20329 Physical Methods in Medicine

Credits: 3 advanced seminar credits in Physics

Prerequisites: 36 credits in the Sciences, including Fundamentals of Physics (or Fundamentals of Physics I + Fundamentals of Physics II, or or both Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism), as well as Modern Physics, Laboratory: Physics II, Differential and Integral Calculus I (or Infinitesimal Calculus I). Students must also fulfill all English requirements and take bibliographic instruction in the Library.

The course is based on a reader edited by William Ben-Ari, Joseph Dotan, Yoav Yair and Gabby Dorfman-Furmann.

In recent years, medical diagnosis has taken advantage of numerous methods employing technologies based on physical principles. The course expands students’ knowledge of physics, by focusing on the use of ultrasound imaging, CT, MRI and diagnostic radiology. The material includes a discussion of the basic properties of ultrasound waves, their interaction with matter and the Doppler effect. Students also study the basic properties of lasers and as well as diagnostic methods using X-rays and tomography. The course includes topics in brain research, sleep research and the heart. Students are required to apply knowledge acquired in this course and in other Physics courses to find solutions to problems arising in medical diagnosis.

Students study theoretical material related to the use of imaging technology in medicine, write a seminar paper on a topic of interest with the help of a tutor, and give a lecture on it.