By Dr Evelyn Ho

Progress and Innovations in Medical Physics, 3^rd SEACOMP and 4^th AOCMP, Kuala Lumpur, 27-29 Sep 2004

About 200 medical physicists and allied professionals from twenty countries descended upon Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the 3^rd South East Asian Congress of Medical Physics (SEACOMP) and 4^th Asia-Oceania Congress of Medical Physics (AOCMP), 27-29 Sep 2004. Progress and Innovations in Medical Physics was the theme with experts in their field expounding on a wide range of subjects in the application of physics to medicine and healthcare. Education in Medical Physics was also discussed.

Prof Dr Ng Kwan Hoong, Congress Chairman and President of the South East Asian Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (SEAFOMP) had been working feverishly with his committee to ensure quality scientific content as well as an enjoyable meeting for the congress delegates. “We are indeed very proud that the “Father of Spiral CT”, Prof Dr Willi Kalender has made his first trip to Malaysia to deliver the inaugural SEACOMP John Cameron lecture.”

Prof Ng could hardly contain his excitement when the teleconference with John Cameron went off without a hitch. He added, “I am very happy to see many foreign colleagues and hope that they will be able to find the networking and information exchange rewarding and enriching.”

The congress began with an Opening Ceremony graced by YA Bhg Tun Dr Siti Hasmah bt Hj Mohd Ali. Tun Dr Siti delivered her keynote address on Medical Physics in Women’s Health. She spoke on the role of medical physicists in cooperation with other medical professionals, biomedical engineers and scientists in contributing to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. This is especially in the face of the escalating incidence of cancer. Medical physics is a relatively young field in Malaysia, yet, it must be ready to face the challenges in an increasingly complex healthcare scene. She challenged the medical physicists to improve on the design of the some of the imaging equipment that resulted in many shying away from diagnostic tests! The potentially claustrophobic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and the perceived pain of x-ray mammography were quoted.

The Opening Ceremony included welcome speeches by Prof Dr Ng Kwan Hoong and Prof Dr Barry J Allen, President of the Asia Oceania Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (AFOMP) as well as an opening speech by Prof Dr Ikram Shah Ismail, Deputy Dean of Undergraduate and Diploma Programmes, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. Prof Dr Afandi Mohd, Deputy Dean of Development and Infrastructure, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya was also present.

Prof Dr Barry J Allen (who was also visiting Kuala Lumpur for the first time) spoke of Prof Dr Ng’s enormous contribution to medical physics in the region. He related, “Dr Ng set up the SEAFOMP in 1998 and it has a complementary and synergistic relationship with AFOMP in moving medical physics forward in Malaysia and in the region.”

This event was jointly organised by the Radiology Department, University of Malaya, Malaysia, Malaysian Institute of Physics (IFM), Radiation Physics, Biophysics and Medical Physics Subgroup, South East Asian Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (SEAFOMP) and the Asia-0ceania Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (AFOMP).

The Medical Physics programme in University Malaya began in 1998. Since then, 25 medical physicists have been trained. In order to ensure the programme meets international standards, the University is in the process of getting the programme accredited by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) in the United Kingdom.

Please visit our Media Centre for YA Bhg Tun Dr Siti Hasmah's keynote address.