Syllabus
The computing competencies within the Medical Physics pre-2022 curriculum Scientist Training Program (STP) fit within five key themes, and thus the teaching is split into the following broad categories;
- DICOM Standard & Anonymisation
- Hospital Systems & Security Appraisal
- Information Governance & Policies
- Image Analysis
- Software Development
The course is split into four days and will equip you with the knowledge and skills to fulfil a considerable number of competencies and assessments. Below follows a list of the competencies covered each day last year.
Some competencies and assessments will be signed-off on OneFile by the course instructors following submission of suitable evidence to OneFile (details regarding the evidence required will be provided during the course). Click here for a detailed list of the competencies that were signed-of last year and a new list of competencies that will be signed-off for Clinical Engineering Trainees following the post-2022 syllabus.
Other competencies, will require you to apply the knowledge acquired during the course to trust-specific tasks/projects which will have to be reviewed and signed-off by your supervisor.
For Medical Physics Trainees studying on the updated 2022 STP curriculum, this curriculum no longer contains computing elements. In this case, the same level of feedback on competencies and assessments completed will provided as for pre-2022 STP trainees, however the mechanism for this will be exchange of documents via email and the awarding of course completion certificates.
Day 1
DICOM Standard & Anonymisation
- DICOM standard, file structure and networking
- Data protection and anonymisation
- Practical – Anonymisation of DICOM files using multiple tools and comparison of results
Competencies covered
SPE153 C2
- C2 – Use or write software to manipulate Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) headers. Anonymise DICOM images and use different software to verify the anonymisation
SPE 152 C5
- C5 – Discuss interconnectivity requirements of DICOM
SPE 158 c8
- C8 – Anonymise a range of patient data to meet the requirements of clinical trials
S-CSC-R1
- C6 – Review a practice in clinical scientific computing and how it is influenced by current/future legislation
Hospital Systems & Security Appraisal
- RIS, CRIS, PAS etc (administration systems)
- PACS
- Networking & hospital networks
- Practical – Setup a virtual hospital network integrating PACS, RIS, integration engine and modalities (two day practical)
- Practical – Information and system security audit
Competencies covered
SPE152 C2, C3, C4
- C2 – Write procedures for the operational management of a clinical computer system
- C3 – Undertake a range of sys-admin tasks on a nuclear medicine/diagnostic radiology system
- C4 – Critically appraise the ICT infrastructure requirements for a diagnostic imaging service
SPE158 C1, C3, C7
- C1 – Undertake a risk assessment on the computer systems relating to RT and the associated network infrastructure
- C3 – Evaluate connectivity of all systems in use in RT
- C7 – Review arrangements for data warehousing for archiving and storage, and relevant legislation regarding the required retention time for information (including PACS). Anonymise a range of patient data to meet the requirements of clinical trials
SPE156 C4
- C4 – Review data security for sensitive information
SPE153 C3
S-CSC-R1 C4
- C4 – Follow patient data through the diagnostic/treatment pathway
Day 2
Information Governance & Policies
- Medical device directive (MDD)
- Data protection act & freedom of information
- Effect of GDPR and FOI on hospital information systems
- Practical – What makes a clinical system or piece of equipment a medical device?
Competencies covered
SPE153 C1, C4
- C1 – Critically review information governance policies in the trust with particular emphasis on those relevant to Radiology
- C4 – Develop a software application to support either image acquisition
or analysis. The software should be appropriately documented,
commented, tested and, where possible, deployed
SPE152 C1
- C1 – Develop a software application to support either image acquisition
or analysis. The software should be appropriately documented,
commented, tested and, where possible, deployed
SPE156 C1
- C1 – Critically appraise the IG and operational management requirements for patient and staff data
SPE158 C1, C2, C7
- C1 – Undertake a risk assessment on the computer systems relating to RT and the associated network infrastructure
- C2 – Identify relevant legislation, data protection and ICT security
standards for collection, storage and transmission, and relate to the
systems used
- C7 – Review arrangements for data warehousing for archiving and
storage, and relevant legislation regarding the required retention time for information (including PACS). Anonymise a range of patient data to meet the requirements of clinical trials
S-CSC-R1 C6
- C6 – Review a practice in clinical scientific computing and how it is influenced by current/future legislation
S-CSC-R1 C7
- C7 – Review the effect of evaluation on competing technologies and reflect on how this guides practice
Hospital Systems (continued from day 1)
- Configuring a hospital network
- Appraisal of hospital IT system
Competencies covered
SPE152 C2, 3, 4
-
C2 – Write procedures for the operational management of a clinical
computer system
-
C3 – Undertake a range of sys-admin tasks on a nuclear
medicine/diagnostic radiology system
-
C4 – Critically appraise the ICT infrastructure requirements for a
diagnostic imaging service
SPE158 C1, 3, 7
- C1 – Undertake a risk assessment on the computer systems relating to RT and the associated network infrastructure
- C3 – Evaluate connectivity of all systems in use in RT
- C7 – Review arrangements for data warehousing for archiving and storage, and relevant legislation regarding the required retention time for information (including PACS). Anonymise a range of patient data to meet the requirements of clinical trials
SPE156 C4
- C4 – Review data security for sensitive information
SPE153 C3
- C3 – Describe the data flows involved between a patient being allocated an appointment and the images finally being reported by a radiologist
Days 3 & 4
Image Analysis & Software Development
- Software development lifecycles & project management
- Risk
- User requirements
- Documentation & training
- Testing methodologies
- Medical image analysis software
- Post-release software audit
- Practical – Develop and image analysis tool & documentation using ImageJ initially, and then moving on to Python.
Competencies covered
SPE153 C4
- C4 – Develop a software application to support either image acquisition or analysis. The software should be appropriately documented, commented, tested and, where possible, deployed
SPE151 C8, 9
- C8 – Use sophisticated image analysis software to extract quantitative information and enhance diagnostics utility
- C9 – Modify and develop image acquisition and analysis software
SPE152 C6, 7, 8, 9
- C6 – Write a user spec for the requirements of a novel image processing application
- C7 – Develop a novel image processing application
- C8 – Develop and implement a verification and validation plan for a novel image processing application. Release application software for clinical use. Audit use in a clinical environment.
- C9 – Write user and technical docs in support of a novel image processing application and provide user training
SPE156 C3
- C3 – Undertake a range of sys-admin tasks on a nuclear medicine/diagnostic radiology system
SPE158 C4
- C4 – Review data security for sensitive information
SBI102 C3
- C3 – Identify the need for a software application to support image processing and develop the prototype.
SBI102 C4
- C4 – Test and, where possible, deploy the image processing software
S-CSC-R1 C9
- C9 – Review the quality management systems used in the software development lifecycle, reflect on how this guides practice
