Therapeutic rather than diagnostic medical physicists should lead the development and clinical implementation of image-guided nonionizing therapeutic modalities such as MR-guided high-intensity ultrasound

摘要

Development and implementation of image guidance with conventional x-ray therapy has long been the purview of the therapeutic medical physicist and this is included in the educational and certification requirements for such physicists. This is not so obvious with image guidance for nonioniz-ing therapeutic modalities such as MR-guided high-intensity ultrasound, however. Diagnostic physicists have often been leaders in the development and application of these newly emerging technologies but some believe that this is not appropriate and that therapeutic rather than diagnostic medical physicists should play this role. This is the premise debated in this month's Point/Counterpoint.