Biophysics
Course coordinator: Piotr Jeleń, Ph.D., e-mail: piotr.jelen@wum.edu.pl
Number of teaching hours:
The course covers 34 hours of instruction, divided as below:
- lectures 4 hours
- seminars 10 hours
- practical classes 15 hours
Course objectives:
- Physics of human body
- Impact of physical factors on human body
- Physical bases of chosen imaging and therapeutic techniques in medicine
Topics of lectures:
- Biophysics in contemporary medicine.
- The basics of ionising radiation and radiation protection.
Topics of seminars:
- Introduction to thermodynamics. Biological membranes (passive and active transport across a cell membrane, resting membrane potential, action potential).
- Biophysics of circulation (basic physical laws of fluid flow, types of fluids in fluid mechanics, laminar, turbulent, pulsatile flow, blood circulation system, physical properties of blood and blood vessels).
- Heart electrical activity (genesis of ECG, heart axis).
- Respiratory biophysics (structure of the lungs, mechanics of breathing, respiratory cycle, gas flow in airways, partial pressures of gases). Spirometry (pulmonary volumes and capacities). Respiration under usual and unusual conditions.
- Imaging techniques in medicine (CT, PET, SPECT, MRI).
Topics of practical classes:
- Sound waves. Physical bases of hearing. Audiometry screening and interpretation.
- Physical basics of ultrasonography
- Doppler ultrasonography. Blood flow characteristics in arteries
- Biophysics of vision (image formation in the human eye, eye accommodation, vision defects and their correction, eyepiece magnification).
- X rays – measurements and interpretation. Health effects of ionizing radiation absorption. Principles of radiological protection.
Assessment of student performance:
To receive a credit for a course in biophysics students are requested to:
- attend all seminars and practical classes,
- pass all of the quizzes on the e–learning platform (after each lecture and seminar students should complete a short quiz; to pass the quiz, student has to answer correctly at least 60 % of the questions),
- submit 5 experimental reports and collect at least 15 points (one experimental report would be assessed for maximum 5 points).
- pass the final test which covers all material from lectures, seminars and practical classes.
Core Literature:
- Daviodovits P.: Physics in Biology and Medicine (6-th ed.), Academic Press, 2024.
- Herman I.P.: Physics of the Human Body, Springer, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York, 2016.
- Ronto G., Tarjan I. (Eds.): An Introduction to Biophysics with Medical Orientation, (4-th ed.), Akadémiai Publishing Company, Budapest, 2003.
Supplementary Literature:
- R.Glaser, Biophysics, Springer-Verlag 2012.
- Hobbie R.K., Roth B.J.: Intermediate Physics for Medicine & Biology (5-th ed.), Springer International Publishing AG, 2015.
- Malmivuo J., Plonsey R.: Bioelectromagnetism, - Principles and Applications of Bioelectric and Biomagnetic Fields. New York, Oxford University Press, 1995.
- Samuel J. Ling, Truman State University, Jeff Sanny, Loyola Marymount University William Moebs formerly of Loyola Marymount University (senior contributing authors): University Physics (Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3) Access for free at openstax.org.