The Varsitarian

PHYSICS has penetrated the medical field.

According to Dr. Agnette Peralta, director of the Bureau of Health Devices and Technology of the Department of Health and an applied physics professor of the UST College of Science, medical physics is the application of physics to medicine.

“In medical physics, we work with radiation devices and we learn about the different types of radiation such as the alpha, gamma, beta, and ultraviolet rays, including laser, and infrared. We measure and quantify them, and study their behavior upon interaction with human matter. We also determine their safe levels and detrimental effects to people,” Peralta said.

Medical Physics is a master’s degree offered only in the UST Graduate School, the first such program in the Philippines. It was founded by Thomasian Dr. Celia Anatalio, who specializes in radiation oncology and diagnostic radiology. The College of Science, on the other hand, offers an undergraduate program for applied physics, graduates of which can qualify for the master’s program.

According to Peralta, the program shows promise with the increasing number of enrollees.

“Before, we used to have only one or two students in the Graduate School for MS Medical Physics. Now, we already have 12 students. For a graduate program in the sciences, that is already a very big number,” she said.

Peralta also said there is a high demand for medical physicists not only in the Philippines, but all over the world. She said that some Filipino medical physicists are already employed in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada and the United States.

Pointing out the benefits of medical physics, Peralta said that the field is useful in establishing radiation oncology departments for hospitals. “This department uses radiation to treat cancer patients through the use of x-rays, fluoroscopy, ultrasounds, electrocardiography, and nuclear medicine which uses the nuclear properties of matter in diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancers.” Alena Pias P. Bantolo and Francis James B. Gatdula