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Medical Physics — PhD reading list.

The advanced references a doctoral scholar in Medical Physics works from, and what each one is for.

7Titles listed
4Worked right through
3–6 yrsProgramme length
12Coursework credits
The subject

Medical Physics as a research subject

ScopeRadiotherapy physics and treatment planning, radiation dosimetry and protection, diagnostic and nuclear medicine imaging physics, quality assurance of clinical radiation equipment and radiobiological modelling.
Who can registerMSc Physics, MSc or PGD Medical/Radiological Physics, MTech; AERB radiological safety certification is normally expected.
How you get inEither the fellowship route — CSIR-UGC NET, ICMR, DBT-BET, DST-INSPIRE — straight to interview, or the institute entrance test, half research methodology and half medical physics.
CourseworkOne semester, at least 12 credits: research methodology and biostatistics, plus Research and Publication Ethics, before the research phase proper begins.
How this list is used

Reading for Medical Physics

Medical physics is the discipline where the reports matter as much as the textbooks: a thesis on dosimetry or QA will be assessed against IAEA, AAPM and ICRU documents, not just against books. Khan and Podgorsak carry the radiotherapy physics and radiation-interaction theory that AERB certification and the doctoral comprehensive both examine, while Attix remains the reference for cavity theory and dosimetric fundamentals when a derivation is challenged. Bushberg is the imaging counterpart and the book most often read cover to cover by scholars working on CT, MRI or image quality. For clinical measurement work in Indian centres, TRS-398 is the code of practice actually followed for beam calibration, so it is read alongside the relevant AAPM Task Group reports rather than after them.

Titles are tagged core reading — the ones scholars work right through — or reference, the ones they look things up in. Editions are given where the current edition is what you want to buy.

  1. Khan's The Physics of Radiation Therapycore readingFaiz M. Khan, John P. Gibbons · Wolters Kluwer / Lippincott Williams & Wilkins · 6th edition (2019)The radiotherapy physics standard — dose calculation, beam data and machine QA, and the main source for certification-level theory.
  2. The Essential Physics of Medical Imagingcore readingJerrold T. Bushberg, J. Anthony Seibert, Edwin M. Leidholdt Jr., John M. Boone · Wolters Kluwer · 4th edition (2020)The imaging physics reference for X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound and image quality — read systematically, not consulted.
  3. Introduction to Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetrycore readingFrank H. Attix · Wiley-VCHThe dosimetry fundamentals text — kerma, charged-particle equilibrium and cavity theory, still where derivations are checked.
  4. Radiation Physics for Medical Physicistscore readingErvin B. Podgoršak · Springer · 3rd edition (2016)Radiation interactions and accelerator physics worked out in full — the text used for the physics half of the comprehensive.
  5. Physics in Nuclear MedicinereferenceSimon R. Cherry, James A. Sorenson, Michael E. Phelps · Elsevier Saunders · 4th edition (2012)The reference for counting statistics, gamma camera and PET physics when the thesis touches nuclear medicine instrumentation.
  6. Khan's Treatment Planning in Radiation OncologyreferenceFaiz M. Khan, Paul W. Sperduto, John P. Gibbons · Wolters Kluwer · 5th edition (2021)Site-wise planning technique, IMRT/VMAT and plan evaluation — used when the work involves treatment planning system studies.
  7. Absorbed Dose Determination in External Beam Radiotherapy (Technical Reports Series No. 398)referenceInternational Atomic Energy Agency · International Atomic Energy Agency · Rev. 1 (2024) editionThe code of practice Indian centres calibrate to — worksheets and correction factors are followed exactly in dosimetry chapters.

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Alongside the subject list

The two lists every scholar also needs

Whatever the subject, the coursework semester is examined on research methodology, biostatistics and publication ethics, and the bench work runs on a handful of protocol volumes. Both lists are kept separately so you are not buying them twice.

Other PhD subjects

Also on the site

Related on the site

Medical Physics at postgraduate level

Printing your Medical Physics reading?

Send the PDF on WhatsApp — colour Rs 1/page, B&W 50p/page, binding Rs 40. Printed, bound and delivered anywhere in India.

Frequently asked

PhD Medical Physics — questions

Which books does a PhD scholar in Medical Physics read?

The 7 titles on this page, of which 4 are worked right through and the rest are kept as references. Most scholars own two or three and use the department copy for the others.

Who can register for a PhD in Medical Physics?

MSc Physics, MSc or PGD Medical/Radiological Physics, MTech; AERB radiological safety certification is normally expected.

What does a PhD in Medical Physics cover?

Radiotherapy physics and treatment planning, radiation dosimetry and protection, diagnostic and nuclear medicine imaging physics, quality assurance of clinical radiation equipment and radiobiological modelling.

Is the coursework examined?

Yes. One semester of at least 12 credits, assessed before the research phase begins, covering research methodology, biostatistics and Research and Publication Ethics.

Can you print this reading for me?

We print from the PDF you send us. Send the file on WhatsApp with your page count and whether you want colour, black and white or mixed, and we print, bind and deliver anywhere in India. We do not supply copyrighted book files.