Imaging Physics

The Imaging Physics Department is home to Manitoba’s experts in medical imaging technology and radiological physics. Our team supports health care professionals using medical imaging equipment in maximizing patient benefit and reducing patient risk.  We provide expertise in radiography, computed tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear medicine and radiation safety.

Our professional standards are defined by the Canadian Organization of Medical Physics and the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine.

Physicists contribute to patient care by:

• Optimizing medical imaging procedures to achieve diagnostic quality at low dose;
• Developing, implementing and overseeing quality control programs
• Supporting the compliance of diagnostic imaging departments with regulatory requirements.  
• Advise on the purchasers of imaging equipment
• Educate health care professionals, health care administrators, medical imaging users, students, resident and patients in radiological physics.
• Conduct academic research in medical imaging physics.

Our work is multidisciplinary and we contribute our expertise to many programs in the health care sector, including diagnostic imaging, surgery, dentistry, obstetrics, cardiology, cancer screening, urology, speech and language pathology and orthopedics.

To assist diagnostic imaging sites with the development and implementation of equipment quality control (QC) programs for the various imaging modalities, the Imaging Physics Department has developed modality-specific quality control guidance documents. The documents provide a broad outline of the components of typical QC programs. They do not describe tests in detail. Actual QC programs may differ depending on the diagnostic imaging equipment age, patient load and available resources.

• What's New
• Equipment Quality Control for Digital Mammography
  • Mammography QA spreadsheet
• Computed Tomography
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Nuclear Medicine
• Updated - Digital and Computed Radiography Systems - (DR/CR)
  • DRCR QA spreadsheet
• Film Radiography Systems
• Fluoroscopy Systems
  • Flouroscopy QA spreadsheet
• Diagnostic Ultrasound Scanner Quality Assurance
• Clinical Displays - Definitions and Specifications
• Equipment Quality Control for Primary Displays
• Modality Display QC instructions
• Display Cleaning

In addition, the following reference documents maybe useful for the establishment of the quality control programs.

• The American College of Radiology CT Quality Control Manual
• Health Canada Safety Code 35

The Imaging Physics Department at CancerCare Manitoba provides physics testing for diagnostic imaging equipment, and can assist diagnostic imaging departments in setting up QC programs, training staff to perform QC tests and identifying appropriate QC tools.

You can contact the Imaging Department at [email protected] or by calling 204-787-4145.