From processing vast amounts of data to providing insights beyond human capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to power unprecedented progress in the medical uses of radiation to improve diagnosis and treatment. As the deployment and use of AI-based tools grow over the next decade, clinically qualified medical physicists (CQMPs) will play an essential role in facilitating the safe, effective and appropriate application of such tools.
To help CQMPs around the world meet the challenges of the present and the demands of the future, the IAEA published a new guidance document in 2023 on the International Day of Medical Physics (7 November): Artificial Intelligence in Medical Physics: Roles, Responsibilities, Education and Training of Clinically Qualified Medical Physicists. Endorsed by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), it frames the roles and responsibilities of CQMPs in the field of implementation and utilization of AI in the medical uses of radiation; provides guidance on the competencies they need; outlines an elective module for postgraduate academic programmes; and suggests continuing professional development activities. It also provides examples of medical imaging and radiation oncology processes to which AI-based tools can be applied – be it to prioritize cases by improving workflows, optimize image procedures by estimating radiation doses or personalize care by enhancing treatment decisions, to name but a few.
Within multidisciplinary healthcare teams, CQMPs bridge complex technological tools with clinical needs as the scientists who use physical principles, methods and techniques within the clinical environment. As AI-based tools are becoming more common, CQMPs will be responsible for their validation, acceptance, safe use and quality assurance. To that end, they should develop the technical specifications for procuring, integrating and possibly connecting these tools into existing information technology infrastructure. In collaborating closely with clinicians on quality and safety matters, they will oversee their proper functioning and provide advice on any performance deviations. As part of the team that will design and implement quality management programmes, CQMPs will lead risk assessments, prepare workflow protocols guiding the clinical use of AI-based tools and contribute to ensuring continued quality and safety.
“There is a pressing need for a new curriculum to update the knowledge and training of clinically qualified medical physicists,” said Mauro Carrara, Head of the IAEA Dosimetry and Medical Radiation Physics Section and one of the IAEA officers responsible for the publication. “The IAEA’s new resource serves as a starting point,” he added, noting that the publication had already been viewed more than 6600 times in the three weeks following its release.
