Radiology, physical science, and the emergence of medical physics

Abstract

The early development of medical physics as a separate discipline and profession is briefly reviewed. Although both x rays and radioactivity were discovered by physicists, at first the physical investigations of these phenomena, and their medical applications, proceeded along parallel but independent lines. Radiological journals were founded in Britain, Germany, and the U.S. as early as 1896-1897 but it was not until ten years later that papers on radiation physics began to appear regularly. In 1913 the first full-time physicists were appointed to posts in medical schools and hospitals: William Duane in the U.S. and Sydney Russ in Britain. Thereafter the number of physicists engaged in medical applications increased slowly but steadily, and in the 1920s they began to apply the new science of radiation dosimetry to both x ray and radium therapy. The "Hospital Physicists' Association" was founded in Britain in 1943 with 53 members and the "American Association of Physicists in Medicine" followed in 1958 with 127 charter members.

Medical Physics: Some Recollections in Diagnostic X-ray Imaging and Therapeutic Radiology

“…Physicists were needed because the early x-ray machines required constant nurturing to keep them running reliably and with some consistency in dose delivery. Many of the early developments in dose specification and measurement were made by physicists, culminating in the establishment of the first unit of "dose," the roentgen, in 1928 (24,25). During this same period, a number of hospitals began to employ physicists to deal with the handling and dosimetry associated with radium and radon brachytherapy.…”

“…The employment of physicists in radiation therapy dates back to soon after x-rays were first used for treatment of diseases in the late 1890s and early 1900s (24,25). Physicists were needed because the early x-ray machines required constant nurturing to keep them running reliably and with some consistency in dose delivery.…”

Introduction

“…A subsequent association of radiologists, which had become the British Institute of Radiology, merged with the Roentgen Society in 1927, and the new organization, with a combined name, is generally known as the ''BIR.'' 16 The BIR has both radiologists and physicists as members, and its journal is the British Journal of Radiology ͑BJR͒. The office of president of the BIR each year is, alternately, either a physicist or a radiologist.…”

“…'' There followed a series of meetings in different parts of the country as well as substantial correspondence, with increasing interest by physicists. A Steering Committee of 16 About 50 physicists were present the next day, 17 November 1958, at the General Organization meeting and voted unanimously to proceed with formation of the AAPM. The Temporary Constitution provided for a Board of 12 Directors with wide area representation, and that the chairman and other officers would be elected by the Board from the membership of the Board.…”

“…12 Four essays on major creators of our scientific origin were prepared for and published in the November 1995 issue of Medical Physics. [13][14][15][16] In particular, the background in German science relevant to Roentgen's approach was illuminated in the essay by Ulf Rosenow of the University of Göttingen in his ''Notes on the legacy of the Roentgen rays.'' He also commented on the complications due to the current concept of a surrounding ether and on Roentgen's emphasis on experiment rather than theory; Jean and Andrée Dutreix brought out the adherence to logic, which brought Bequerel to his discovery of radioactivity and also aroused such public interest in science in France as to insure more public participation and support of a field of endeavor in which entry had been ordinarily limited; Jean Chavaudra provided an interesting account of the families, life, and background of both Marie Sklodowska and Pierre Curie, the major problems they faced, and the unique equipment they utilized together with the skills they developed; and Montague Cohen and Nigel Trott collaborated on an account of the continuing search for characterization of the new radiations, the discovery of artificially produced radioactivity, and the development of accelerators for nuclear physics studies.…”