Our specialist physics degree courses
Our other courses: Physics courses, Astrophysics courses
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Core and optional modulesExamples of the 4 year MPhys Physics with Medical Physics degree modules are shown below. Our 3 year BSc course includes the content shown up to Year 3. |
Sample module descriptionsDetailed descriptions of some modules are shown below. Most of the modules are assessed by a combination of examination (around 70%) and coursework (30%). |
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Year 1Core
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Year 1Introduction to Bioengineering This module will introduce the application of engineering principles to biological and medical problems and give the student an appreciation of the breadth of bioengineering and identify to students what knowledge areas and skills are needed in order to contribute to the development of the fast growing field of bioengineering. Physics of Living Systems The aim is to introduce biomechanical descriptions of the human body. We look at its structure and its performance as a physical machine. The structural characteristics of human bones and tissue are investigated, together with the mechanical functions of the skeleton and musculature. Simple fluid dynamic characteristics of the body are introduced, including descriptions of blood-flow in the arteries and veins and air-flow in the lungs. |
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Year 2Core
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Year 2Biomedical Instrumentation The module is designed around the measurement needs in hospital-based critical care monitoring and in particular how the instrumentation engineer can help the clinician to answer a specific but vital question: is tissue oxygen delivery adequate? This central clinical scenario is used as the basis upon which to describe a number of key topics in transducer design and signal processing. An important feature of the module is that key topics in electrocardiography, respiratory monitoring and signal processing are illustrated via 5 hands-on lab sessions, whose continual assessment forms a substantial part of the overall module mark. Aspects of Medical Imaging and Technology This module provides an introduction to medical technology, with a particular bias towards ionising and non-ionising electromagnetic radiation and its diagnostic role in medicine. The module begins with the generation and behaviour of electromagnetic waves and the breadth of technological application across the electromagnetic spectrum. This extends from magnetic resonance imaging at low energies to high energy photons in X-ray systems. The importance of radiation in diagnosis is acknowledged by discussion of imaging theory and primary imaging modalities, such as planar radiography and CT. The therapeutic role is examined by a brief consideration of radiotherapy. |
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Year 3Core
Options
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Year 3Modelling and Simulation of Natural Systems This unit will provide a practical introduction to techniques used for modelling and simulating dynamic natural systems. Many natural systems can be modelled appropriately using differential equations, or individual based methods. In this unit, students will explore and understand both modelling approaches. They will gain knowledge of the assumptions underlying these models, their limitations, and how they are derived. Students will learn how to use MATLAB to simulate and explore the dynamics of computational models, using a variety of examples drawn from both natural systems. Clinical Engineering and Computational Mechanics The complexity of the geometry and boundary conditions of structures within the body are such that the physical governing equations rarely have closed-form analytical solutions. This module describes some of the numerical techniques that can be used to explore physical systems, with illustrations from biomechanics, biofluid mechanics, disease treatment and imaging processes. The primary technique that will be used is the finite element method, and the fundamental concepts behind this powerful technique will be described. The lectures will be supported by laboratory sessions in which the student will apply commercial codes to investigate problems in the medical sphere. |
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Year 4Core
Options
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Year 4Hospital or Industrial Placement It is recognised that students in year four are keen to experience the working environment to assist in career selection. This module meets this need by providing an opportunity to work with a practising physicist or engineer in an appropriate hospital or industrial environment. Biological Physics This module will introduce students to biological physics, that is, the application of principles and tools from physics to biological systems. Biological materials are often soft condensed matter with properties between those of simple liquids and solids. In addition biological matter is usually out of equilibrium due to internal biochemical sources of energy. Students will begin to explore the world of biological cells and biopolymer macromolecules, such as DNA. They will see how physics can help understand biological systems through mathematical models and experimental imaging techniques and how this can lead to new physics and applications in biology. |
"As someone who spent a few years out of education before coming to uni, I've been very well supported in the physics department. It is a friendly department and it's easy to approach staff to ask for advice. The course has been suitably challenging but doesn't assume that everyone has remembered everything from their A-levels without needing a little reminder so there's been plenty of opportunity for me to recall forgotten topics. I've also found that the department is not so large that students feel lost in a mass of other undergraduates, which really helped me integrate back into education as a mature student." Sarah O'Sullivan (BSc Physics)