physics. In radiation therapy – the traditional stronghold for medical physicists – a new reality is shaping up, in the form of biologically conformal and combination therapies, and advanced particle therapies, using protons and ions. Rapid increase in faster and more informative multi-modality medical imaging is bringing a wealth of information that is being complemented with data obtained from genomic profiling and other biomarkers. Novel data analysis and data mining approaches are proving grounds for use of various artificial intelligence methods that will help improve clinical decision-making for optimization of various therapies and understanding disease properties and disease evolution, ultimately leading to improved clinical outcomes.