REMAINING ISSUES IS THE FIELD OF RADIATION METROLOGY

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• Abstract:

  At the Sorbonne in Paris in 1900, during the International Congress of Mathematicians, David Hilbert gave a lecture that has gone down in history, as he outlined 10 of the most important unsolved problems in the field of mathematics Hilbert (1902). It may have been the date – the beginning of a new century – or the stature of the presenter, but Hilbert’s collection immediately sparked intense mathematical research, which has continued to the present day. In fact, only 8 of the 23 problems (he subsequently expanded the list from his lecture) are considered resolved[1].

  The aim of this chapter is to provide no more than a faint echo of that lecture, as I outline some of the unsolved challenges in radiation dosimetry. This list will likely not capture the imagination of the world – I am afraid that there is no equivalent of the Riemann Hypothesis here – but I am hoping it will capture the imagination of the next generation of medical physicists, inspiring them to take the field far beyond what we are doing today. I do not claim to have some unique perspective, so, as with any list of this kind, many readers will likely disagree with my selection. However, I do believe that addressing each of these, even partially, will have a very positive impact on the measurement of absorbed dose in many applications of ionizing radiation, not just radiation therapy.

  The final challenge, if successful, would effectively find the “cure” for radiation dosimetry and truly signal a new era.

  In the context of grand challenges, whether it is Hilbert’s mathematical problems, or the pursuit of answers to the big questions at each end of the energy and length scales, the applied sciences tend to be viewed as easier. “Pure science” is the real deal, applied science is taking what is already known, and is therefore more engineering and technology development than science. But when we talk about medical physics, this is science applied to human beings, and if there is one thing that is very challenging and not at all easy, it is humanity!

   

• Número de páginas: 10