Re: [Phys-L] Medical Physics texts.

[Bill Nettles <bnettles@uu.edu>]

May you find peace and blessing at home, because you won't find it with this project. 
\begin{snark}
  Nursing students won't tolerate math beyond 5+10 or other combinations of multiples of 5.
\end{snark}
"Sounds" to me like they need to gain background in waves: absorption, diffraction, reflection, refraction, dispersion
Power and power levels (oops, the math level just went up). All the acoustic devices involve dB. They need to understand what a 3 dB change means to power. They need to understand the relationship between energy and power.  They need to understand frequency, wavelength, and spectra.
Wave optics and acoustics are similar in many respects.
To use technology in a professional manner, they need to understand more than "apply the gel, push the button"

I suggest you write your own text, because I doubt there's any 1 that will be at the level the nursing program will tolerate while conveying all the topics they would need to have a conceptual grasp of imaging.  Tell the admin and committee that and get them to fund release time for you to write.  Writing a low-level book is hard work, but a lot of fun (because you research the topic at a deeper level).  Learn to use LaTeX and Inkscape and produce your own book.  If you get to teach the course, then when students ask "what do we need to know" you can say "I wrote this book and everything in it is important for you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have included it."

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Phys-l [mailto:phys-l-bounces@phys-l.org] On Behalf Of Don
> Mathieson
> Sent: Monday, February 04, 2013 10:14 AM
> To: 'Phys-L@Phys-L.org'
> Subject: [Phys-L] Medical Physics texts.
>
>
> We are in the process of setting up a joint degree with the local State
> Technical school. One of the programs involved is a nursing program. The
> want a physics course on "acoustics" If I understand their request correctly
> what they want is to go into medical imaging with emphasis on sonar imaging.
> (the request was filtered through two administrators and a committee none
> of whom know much about physics so it is a bit fuzzy) Does anyone have any
> recommendations for texts, supplemental material etc for a Medical Physics
> course that "does not just emphasize joints etc." ?
>
> Don Mathieson
> Tulsa Community College
> 918.595.7485
>
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