Redefining and reinvigorating the role of physics in clinical medicine: A Report from the AAPM Medical Physics 3.0 Ad Hoc Committee

Abstract

Derived from 2 yr of deliberations and community engagement, Medical Physics 3.0 (MP3.0) is an effort commissioned by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) to devise a framework of strategies by which medical physicists can maintain and improve their integral roles in, and contributions to, health care and its innovation under conditions of rapid change and uncertainty. Toward that goal, MP3.0 advocates a broadened and refreshed model of sustainable excellence by which medical physicists can and should contribute to health care. The overarching conviction of MP3.0 is that every healthcare facility can benefit from medical physics and every patient's care can be improved by a medical physicist. This large and expansive challenge necessitates a range of strategies specific to each area of medical physics: clinical practice, research, product development, and education. The present paper offers a summary of the Phase 1 deliberations of the MP3.0 initiative pertaining to strategic directions of the discipline primarily but not exclusively oriented toward the clinical practice of medical physics in the United States.

Examining gender diversity growth as a model for inclusion of all underrepresented persons in medical physics

“…All rights reserved Increasing diversity in the field of Medical Physics becomes more important as the field aims to further integrate into clinical practice. Medical Physics 3.0, the AAPM's effort to provide a strategic direction for sustainable excellence and future growth for the field, has as an explicit goal for the profession that it expand beyond caring for technology into providing scientifically oriented healthcare as a specialist with direct relationships with patients 34 . It is well established that diversity in healthcare professions allows for better patient care and outcomes 35 .…”

Evaluation of an automated grid artifact detection system for quality control in digital mammography

“…Ideally, problems that affect image quality would be detected before they impact clinical image quality. This goal is aligned with Medical Physics 3.0, an initiative to redefine the role of the medical physicist in the healthcare delivery process …”

“…This goal is aligned with Medical Physics 3.0, an initiative to redefine the role of the medical physicist in the healthcare delivery process. 1,2 Artifacts caused by the antiscatter grid are inherent in mammography, in which high-frequency antiscatter grids are used to reduce the scatter-to-primary ratio and improve image contrast. Owing to the high resolution of mammographic image receptors, a stationary antiscatter grid would guarantee the appearance of grid artifacts in mammograms.…”

Automation, regulation, and collaboration: Threats and opportunities for clinical medical physics careers in diagnostic imaging and nuclear medicine

“…AAPM's Medical Physics 3.0 initiative is a blueprint for culture within AAPM and the medical physics profession, describing a vision wherein medical physics improves the health of every patient. To accomplish this, medical physicists apply the science of physics to medicine, functioning as both scientists and healthcare providers.…”