Medical physicist bridging the gap between AI and healthcare.

AI in Healthcare: How Medical Physicists are Leading the Revolution

Soraya Malik in Health & Wellness August 2025 • 5 min read.

"Discover the crucial role medical physicists play in ensuring the safe and effective integration of artificial intelligence in diagnostic radiology."

In the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionize diagnostic radiology. At the forefront of this transformation is the medical physicist (MP), a vital expert in the application of radiation for diagnostic imaging. With in-depth knowledge of regulatory imaging aspects and the intricacies of image formation, MPs play a pivotal role in ensuring the safe and effective integration of AI.

More than just routine testing, MPs collaborate with radiologists and imaging leaders to optimize image quality while minimizing radiation exposure. Their expertise extends to informatics, image analysis, and advanced mathematics, positioning them as key mediators between the scientific and clinical worlds. They also educate radiology residents, serve as translators among radiologists, administrators, engineers, regulators, vendors, and technologists, paving the way for the responsible adoption of AI.

Though the use of computers in radiology dates back to the 1960s, the surge in AI-driven healthcare solutions has brought renewed focus on the MP's capabilities. As AI technologies become more prevalent, it is essential to understand how MPs contribute to quality assurance, regulatory compliance, and the overall success of AI implementation in diagnostic settings.

The Medical Physicist's Role in the AI Revolution

Medical physicist bridging the gap between AI and healthcare.

Medical physicists stand at the intersection of imaging science, informatics, and clinical medicine, giving them a unique vantage point in the healthcare AI revolution. They serve as facilitators, educators, and critical thinkers. As educators, MPs are essential in helping physicians understand new technologies through dedicated teaching programs for radiology residents and early-career researchers. They're also pivotal in shaping the next generation of radiologists, ensuring these professionals grasp the fundamentals of AI and its transformative potential.

Given their expertise in imaging technology regulation, MPs have the responsibility to effectively voice their insights in regulatory discussions. Their knowledge is crucial in guiding the development of regulations that foster innovation, remain practical, and, above all, protect patients. This expertise ensures AI implementation aligns with the highest standards of patient care and safety.

Quality Assurance: Ensuring diagnostic systems meet minimum image quality requirements (e.g., resolution) for optimal AI functionality.
Protocol Optimization: Refining imaging protocols to maximize diagnostic quality for combined AI and radiologist interpretation.
Complex QC Development: Creating and implementing quality control measures to guarantee AI systems function correctly and adapt to constant learning and updating.

Beyond quality control and protocol development, the MP's expertise is invaluable in the AI development cycle. Their knowledge of image quality, imaging protocols, and informatics can be used to model and interpret AI inner workings—a complex task—and to determine conditions where AI might falter. By limiting the scope of AI tasks to clinically relevant variable ranges, MPs can also improve the efficiency of AI system training. Those MPs involved in research are set to be especially critical as AI evolves in medicine. While a universal AI system is the ultimate goal, task-specific algorithms will dominate the near and mid-term. Whether for simple tasks like lung lesion detection or complex diagnoses, MPs with expertise in informatics, perception, image analysis, statistics, and machine learning are well-positioned to drive clinically relevant and useful AI systems. Their background in observer studies and understanding the pitfalls of CAD implementation provide an edge over computer scientists without healthcare experience.

Shaping the Future of AI in Healthcare

Medical physicists have a rich history of contributing to the computerization of medicine. Their expertise, insights gained through decades of CAD implementation, and unique positioning between physician and scientist place them at the forefront of the responsible AI implementation in healthcare.

It is imperative for MPs to engage actively with the broader radiology and healthcare community. By participating in these crucial conversations, MPs can ensure that AI's integration into healthcare is both innovative and safe, ultimately improving patient outcomes and transforming the practice of medicine.

The future of healthcare hinges on the responsible and effective integration of AI. With their comprehensive understanding of imaging, technology, and patient care, medical physicists are indispensable players in shaping this future.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1016/j.jacr.2018.09.022, Alternate LINK

Title: Role Of The Medical Physicist In The Health Care Artificial Intelligence Revolution

Subject: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging

Journal: Journal of the American College of Radiology

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Authors: William F. Sensakovic, Mahadevappa Mahesh

Published: 2019-03-01

Everything You Need To Know

What is the role of medical physicists in the context of artificial intelligence in diagnostic radiology?

Medical physicists play a crucial role in integrating artificial intelligence into diagnostic radiology. With their knowledge of imaging, regulatory requirements, and image formation, they ensure AI implementation is both safe and effective. They help optimize image quality while minimizing radiation exposure, bridging the gap between AI technology and clinical practice.

How do medical physicists contribute to educating healthcare professionals about artificial intelligence?

Medical physicists facilitate the adoption of AI by educating radiology residents and early-career researchers. They provide dedicated teaching programs to help physicians understand new technologies. This education is vital for shaping the next generation of radiologists, ensuring they grasp the fundamentals of AI and its transformative potential in healthcare.

In what ways do medical physicists ensure the quality and reliability of AI systems in diagnostic imaging?

Medical physicists contribute to quality assurance by ensuring diagnostic systems meet minimum image quality requirements, which is crucial for optimal AI functionality. They also refine imaging protocols to maximize diagnostic quality for combined AI and radiologist interpretation. Moreover, they develop and implement complex quality control measures to guarantee that AI systems function correctly and adapt to constant learning and updating.

What is the contribution of medical physicists to the development and refinement of AI algorithms used in healthcare?

Medical physicists contribute to the AI development cycle by using their knowledge of image quality, imaging protocols, and informatics to model and interpret AI inner workings. They help determine conditions where AI might falter and improve the efficiency of AI system training by limiting the scope of AI tasks to clinically relevant variable ranges. Those MPs involved in research are set to be especially critical as AI evolves in medicine.

What unique qualifications enable medical physicists to lead the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence in healthcare?

Medical physicists are uniquely positioned to ensure the responsible implementation of AI due to their expertise, insights gained through experience with CAD implementation, and positioning between physician and scientist. They are also key participants in regulatory discussions and have the responsibility to voice their insights in regulatory discussions to guide the development of regulations that foster innovation, remain practical, and, above all, protect patients. This is because their knowledge is crucial in guiding the development of regulations that foster innovation, remain practical, and, above all, protect patients. This expertise ensures AI implementation aligns with the highest standards of patient care and safety.