Physics, Statistics and Radioprotection

The course aims to provide the basic notions to:
1. develop models of physical phenomena through a basic application of the scientific method.
2. know the fundamental principles of physics and their implications in the biomedical field, especially as regards the working principles of some lab techniques.
3. solve simple physics problems about topics related to the biomedical field and give quantitative estimates of the phenomena.
4. know the main statistical techniques for the evaluation of precision and accuracy of measurement methods used in biomedical labs.
5. inform those, subjected to diagnostic imaging or radio-treatment, about the risks connected to radiations and about the practices to avoid unnecessary exposure.

At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
1. Assign a unit of measurement and estimate the order of magnitude of various physical quantities of biomedical interest or everyday life (number of cells in human body, volume of blood, volume of a room)
2. Observe and measure physical phenomena (a falling body, a flowing fluid, a propagating light ray) and develop models to mathematically describe them, through a basic application of the scientific method
3. Explain the fundamental principles of mechanics, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism and optics
4. Explain the relevance and the implications of such principles for physiological and biomedical phenomena
5. Describe the working princples of common diagnostic devices and lab techniques (e.g. electrophoresis, centrifuge, flow cytometry)
6. Solve simple quantitative problems about the described phenomena, identifying the main elements and possible approximations (e.g. finding forces acting on a body and deciding whether to neglect friction in the description of its motion)
At the end of the course of Medical Statistics students are expected to:
- evaluate accuracy and precision of measurement tools currently used in laboratory activities
- analyze laboratory data using descriptive and inferential statistics
- understand a report including methods and results on laboratory data
- write a report including description of statistical methods and results.
The student will learn the basic information of radiation protection to be able to work in an environment where ionizing radiations are present.