The past, present and future of medical physics in China

Medical physics is an independent branch of physics applying the concepts (or principles) and methods of physics to the practice of medicine. It explores, explains and expresses the physical phenomenon related to the diagnosis, treatment of human diseases, and the health of human beings. It includes radiological imaging physics, radiation oncology physics, nuclear medicine physics, the use of non－ionizing techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance, ultra－sound, microwaves, radio frequency waves, and lasers, as well as health physics. Medical physics and biomedical engineering are closely related academic disciplines that both deal with the same problems in medicine but from the different points of view of physics and engineering, respectively. In contrast, physical medicine is a branch of medicine and is different academically from medical physics, which is a branch of applied physics. Since the 1960s medical physics in China has achieved rapid development that has greatly promoted the progress of the modern medical sciences of radiation oncology, nuclear medicine, and medical imaging in the country. In the 1980s the Chinese Society of Medical Physics was founded, becoming later a member of the International Organization for Medical Physics. To meet the needs of the health care of the Chinese people and the modernization of Chinese hospitals, it is essential for the Educational Department of the National State Council to set up the academic discipline of medical physics, and the profession of medical physicist in hospitals in China.