Meandering in Medical Physics: A Personal Account of HospitalPhysics

Abstract

If you wish to gain a historical perspective of many fields of physicsyou must take a long term view, taking in developments over severalcenturies. However, for physics applied to medicine, essentially all ouractivities have been compressed into the last 100 years, and the giantson whose shoulders we stand are the contemporaries of our parents orgrandparents. This volume, subtitled `A Personal Account of HospitalPhysics', is the autobiography of the late Professor J E Roberts, one ofthe true pioneers in this field, and the founding editor of thejournal Physics inMedicine and Biology. Eric Roberts took up the post of Assistant Physicist at the CancerHospital (Free), later to become the Royal Marsden Hospital, in 1932. Heestimates that there were no more than 10 to 12 colleagues working inthe field at that time, world-wide. The book is an amusing andremarkably modest account of Professor Roberts' own distinguishedcareer, which inevitably parallels the development of medical physicsfrom what he describes as `young graduate physicists rathereccentrically practising their tricks with radiation inhospitals' to arecognized scientific and professional speciality.A feature of the book is the honesty, whether in describing the limitsof scientific knowledge at the time, or Professor Roberts' own feelingsduring the vicissitudes and triumphs of his career. Some of the formerwill be frankly shocking to many physicists working today. In 1934`wewere not even sure of the dose rate in Röentgens per hour at 1 cm from apoint radium source', and there were clearly a number of frustratingepisodes of searching for lost radium needles using a gold leafelectroscope as the best available detector. Equally, many may besurprised to recognize current experiences mirrored in those of thepioneers. There is an unforgettable picture of Roberts andMayneordresearching lateinto the night on higher energy dosimetry, to ensureuninterrupted access (and a clean power supply) to their 400 kVtreatment machine, and speculating on the future of hospital physics.Colleagues working with remote afterloading equipment may be intriguedby a 1935 device which blew a 10 Curie radium source down a 2 metremetal tube using a domestic vacuum cleaner and a two-way valve.Without any undue emphasis, Professor Roberts touches on his many andvaried `professional peaks', including presidencies of both the BritishInstitute of Radiology and the Hospital Physicists' Association,editorships of both the British Journal of Radiology and Physics in Medicineand Biology, and his appointment as the first director of the Institute ofNuclear Medicine. A substantial part of the book is devoted to medicalphysics overseas, firstly descriptions of International Congresses ofRadiology in Zurich and Chicago, with the problems of pre-warinternational travel by train and ship, and then a sabbatical period asthe IAEA Regional Adviser for the Eastern Mediterranean and the MiddleEast. The unique difficulties, and rewards, of this overseas work areclearly described.This work is not intended to be a history of medical physics, as theauthor makes clear on several occasions. It is very much a personalmemoir, following a generally historical sequence but with diversionsalong the way. It is not without flaws: there are perhaps too many namesdropped (but what names! - Joseph Rotblat, Jack Dempsey, PresidentTruman, Don Bradman...), there is an inevitable emphasis onionizingradiation, and there are some repetitions. However, for any readerinterested in the history of hospital physics, this work provides apersonal insight into the transition from pre-war pioneers to latetwentieth century professionals. It is also a fine memorial to adistinguished scientist.