Goverment of India

Atomic Energy Regulatory Board

Radiological Safety Division
Date: 27/06/2014

Medical Physicist Courses in India

Contents
1 Minimum qualification for Medical Physicist/RSO ................................................. 2
1.1 Medical Physicists .............................................................................................. 2
1.2 Radiological Safety Officer (RSO) ....................................................................... 2
1.3 List of Medical Physics Courses.......................................................................... 2
1.4 Important Note for Medical Physics Courses .................................................... 2
2 Guidelines for Medical Physics Internship Programme ........................................... 3
2.1 General Information .......................................................................................... 3
2.2 Well equipped radiotherapy centre .................................................................. 3
2.3 Radiotherapy Equipments.................................................................................. 3
2.4 Manpower .......................................................................................................... 3
2.5 Eligibility for Internship Supervisor.................................................................... 3
2.6 Medical Physicist Interns Ratio .......................................................................... 3
2.7 Evaluation and certification procedure ............................................................. 3
2.8 Certificate format............................................................................................... 4
2.9 Syllabus for Internship ....................................................................................... 4
2.9.1 Part – I: Core Components ................................................................................. 4
CC1. Radiotherapy Equipment (treatment and imaging) and QA ..................... 4
CC2. Beam Calibration and Dosimetry ............................................................... 5
CC3. External Beam Treatment Planning ........................................................... 5
CC4. Brachytherapy Dosimetry and Treatment Planning .................................. 5
CC5. In-Vivo Dosimetry and Patient Dose Verification ...................................... 5
CC6. Radiation Protection and Safety ................................................................ 5
2.9.2 Part – II: Auxiliary Components ......................................................................... 6
AC1. Clinical Orientation .................................................................................... 6
AC2. Professional Skill Development and Career Planning ............................... 6
2.10 Important Note for internship ........................................................................... 6
Annexure-1: List of Medical Physics Course ....................................................................... 7

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1 Minimum qualification for Medical Physicist/RSO
The minimum qualifications stipulated for Medical Physicist/Radiation Physicist/Radiological
Physicist and RSO (Radiological Safety Officer) in AERB safety code on Radiation Therapy
Sources, Equipment and Installations, AERB/RF-SC/MED-1 (rev.1), 2011 are as follows:

1.1 Medical Physicists

(i) A post graduate degree in Physics from a recognized university;
(ii) A Post M.Sc. diploma in radiological/medical physics from a recognized university;
&
(iii) An internship of minimum 12 months in a recognized well-equipped radiation
therapy department.
OR
(i) A basic degree in science from a recognized university, with Physics as one of the main
subjects;
(ii) A post graduate degree in radiological/medical physics from a recognized university;
&
(iii) An internship of minimum 12 months in a recognized well-equipped radiation
therapy department.

1.2 Radiological Safety Officer (RSO)

(i) Minimum qualifications required for a Medical Physicist/Radiation Physicist/
Radiological Physicist as mentioned above;
&
(ii) An approval from the competent authority to function as Radiological Safety Officer.

1.3 List of Medical Physics Courses

List of the institutions whose Medical Physics course is in accordance with AERB
requirements as on 31st May, 2014 is enclosed as Annexure-1: List of Medical Physics
Course

1.4 Important Note for Medical Physics Courses

Only those candidates who successfully complete the Medical Physics course from
the institutions listed in annexure-1 and undergo one year internship in a well
equipped radiotherapy centre are eligible to work as Medical Physicist in the
country. They are also eligible to appear for Radiological Safety Officer (RSO)
examination conducted by Radiological Physics & Advisiory Division (RP&AD),
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai on succesful completion of which they
become eligible to work as RSO in Medical Institutions and can function as RSO with
prior approval from AERB.
It is advised that candidates must verify the status of the Medical Physics course with
the course conducting institutions and enroll themselves only in those institutions
whose course is in line with AERB requirements. Candidates completing the course
from any other institutions will not be considered eligible to work as Medical
Physicist and RSO in radiotherapy facilities in the country.

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 Institutions already conducting Medical Physicist course and have not approached
AERB so far, shall communicate in order to get their course assessed by AERB.

2 Guidelines for Medical Physics Internship Programme

2.1 General Information
As per revised AERB safety code on Radiation Therapy Sources, Equipment and Installations,
2011 [Code No. AERB/ RF-MED/SC-1(Rev. 1)], minimum 12 months internship in a
recognised well-equipped radiation therapy department has been specified as a mandatory
requirement for a qualified Medical Physicist and Radiological Safety Officer. To fullfill this
requirement, all the Medical Physicists passing out from different academic courses in the
country should work as an intern/ resident Medical Physicist under the supervision of a
qualified and sufficiently experienced Medical Physicist at a recognised well-equipped
radiotherapy centres in the country, as described below, for a duration not less than 12
months.

2.2 Well equipped radiotherapy centre

A radiotherapy centre which is having at least following facilities is considered as well
equipped radiotherapy centre for internship program:

2.3 Radiotherapy Equipments

One Linear Accelerator (with photon and electron beams)
One HDR Brachytherapy Unit
One Simulator/ CT-Simulator
One Treatment Planning System
Adequate dosimetry and monitoring instruments

2.4 Manpower
 At least one Medical Physicist with minimum 5 years of experience

2.5 Eligibility for Internship Supervisor

The internship supervisor must have more than 3 years of working experience in a
Radiotherapy Department.

2.6 Medical Physicist Interns Ratio

One intern per Medical Physicist having more than 3 years of working experience

2.7 Evaluation and certification procedure

The competency of conducting a clinical task by the intern should be evaluated at regular
intervals by the internship supervisor. While doing this evaluation the internship supervisor
should ensure that the intern is capable of conducting the desired task unsupervised. It is
also important that the intern should prepare a comprehensive report of the work done
during the 12 months period of the internship. The report so prepared should jointly be
authenticated by the internship supervisor and the Head of Radiation Oncology Department
of the institute.

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2.8 Certificate format
The internship completion certificate should be issued on the letterhead of the institution in
the following format:

Ref. No. and date of issuing the certificate

This is to certify that Dr./Mr/Ms .............................................. of .........................................
University/ Institution has underwent the medical physics internship at the department of
radiotherapy under the supervision of .................................................................. (name of
the internship supervisor) from (date) ...................... to (date) ...................... It is also
certified that the candidate has obtained the full competency in the following components
Radiotherapy equipment (treatment and imaging) and QA
Beam calibration and dosimetry
External beam treatment planning
Brachytherapy dosimetry and treatment planning
In-vivo dosimetry and patient dose verification
Radiation Protection and Safety

and has acquired sufficient knowledge in

Clinical Orientation
Professional skill development and career planning

(Signature with date) (Signature with date) (Signature with date)

(Name) (Name) (Name)
Head of the Institution Chief Medical Physicist Internship
Supervisor
Office Seal Office Seal Office Seal

2.9 Syllabus for Internship

2.9.1 Part – I: Core Components

CC1. Radiotherapy Equipment (treatment and imaging) and QA

Specifications, operation and use of telecobalt unit and its accessories such as wedges,
breast cone, trays (if available), medical LINAC and its accessories (MLC, EPID, Electron
applicators, etc), radiotherapy simulator and its accessories; remote after-loading
brachytherapy equipment and its accessories (connectors, guide tubes, applicators, needles,
etc), and radiotherapy treatment planning system (RTPS), Familiarization with networking
and Record and Verify systems (if available).

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Purchase document preparation, tendering and selection of equipments; Acceptance
testing, commissioning measurements and Quality assurance (QA) of radiotherapy
treatment and imaging equipments, maintenance of QA records.

CC2. Beam Calibration and Dosimetry

Dosimeters, phantoms and protocols (e.g. IAEA TRS 398/TG-51) for reference dosimetry;
output measurements in reference conditions of telecobalt gamma ray beams, high energy
x-ray and electron beams from medical LINACs; Familiarization with radiation field analyser
(RFA); Measurements of relative dosimetry parameters and factors such as PDD,TPR, TMR,
Scatter factors, Wedge factor, Tray transmission factor, electron applicator output factor;
Measurement of beam profiles and evaluation of flatness, symmetry and beam penumbra.
Uncertainty analysis and testing the authenticity of measured data; Verification of measured
data by alternate techniques such as film dosimetry; Quality assurance and up-keeping of
dosimetry systems.

CC3. External Beam Treatment Planning

Customization and creation of beam library in the RTPS; Capabilities and limitations of the
RTPS, Forward and inverse planning - algorithms; Definition and localization of PTV, CTV,
ITV, Organ at risks (OARs), Time and monitor unit calculations for simple treatments, time
dose fractionation and gap correction; Steps of treatment planning and treatment planning
procedures – patient data acquisition, contouring, immobilization, mould preparation;
optimization and evaluation – DVH/ TCP/ NTCP; Planning of common treatment cases;
Execution of treatment plans and supervision. Practice with conventional planning, 3D CRT,
SRS/SRT, IMRT/IGRT; Acceptance testing and quality assurance of RTPS.

CC4. Brachytherapy Dosimetry and Treatment Planning

Dosimeters for source strength measurements, source strength measurement methods and
protocols; dosimetry formalisms, measurement of dosimetry parameters, Definition of
reference points of dose calculation, applicator placements, image acquisition, planning
procedures, optimization, evaluation; Brachytherapy treatment protocols and
recommendations; Practice of planning with clinical cases of intracavitary, intraluminal and
interstitial brachytherapy. Execution and supervision of brachytherapy treatments.

CC5. In-Vivo Dosimetry and Patient Dose Verification

Objectives of patient in-vivo dosimetry and dose verification; Understanding the use of
different dosimeters in such measurements e.g. ionization chambers, TLD, diodes, MOSFET,
films; Selection criteria for the dosimeter; In-vivo dosimetry measurements in gamma rays,
x-rays and electron beams; Familiarization with national/ international protocols/
procedures of in-vivo dosimetry and patient dose verification.

CC6. Radiation Protection and Safety

Familiarization with regulatory requirements - safety codes and guides; Responsibilities and
duties of a Medical Physicist and radiological safety officer (RSO) in radiotherapy; Working
out room layout and shielding calculations for external beam, brachytherapy and simulator
(Physical/CT) installations; Submission of safety status report to AERB – ASR, Unusual
occurrences, source loss etc. Maintenance of records – QA, calibration certificates of
equipments, source inventory, personnel dose records, protection survey

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Radiation safety requirements for radiotherapy equipments; Radiation protection survey of
equipment and installations; Analysis of survey data and assessing the safety status of
equipment and installations; Familiarization with national regulation pertaining to
procurement, use and decommissioning of radiotherapy equipment and sources; Safety of
radioactive sources; Experience in handling emergency situations. Safety requirements for
occupational, medical and public exposures; Understanding the methods for minimizing the
dose to critical sites of the patients. Orientation for RSO certification examination.

2.9.2 Part – II: Auxiliary Components

AC1. Clinical Orientation

Surface and cross sectional anatomy with reference to radiotherapy, identify key anatomical
features on x-ray/ CT images, role of radiotherapy in cancer treatment, benign and
malignant tumours, primary and secondary tumours, metastasis and routes of metastases,
tumour stage and grading, common cancer sites, identification of abnormal size of organs
due to primary tumours and metastases on radiological images, identification of organs at
risk surrounding the tumours, palliative and curative therapy, time dose fractionation,
accuracy requirement in radiotherapy, tissue tolerances, therapeutic gain, clinical targets,
anatomical and physiological changes due to radiotherapy treatment, Patient related clinical
experiences. Familiarisation with different professionals/ departments involved directly or
indirectly with radiation treatment of cancer.

AC2. Professional Skill Development and Career Planning

Ethics in medical use of ionizing radiation; Development of research and teaching skills;
Planning research and development on a given topic related to development of dosimetry
methods, development of dosimeters, development of QA tools and methods, development
of treatment devices and accessories, etc. Training to work as effective educator and
mentor in radiation oncology physics.

2.10 Important Note for internship

1. The institutions fulfilling the above mentioned guidelines for Medical Physics
Internship Programme and desirous of conducting the internship programme are
allowed to take Medical physics interns and no separate permission is required from
AERB for carrying out the internship programme. However, the institution providing
internship are advised to ensure that the candidates have undergone their Medical
Physics Course from an institution who’s Course has been assessed by AERB (Ref:
Annexure-1).
2. The co-ordinator the medical physics course conducting institution/candidates are
advised to ensure that the institution where the internship is sought by them is
meeting the guidelines for Medical Physics Internship Programme laid down by
AERB.

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Annexure-1: List of Medical Physics Course
Sr. No. Name of the Institute Affiliated by Course Name Duration
1. Osmania University Osmania University, Post M.Sc. Diploma 1 Year
Hyderabad Course in Radiological
Hyderabad {Andhra Physics (Dip. R. P.)
Pradesh}
2. Mahavir Cancer Sansthan Aryabhatta Post M.Sc. Diploma in 1 Year
Knowledge Medical Physics
Patna {Bihar} University, Patna
3. Pt. J. N. M. Medical College AYUSH and Health Post M.Sc. Diploma 1 Year
& Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Sciences University Course in Radiological
Memorial Hospital of Chhattisgarh, Physics (Dip. R.P.)
Raipur
Raipur {Chattisgarh}
4. Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh Post M.Sc. Diploma 1 Year
Indraprastha University Indraprastha Course in Radiological
University, New Physics (Dip. R.P.)
New Delhi {Delhi} Delhi
5. Vydehi Institute of Medical Rajiv Gandhi M.Sc.(Radiation 2 Years
Sciences University of Health Physics)
Sciences, Bangalore
Bangalore {karnataka}
6. Manipal University Manipal University, M.Sc.( Medical 2 Years
Manipal, Karnataka Radiation Physics)
Manipal {karnataka}
7. Kidwai Memorial Institute Rajiv Gandhi M.Sc.(Radiation 2 Years
of Oncology University of Health Physics)
Sciences, Bangalore
Bangalore {Karnataka}
8. Regional Cancer Center Kerala University of Post M.Sc. Diploma 1 Year
Health Sciences, Course in Radiological
Thiruvananthapuram Thrissur Physics (Dip. R. P.)
{Kerala}
9. Calicut University Calicut University, M.Sc.(Radiation 3 Years
Calicut Physics)
Calicut {Kerala}
10. Amrita Institute of Medical Amrita Vishwa Post Graduate 1 Year
Science & Research Center Vidyapeetham, Diploma in Medical
Coimbatore Radiological Sciences(
Kochi {Kerala} PG DMRP)
11. Radiological Physics & Homi Bhabha Post M.Sc. Diploma 1 Year
Advisory Division, Bhabha National Institute, Course in Radiological
Atomic Reseraach Centre Mumbai Physics (Dip. R. P.)

Mumbai {Maharashtra}
12. Panjab University Panjab University, M.Sc.(Medical 2 Years
Chandigarh Physics)
Chandigarh {Punjab}

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Sr. No. Name of the Institute Affiliated by Course Name Duration
13. PSG College of Technology Anna University, M.Sc.(Medical 2 Years
Chennai Physics)
Coimbatore {Tamil Nadu}
14. Christan Medical College The Tamil Nadu Dr M.Sc.(Medical 2 Years
M. G. R. Medical Physics)
Vellore {Tamil Nadu} University, Chennai
15. Bharthiar University Bharthiar University, M.Sc.(Medical 2 Years
Coimbatore Physics)
Coimbatore {Tamil Nadu}
16. Anna University Anna University, M.Sc.(Medical 2 Years
Chennai Physics)
Chennai {Tamil Nadu}
17. Jadavpur University Jadavpur University, Post M.Sc. Diploma in 1 Year
Kolkata Medical Physics
Kolkata {West Bengal}

In addition to the above, candidates who have successfully completed Medical Physics
course during 2008 to 2012 from Bharthidasan University, Tiruchirappalli and candidates
admitted in 2009 for M.Sc. Medical Physics course at Government Arignar Anna Memorial
Cancer Hospital & Research Institute, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu and successfully completed
the same are permitted to work as a Medical Physicist.

-S/d
Head, RSD

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