PHY 325 and PHY 326

One reason I write this blog is to help instructors who adopt Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology as their textbook. I teach classes from IPMB myself; here at Oakland University we have a Biological Physics class (PHY 325) and a Medical Physics class (PHY 326). Instructors might benefit from seeing how I structure these classes, so below are my most recent syllabi.  

Syllabus, Biological Physics

Fall 2015

Class: Physics 325, MWF, 8:00–9:07, 378 MSC

Instructor: Brad Roth, Dept. Physics, 166 Hannah Hall, 370-4871, roth@oakland.edu, fax: 370-3408, office hours MWF, 9:15–10:00, https://files.oakland.edu/users/roth/web

Text: Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology, 5th Edition, by Hobbie and Roth (An electronic version of this book is available for free through the OU library)
Book Website: https://files.oakland.edu/users/roth/web/hobbie.htm (get the errata!).
Book Blog: http://hobbieroth.blogspot.com

Goal: To understand how physics influences and constrains biology

Grades

Point/Counterpoint		5 %
Exam 1	Feb 5	20 %	Chapters 1–3
Exam 2	March 18	20 %	Chapters 4–6
Exam 3	April 20	20 %	Chapter 7, 8, 10
Final Exam	April 20	10 %	Comprehensive
Homework		25 %

Schedule

Sept 4		Introduction
Sept 9, 11	Chapter 1	Mechanics, Fluid Dynamics
Sept 14–18	Chapter 2	Exponential, Scaling
Sept 21–25	Chapter 3	Thermodynamics
Sept 28–Oct 2		Exam 1
Oct 5–9	Chapter 4	Diffusion
Oct 12–16	Chapter 5	Osmotic Pressure
Oct 19–23	Chapter 6	Electricity and Nerves
Oct 26–30		Exam 2
Nov 2–6	Chapter 7	Extracellular Potentials
Nov 9–13	Chapter 8	Biomagnetism
Nov 16–20	Chapter 10	Heart Arrhythmias, Chaos
Nov 23, 25	Chapter 10	Feedback
Nov 30–Dec 4	Chapter 10	Feedback
Dec 7		Review
Dec 9		Final Exam

Homework

Chapter 1:	6, 7, 8, 16, 17, 33, 40, 42	due Wed, Sept 16
Chapter 2:	3, 5, 10, 29, 42, 46, 47, 48	due Wed, Sept 23
Chapter 3:	29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 40, 47, 48	due Wed, Sept 30
Chapter 4:	7, 8, 12, 20, 22, 23, 24, 41	due Wed, Oct 14
Chapter 5:	1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 16	due Wed, Oct 21
Chapter 6:	1, 2, 22, 28, 37, 41, 43, 61	due Wed, Oct 28
Chapter 7:	1, 10, 15, 24, 25, 36, 42, 47	due Wed, Nov 11
Chapter 8:	3, 10, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 32	due Wed, Nov 18
Chapter 10:	12, 16, 17, 18, 40, 41, 42, 43	due Wed, Dec 2

Syllabus, Medical Physics

Winter 2016 

Class: Physics 326, MWF, 10:40–11:47, 204 DH

Instructor: Brad Roth, Department of Physics, 166 HHS, (248) 370-4871, roth@oakland.edu, fax: (248) 370-3408, office hours MWF 9:30–10:30, https://files.oakland.edu/users/roth/web.

Text: Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology, 5th Edition, by Hobbie and Roth. An electronic version of the textbook is available through the OU library.
Book Website: https://files.oakland.edu/users/roth/web/hobbie.htm (get the errata!).
Book Blog: http://hobbieroth.blogspot.com

Goal: To understand how physics contributes to medicine

Grades

Point/Counterpoint		5 %
Exam 1	Feb 5	20 %	Chapters 13–15
Exam 2	March 18	20 %	Chapters 16, 11–12
Exam 3	April 20	20 %	Chapter 17, 18
Final Exam	April 20	10 %
Homework		25 %

Schedule

Jan 6, 8		Introduction
Jan 11, 13, 15	Chpt 13	Sound and Ultrasound
Jan 20, 22	Chpt 14	Atoms and Light
Jan 25, 27, 29	Chpt 15	Interaction of Photons and Matter
Feb 1, 3, 5		Exam 1
Feb 8, 10, 12	Chpt 16	Medical Uses of X rays
Feb 15, 17, 19	Chpt 11	Least Squares and Signal Analysis
Feb 22, 24, 26		Winter Recess
Feb 29, March 2, 4	Chpt 12	Images
March 7, 9, 11	Chpt 12	Images
March 14, 16, 18		Exam 2
March 21, 23, 25	Chpt 17	Nuclear Medicine
March 28, 30, Apr 1	Chpt 17	Nuclear Medicine
April 4, 6, 8	Chpt 18	Magnetic Resonance Imaging
April 11, 13, 15	Chpt 18	Magnetic Resonance Imaging
April 18		Conclusion
April 20		Final Exam

Homework

Chapter 13:	7, 10, 12, 21, 22, 27, 30, 36	due Fri, Jan 22
Chapter 14:	4, 5, 16, 21, 22, 47, 48, 49	due Wed, Jan 27
Chapter 15:	2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16	due Wed, Feb 3
Chapter 16:	4, 5, 7, 16, 19, 20, 22, 31	due Wed, Feb 17
Chapter 11:	9, 11, 15, 20, 21, 36, 37, 41	due Wed, Mar 2
Chapter 12:	7, 9, 10, 23	due Wed, Mar 9
Chapter 12:	25, 32, 34, 35, and 27 (extra credit)	due Wed, Mar 16
Chapter 17:	1, 2, 7, 9, 14, 17, 20, 22	due Wed, Mar 30
Chapter 17:	29, 30, 40, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60	due Wed, Apr 6
Chapter 18:	9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18, 35, 49	due Wed, Apr 13

Point/Counterpoint articles

Jan 8: The 2014 initiative is not only unnecessary but it constitutes a threat to the future of medical physics. Med Phys, 38:5267–5269, 2011.

Jan 15: Ultrasonography is soon likely to become a viable alternative to x-ray mammography for breast cancer screening. Med Phys, 37:4526–4529, 2010.

Jan 22: High intensity focused ultrasound may be superior to radiation therapy for the treatment of early stage prostate cancer. Med Phys, 38:3909–3912, 2011.

Jan 29: The more important heavy charged particle radiotherapy of the future is more likely to be with heavy ions rather than protons. Med Phys, 40:090601, 2013.

Feb 12: The disadvantages of a multileaf collimator for proton radiotherapy outweigh its advantages. Med Phys, 41:020601, 2014.

Feb 19: Low-dose radiation is beneficial, not harmful. Med Phys, 41:070601, 2014.

March 4: Recent data show that mammographic screening of asymptomatic women is effective and essential. Med Phys, 39:4047–4050, 2012.

March 11: PDT is better than alternative therapies such as brachytherapy, electron beams, or low-energy x rays for the treatment of skin cancers. Med Phys, 38:1133–1135, 2011.

March 25: Submillimeter accuracy in radiosurgery is not possible. Med Phys, 40:050601, 2013.

April 1: Within the next ten years treatment planning will become fully automated without the need for human intervention. Med Phys, 41:120601, 2014.

April 8: Medical use of all high activity sources should be eliminated for security concerns. Med Phys, 42:6773, 2015.

April 15: MRI/CT is the future of radiotherapy treatment planning. Med Phys, 41:110601, 2014.

Notes:

• The OU library has an electronic version of IPMB that students can download. If they are willing to read pdfs, they have no textbook expense in either class.
• I skip Chapter 9. I have nothing against it. There just isn’t time for everything.
• I cover Chapters 13-16 before the highly mathematical Chapters 11-12.  I don’t like to start the semester with a week or two of math.
• In Medical Physics, we spend the last 15 minutes of class each Friday discussing a point/counterpoint article from the journal Medical Physics. The students seem to really enjoy this.
• I let the students work together on the homework, but they cannot simply copy someone else’s work. They must turn in their own assignment.
• Both PHY 325 and PHY 326 are aimed at upper-level undergraduates. The prerequisites are a year of introductory physics and a year of introductory calculus. The students tend to be physics majors, medical physics majors, bioengineering majors, plus a few biology, chemistry, math, and mechanical engineering majors. The typical enrollment is about ten.
• I encourage premed students to take these classes. Occasionally one does, but not too often. I wish more would, because I believe it provides an excellent preparation for the MCAT. Unfortunately, they have little room in their busy schedule for two extra physics classes.
• OU offers a medical physics major. It consists of many traditional physics classes, these two specialty classes (PHY 325 and PHY 326), plus some introductory and intermediate biology.
• I am a morning person, so I often teach at 8 A.M. The students hate it, but I love it. Sometimes, however, I can’t control the time of day for the class and I teach at a later time.