University of Science and Technology

Faculty of Engineering
Bio-Medical Engineering Department
Study Level (3).

MEDICAL PHYSICS
Chapter 1
Physics fundamentals
Physical properties of human body
Physics application in medicine

Prepared by/ Dr. Abdullah Taher

(Assistant professor of Medical Physics and Radiation Sciences)

PHYSICS
The study of matter, energy, and the
interactions between them
… in other words, everything!

Physics is the study of the

fundamental laws of nature.
These laws can be expressed in
terms of mathematical equations.
Theories of physics have to be verified
by the experimental measurements

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 Bio-Physics & Medical Physics
Aims to understand the function of human body in health
and disease.
The physical aspects of the body include ; body forces, work,
energy, power, heat ,blood flow, respiration, electricity,
circulation, and hearing.
The Applications of physics in medicine used for
- Diagnosis (Stethoscope, Manometer, Medical imaging,
Electrocardiograph, and Optics.
- Therapy such as : Radiotherapy, Ultrasound, Heating, Laser.
- Monitoring such as: ECG, spirometer, blood pressure, and
thermometer.

Measurement
 Measurements used to describe natural phenomena
 A scientific measurement requires:
(1) the definition of the physical quantity
(2) the units.
• The value of a physical quantity is actually the
product of a number and a unit .

• The precision of the measurement result is

determined by procedures used to measure them.

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 SI Units
Stands for Système international d'unités. It is standard body of
measurements, the modern form of the metric system adopted in
1960.
▪The SI system is pretty much the world standard in units.
Why use SI units?
▪ universal
▪ easy (metric system)
▪ The fundamental units in the SI system are…
Length meter (m)
Mass kilogram (kg)
Time second (s)
Electric Current (I) ampere (A)
Temperature kelvin (K)
Amount of matter mole
Intensity of light/Luminosity candela (cd)

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 Scientific notation and prefixes
EX: 1. The best current estimate of the age of the universe is
13 700 000 000 = 1.37 × 1010 years = 13.7 billion years
scientific notation prefix

2. electron mass = 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 91 kg
= 9.1 × 10-31 kilograms
Very large and very small numbers:
either scientific notation or prefixes should be used
Power of 10 Prefix Name Symbol
10 -12 pico p
10 -9 nano n
10 -6 micro µ
10 -3 milli m
10 -2 centi c
10 3 kilo k
10 6 mega M
10 9 giga G
10 12 tera T

base unit
1
femto pico nano micro mili kilo mega giga tera
f p n m m k M G T

10-15 10-12 10-9 10-6 10-3 100 103 106 109 1012
Smaller units centi (c) deci (d) Larger units
10-2 10-1

every step is 10± 1 power

They are grouped into steps 10± 3

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 MATTER AND ITS COMPONENTS
Matter: is anything that has mass and occupies space.

Mass: is a property of physical objects which, measure

the amount of matter contained in an object.

Weight: is the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result

of gravity.
In the SI system of measurement, weight is measured in
Newton's.

Molecule: is the smallest particle of a pure substance that

still retains its chemical composition and properties.

Molecules can be either polyatomic (composed of several

atoms) or monoatomic (as in noble gases which are
composed of single-atom molecules). joined by shared
pairs of electrons (covalent bonds) that behave as a single
particle.

Compound: A compound is a substance formed from two or

more elements, with a fixed ratio determining the
composition.

For example, dihydrogen monoxide (water, H2O) is a

compound composed of two hydrogen atoms for every
oxygen atom.

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 FORCES IN THE ATOM
Atom: is the smallest component of an element having the
chemical properties of the element.

Fundamental Forces in the ATOM include:-

1- Gravitational force: Between objects
2- Electromagnetic force: Between electric charges.
3- Strong Nuclear force: Between subatomic particles, and
responsible for radioactive decay.
4- Weak Nuclear force: plays a role in the possible change of
sub-atomic particles, and responsible for radioactive decay.
Arise in certain radioactive decay processes

ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Atomic mass
the number of protons 4

He
and neutrons in an atom

Atomic number 2
the number of protons in an atom

number of electrons = number of protons

ISOTOPS are atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons in
the nucleus

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 Now that this atom of oxygen just
Ion gained an electron, it is no longer
neutral or an atom. It is now
considered an ion (anion). This ion has
 Charged particle more electrons (9) than protons (8).
that typically
results from a
loss or gain of
electrons - -
 Two types: -
 Anion = negatively = 8
+
charged particle
++ +
 Cation = positively = 8
+
charged particle
- + + -
- = 968
+ +
Currently, this atom of oxygen is
neutral because it has an equal number - -
of electrons (8) and protons (8).
Now that three electrons were lost, -
the number of electrons (6) and
-
protons (8) is still unbalanced;
therefore, it is still an ion, but now it
Symbol==OO1-
Symbol 2+
is specifically referred to as a cation.

Energy
The ability to do work. Which it allows us to predict how much
work the system could be made to do, or how much heat it can
exchange.
In the SI system, energy is measured in joules or electron volts (eV).
 The combination of energy and matter make up the
universe:
 Matter is substance, and energy is the mover of substance.
The Law of Conservation of Energy
Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it may be
transformed from one form into another, but the total
amount of energy never changes.

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 Types of Energy
Potential Energy: : is the energy which an object possesses due to
its position
(PE = mgh)
 m = mass (kg)
 h = height (m)
 g = acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2)
Kinetic Energy: is the portion of energy associated with the
motion of a body.
KE = 1/2 m v2
 Ex. 4 kg bowling ball at 10 m/s
its KE = 0.5 (4kg) (10m/s)2 = 200 J

Chemical Energy: Energy released as a result of chemical reactions.

Electrical Energy: is a form of energy related to the position of an
electric charge in an electric field. (E.E= I×V×t ).

Nuclear Energy: The energy released in a nuclear

reaction, such as fission or fusion ( = ).
Electromagnetic Energy: A wave characterized by
variations of electric and magnetic fields (for
example, X-rays ,ultraviolet, visible and infrared
rays ( E = hf ).
Thermal Energy (Heat): is kinetic energy due to
disordered motions and vibrations of microscopic
particles such as molecules and atoms, usually
associated with temperature.
Q= H.E = ms(T2-T1)

• Energy for living things comes from food. Originally, the

energy in food comes from the sun.

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 EINSTEIN'S MASS-ENERGY EQUIVALENCE

=
where E is energy, m is mass and c is the speed of light in a vacuum
= × m/s

Example:
What is the rest energy of a 1.00 g particle traveling at 3x m/s?
Solution:
Since, it is asking for the rest energy the speed that it is traveling does
not matter.
Now we will use Einstein's equation.
E = (1x kg) × ( × m/s)
E=9x J

WORK
FORM OF ENERGY CALLED MECHANICAL ENERGY
 WORK : is equal to the force that is exerted times the
distance over which it is exerted.
 W=Fxd
 The unit of work combines the unit of force (N) with the unit
of distance (m) = Newton-meter (N-m) = Joule.

EX. You carry a 20 kg suitcase upstairs, a distance of 4m.

How much work did you do?
 W=Fxd
 F = ma = (20 kg) (10m/s2) = 200 N
 W=Fxd
= (200 N) (4m)
W = 800 J

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What types of energy are shown below?

Electrical, Mechanical and

Electromagnetic Energy

1 gram carbohydrate = 4.30 Calories

A Calorie (Cal) is a unit to measure
1 gram fat = 9.45 Calories energy in foods
1 gram protein = 5.65 Calories 1 cal = 4.18 J

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 METABOLIC RATE
METABOLISM: The sum total of all physical and chemical
changes that take place within the body.
Food is the fuel source of the body, the ingested food undergoes
metabolism to liberate energy required for the vital activities of
the body.
• Man consumes energy to meet the fuel demands of the three
ongoing processes in the body:
i. Basal metabolic rate (BMR): the amount of energy needed to
perform minimal body functions.
ii. Specific dynamic action.
iii. Physical activity
BMR is important to: • calculate the caloric requirement of an
individual and planning of diets.
• Assessment of thyroid function.
• BMR is below normal in starvation, under nutrition, Addison’s
disease.

Factors affecting BMR

• Surface area: directly proportional to surface area.
• Sex: men have higher BMR (5%).
• Age: in infants and growing children BMR is higher. In
adults BMR decreases at the rate of 2% per decade of life
•Physical activity: increase with regular exercise.
• Hormones: thyroid hormones increase BMR.
• Environment: BMR is higher in cold climates compared to
warm climates.
• Starvation: during starvation a decrease in BMR up to 50%
• Fever: fever increases BMR. 10% increase for every 1⁰C rise
in body temperature.
• Disease status: BMR is elevated in infections, leukemia,
cardiac failure hypertension ,etc .

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 RADIATION
Radiation: is energy that comes from a source and travels
through some material or through space.

There are four basic types of ionizing radiation: Alpha

particles (helium nuclei), beta particles (electrons),
neutrons, and gamma rays (high frequency electromagnetic
waves, x-rays, are generally identical to gamma rays except
for their place of origin.)
Ionization: Any process by which a neutral atom gains or
losses electrons, thus acquiring a net charge.
High temperatures, electrical discharges or nuclear
radiations can cause ionization.

Electromagnetic Radiation
 Transverse waves produced by the motion of
electrically charged particles
 does not require a medium
 electric and magnetic components are perpendicular

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 EM radiation
 EM radiation travels in straight lines.
 It does not require matter for its propagation.
 Its maximum speed (3 X108 m/sec) occurs in a
vacuum.
 Its speed is a function of the transport
characteristics of the medium.
 Its trajectory can be altered by interaction with
matter.
 EM radiation is characterized by wavelength (λ),
frequency (f), and energy per photon (E).
 EM radiation carries energy that may be imparted to
matter with which it interacts.

Making Electromagnetic Waves

 The magnetic and electric fields create each other again and
again.
 EM waves usually travel slowest in solids and fastest in gases.
 EM radiation exhibits both wave properties and particle
properties at the same time (wave-particle duality).

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 Wave Characteristics
 All waves electromagnetic are characterized by their
amplitude (maximal height), wavelength (λ), frequency
(f), and period.
 The amplitude is the intensity of the wave.
 The wavelength is the distance between any two
identical points on adjacent cycles.
 The time required to complete one cycle of a wave is the
period.
 The number of periods that occur per second is the
frequency (l/period)

Example

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TYPES OF RADIATION
(i) Ionizing (ii) Non-Ionizing
The Ionizing radiation has capability to remove particles or electrons
from an atom.
Ionizing radiation has enough energy to rip the electrons from their
atoms, destroying the molecules.
Ionizing radiation can be Electromagnetic Wave (X rays , Gamma rays)
, or particles Electron , Alpha , Neutron, Proton

SOURCES OF IONIZING RADIATION

A) Natural Environmental Radiation:

1. Cosmic Rays: Highly energetic sub-atomic particles, mostly

protons and helium nuclei, which travel across space at close to
the speed of light.
2. Terrestrial Radiation: Long wave radiation that is emitted
by the earth back into the atmosphere.

3. Internally Deposited Radionuclides: Internal radiation

comes from radioactive materials that occur naturally in the
human body.

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 B) Man-Made Radiation:
1. Medical X-Rays: The use of medical radiation accounts for
about 11% of our exposure per year.
2. Nuclear Power Generation: The generation of electrical
power by nuclear power plants contributes very little to our yearly
exposure.
3. Industrial, Research, and Consumer: Also contribute very
little.

Some Problems about radiation

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17
EM Interaction with Matter
 Absorption (removal of the radiation).
 Scattering (change in trajectory).
 Photoelectric effect: the ejection of electrons from a
surface as a result of light absorption is called the
photoelectric effect.
 Attenuation of Radiation: Attenuation is the removal of
photons from a beam of Radiation. It is caused by both
absorption and scattering of the primary photons.

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 Medical Imaging and Radiation
Two types of radiation used in diagnostic imaging are
electromagnetic (EM) and particulate.
medical physicists are essential in the development of
many scanning technologies.

There is no evidence that low-level radiation from

medical imaging causes harm.
Some you may have heard of… X-rays…..CT
scans…..MRI scans, US…., PET scans…

X-RAY
X-ray are usually identified by their energy, measured in electron volts.
X-ray photons energies ranging from 1keV to 50MeV and higher.
The wavelength for this range is 10 E-9 to 10 E-12 m.
The frequency of these photon varies from 10 E18 to 10E21 Hz.
Shorter wavelength and higher
frequency than UV-rays Carry a
great amount of energy
Can penetrate most matter.
Uses of X-rays:
1- diagnosis 2- treatment of
cancers (radiotherapy) with high
energy X-rays.
Bones and teeth absorb x-rays.
(The light part of an x-ray image
indicates a place where the x-ray
was absorbed)

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 Applications of Radiation
Medical Imaging.
Radiation therapy.
High dose Radiation causes the most damage to rapidly
dividing cells. Therefore, it is useful in cancer treatments.
Food preservation.
High levels of radiation can destroy or incapacitate
bacteria.

REFERENCES

 Hobbie, R. K. and B. J. Roth (2007). Intermediate Physics for

Medicine and Biology. USA, Springer Science Business Media,
LLC.
 - Jearl Walker (2008) Fundamentals of Physics. USA, John Wi
ley & Sohs, lnc.
 Jearl Walker (2008) Fundamentals of Physics. USA, John Wi ley
& Sohs, lnc.
 Turner, J. E. (2007). Atoms, Radiation, and Radiation
Protection, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
 Sakeek, H. F. 2014. Radiation Physics lectures (available at
website).
 Maridi Hasan,2017, General Physics for Medical sciences
students .
 www.physicsacademy.org

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