While radiation has been used for more than 100 years, today's pinpoint accuracy increases your chances of survival many times. The person bringing this technical sophistication to your radiation treatment is the Medical Physicist. Without the knowledge and skills of the Medical Physicist, the machine could miss the target or deliver the wrong dosage, limiting your ability to heal. Only a ten percent error in dose can double your chance of disease recurrence. Accuracy is essential so that your radiation therapy may relieve your pain, control your tumor and possibly save your life.
Medical physics is one of our most precise health sciences.
The medical physicist started to work for you even before you became a patient. This scientist spent weeks preparing the complex equipment for treatment by measuring and analyzing the radiation coming from your treatment machine. He entered this information into a special high speed computer used for planning your treatments. All of this was done before a single patient could be treated. These behind the scenes activities are part of the quality assurance measures undertaken by this skilled scientist on behalf of you and every patient.