Published on the 3rd July 2025 by ANSTO Staff
A research paper that shares early results from an IAEA funded project evaluates the state of medical physics in diagnostic radiology and image-guided procedures in the Asia-Pacific region has been published in Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine.
The study, which had the support of the IAEA and led by Dr Ioannis Delakis, Chair of the radiology speciality group, Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM) and Dr Zoe Brady, Chief Physicist (Diagnostic Imaging) and Radiation Safety Officer at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and Chair of the ACPSEM Diagnostic Imaging Certification Panel, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and ANSTO is the outcome of a Regional Cooperative Agreement the project, ‘Improving the quality and safety of diagnostic and interventional radiology services to benefit health care by enhancing the status, knowledge and skills of medical physicists’.
This project is contributing to the IAEA’s flagship initiative Rays of Hope, which aims to support low- and middle-income countries in providing access to diagnosis and treatment of cancer using radiation medicine. Read more
The study co-authors distributed questionnaires to 15 experts from different countries and held an online workshop to discuss the answers. The findings show that while most countries expect medical physicists in radiology to have high academic qualifications, many lack formal clinical training programs. Professional registration is also limited.
Most countries have medical physics societies and rules for equipment quality control, but the recognition and job roles of medical physicists vary. Challenges included a lack of awareness of the profession among clinical staff, but there are opportunities like academic programs that cover radiology physics.
“The publication of this paper improves awareness of the state of medical physics in the Asia Pacific region and the work of Australian-led clinical experts who are sharing their expertise in the project,” said Natascha Spark, Senior Manager International Affairs, ANSTO.
