Radiotherapy Physics

Radiotherapy Physics provides comprehensive scientific support to the Radiotherapy department.

We are a highly specialist service with extensive expertise in the physics of radiotherapy, which is essential for safe, accurate and effective radiotherapy treatment. As part of our commitment to consistently deliver a high quality service, we work within a British Standards Institute certified quality management system. 

Radiotherapy physicists and technicians are an integral part of the team, and work closely with clinical oncologists and therapeutic radiographers to deliver the best possible treatment outcomes for all patients. We play a key role in the implementation of new technologies and advanced techniques.

Radiotherapy Physicians:

  • Treatment planning - in vivo dosimetry; immobilisation and shielding; commissioning, maintenance and quality assurance of radiotherapy equipment
  • Optimisation of imaging parameters
  • Implementation of new techniques and quality management

‘Little Linac’ kits provided free of charge to children undergoing radiotherapy

‘Little Linac’ kits provided free of charge to children undergoing radiotherapy

Children undergoing radiotherapy at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) will receive toy models of medical equipment to help them cope with anxiety and better understand the treatment they require.

The project, set up by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), found that using the models helped to reduce a young person’s worries about treatment through play, allowing them to understand what a machine looks like before they undergo treatment.

The models are provided free of charge and can be modified into different machines typically used in radiology, such as MRI and CT scanners as well as Gamma cameras.

Ten-year-old Aaron Pilcher is the first patient to benefit from using one of the models, known as a ‘Little Linac’. He said: “It was really scary at the start of my treatment, but when I was given the toy it helped me to see what the machine does and what it looks like.”

The Little Linac – short for linear accelerator, which is the device commonly used for external beam radiation treatments for patients with cancer – project provides young people with a set of bricks so that they can make a model of the machine which will be used to treat them.

Keith Langmack, Head of Radiotherapy Physics at NUH, said: “The first set of Little Linac toys have now arrived at the Trust and we are pleased to have already handed one set out to Aaron to use.

“The aim of the model is to help reduce the child’s anxiety through play. By allowing them to see and understand what the machine looks like and how it moves around them during their treatment.”

Find us

Radiotherapy Physics is based at City Hospital campus within Nottingham Radiotherapy Centre

(next to the Purple Entrance at junction N19).