Skip to main content

Medical physics

COVID-19 information

Our team collated and anonymised huge numbers of research archive images for use in COVD-19 studies, often involving artificial intelligence techniques to identify signs of COVID-19 in chest X-rays.

The Medical Physics and Radiotherapy teams work closely to deliver clinical services for cancer patients.

With our support, the Radiotherapy service delivers very high levels of the most technically demanding forms of radiotherapy that improves how many patients are cured and reduces side effects experienced by patients.

Patients with cancer and some heart and gastrointestinal (GI) conditions are assessed using specialist imaging equipment available at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) and Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust (BWC).

New investment in 2021 means our services have some of the most modern equipment in the country to provide the highest quality images for diagnosis and treatment follow-up, all supported by our Radiopharmacy team and facility.

The Nuclear Medicine team delivers a range of treatments using radioactive materials and also provide positron emission tomography (PET) scans for patients living in Birmingham.

Our team of specialist radiation protection scientists supports trusts regionally and nationally. The team also provides specialist scientific advice to ensure that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services are of the highest quality and delivered safely.

Our Clinical Computing and Imaging Sciences team supports the clinical computer systems in radiotherapy and the system which handles images for research studies for all UHB departments.

Common conditions and trial topics

The Medical Physics team rarely initiates trials. However, we support UHB staff to develop and seek funding for trials that investigate new approaches to care for many patient groups. We are involved in studies relating to a number of conditions:

  • Cancer
  • Heart disease
  • GI illnesses
  • Lung disease
  • Brain conditions

During 2020 we provided medical physics expert (MPE) advice for 56 trials that involved imaging with ionising radiation. We were the lead MPE for seven trials and acted as a local MPE advising one of the trial sites.

We are actively involved in pre-clinical and technical research, both in our own right and in partnership with academic colleagues.

We work with researches at multiple organisations and our most frequent collaborations are with the University of Birmingham (UoB). Current projects focus on new approaches to imaging using beams of high energy protons and ways to reduce and control breathing-related motion.

Contact information

Last reviewed: 27 April 2021