September 2004 - Radiology Malaysia Editor, Dr Evelyn Ho, conducts an electronic interview with Prof Dr John R. Cameron, a medical physicist who has devoted his life to the application of physics in the medical world. He invented bone densitometry (a method and equipment to measure bone density) in the 1960s. Since treatment has been found for treating osteoporosis, bone densitometers have become popular world wide.
 

John is a pioneer and world leader in medical physics. His work has covered such diverse topics as radiation dosimetry (TLD), photon absorptiometry method of measuring bone mineral, the physics of the human body and the design and manufacture of quality control instruments for x-ray machines.

In 1989 John developed the simple BERT method for explaining radiation to x-ray patients. The radiation dose to the patient is explained in terms of how long it would take to get the same dose from background radiation. (BERT = Background Equivalent Radiation Time.) For example, a chest x-ray is about equal to a week of background radiation. See “Are X-rays Safe?"

John has been honored by his scientific and medical colleagues for his scientific contributions. He received the Coolidge Award from the American Association of Medical Physics in 1980 and the International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) awarded him the first Marie Sklodowska Curie award for his contributions to medical physics education in developing countries in the year 2000. In 1995 the Radiological Society of North America gave him the first Roentgen Centennial Commemorative Medal - it is given every hundred years! In 2002 the American College of Radiology elected him an Honorary Fellow of the ACR. 

In 2004, in order to celebrate his outstanding achievements, the 3^rd South East Asian Congress of Medical Physics held in Malaysia has inaugurated The SEACOMP John Cameron Lecture. A distinguished medical physicist, Professor Dr Willi A. Kalender from Erlangen University, Germany, who is a foremost researcher in computed tomography delivered the first John Cameron lecture. (Willi Kalendar is responsible for introducing spiral and multislice imaging methods and developing methods for quantifying bone mineral density using CT.)

Some of the information above has been reproduced with permission from the Homepage of Prof Dr John Cameron.
 

Question: In 1995 the Radiological Society of North America awarded the first Roentgen Centennial Commemorative Medal to you – how did you react to this? What does this mean to you?

Question: Public perception of this career? (I am aware that in the USA, the perception may be different)
JC: Since medical physicists are a small fraction of the population, it is understandable that the profession is not well known. In the U.S. it is a well paid profession. When I retired in 1986 my top salary had just reached $50,000/year. It was adequate for our needs. Many new medical physicists start at that salary. It doesn't bother me. 

Contributions of John Cameron/Philanthropy
My wife and I have managed to give away money to worthy projects. For example in 1985 we started Medical Physics Publishing (MPP) a nonprofit publisher. We gave over USD100,000 spread over ten years to establish MPP. Now it is doing well thanks to three competent women! 

I have devoted much time and energy to helping medical physics in developing countries. I gave numerous QC courses in Spanish or Portuguese to students in Latin America. In October 1954 we returned from two years in Brazil where I did nuclear physics. In 1969 I started the ABFM- the Brazilian Medical Physics Association. I have enjoyed learning about other cultures and helping where I can.

Question: Comparison of the field today and where it was when you began?
JC: There are now over 5,000 medical physicists in the U.S more than 50 times the number in 1958. The growth of technology is such that it is not possible today for a nuclear physicist to switch into medical physics without training. The field is now much more technical. More training is needed to do the job.  

With complex equipment medical physicists have to be well trained – otherwise and especially in radiation oncology (radiation therapy), death may be the outcome. I have seen this happen before where I was helping to train medical physicists in a developing country.

Question: Would you encourage people to take up this profession? What or how would you advise those who are contemplating taking up this profession?
JC: I would not encourage everyone to take up this profession. Not everyone is suited for any particular field. If someone is interested in medicine and also in physics and they like working with people and communicate well with others, I would strongly encourage them. 

It is underpaid and not as satisfying in developing countries where the radiologists and radiation oncologists are not as aware for the need for good medical physicists to do good imaging and good radiation therapy. 

Question: Future plans or what you would like to see in your profession - with regards to growth and development, recognition…
JC: I have long been convinced that medical physicists (and biomedical engineers) have useful roles to play in many clinical and basic science departments of medical schools. For example, there are very few physicists working in the research area I call the physics of physiology. Many Nobel Prizes are awaiting good research to understand and explain the many mysteries of our bodies, such as the basic mechanism of memory or imagination. 

See my article: Cameron J.R. A proposed model of imagination and creativity Wisconsin Academy Review Vol. 34, No. 3 pp33-36 June 1988

I hope to expand on that article and change the title to "Origin of Ideas."  My model is analogous to our present understanding of the Origin of Species. In producing new species, "genetic noise" (i.e., mutations) provide the basic mechanism for a change. 

Perhaps in 50 years they will refer to "Cameron's Origin of Ideas". The driving mechanism is "brain noise" (i.e., random action potentials which I call "subconscious imagination") that produces new combinations of stored knowledge in our memory. Our subconscious mind monitors the results of any new combinations to see if any of them solve an old problem. Once a useful combination is recognized it is stored in the subconscious mind. 

Einstein said he first thought of his relativity idea while riding his bicycle. I know many other examples. I still hope to find a biological scientist to test some of the basic ideas of my model of imagination and creativity. 

Find out more about John Cameron at the Physics Department, University of Wisconsin Website http://www.medphysics.wisc.edu/cameron/index.html  

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