Physics of Medical Equipment
The physics every service engineer uses, explained through the machines
A noisy MRI image, a chiller alarm, a dead line on an ultrasound picture, a leak test that fails by a few millilitres: each of these is physics before it is a part number. This course takes the physics a service engineer actually uses — electricity and fields, waves and radiation, sound, magnetic resonance, cryogenics, gases, light, heat and measurement — and explains each through the machine it lives in and the symptom it produces when something goes wrong.
Every fault you will ever chase obeys a law of physics you already half know.
- Many engineers learn equipment model by model and never connect it to the physics underneath, so every new machine feels like starting from zero.
- Without the physics, fault-finding becomes swapping boards until the error goes away, which is slow, expensive and sometimes unsafe.
- Radiation, cryogens, stored energy and high-pressure gas are dangerous precisely to the engineer who does not understand why.
After the course you can
Curriculum
Use voltage, current, resistance, magnetic fields and induction to reason about real faults: mains interference on signals, hot connections, transformers, motors, coils and the energy that stays in a switched-off machine.free
22 min02The electromagnetic spectrum: from RF to X-rays
Place every kind of electromagnetic radiation used in medical equipment on one scale, tell ionising from non-ionising, and understand how each is shielded and what breaks the shielding on site.20 min03X-ray generation and attenuation: tube, bremsstrahlung, kV/mA, HVL
Explain how an X-ray tube produces radiation, what kV, mA, time and filtration each change in the beam and the image, why the tube is mostly a heat problem, and how half-value layer describes beam quality.24 min04Ionising radiation: dose units and protection for the engineer
Read and use gray, sievert and air kerma correctly, explain where the engineer's dose actually comes from, and apply time, distance and shielding with a personal dosimeter so that service work on X-ray equipment keeps your own dose as low as reasonably achievable.22 min05Sound and ultrasound: wave, reflection, piezo effect, Doppler
Explain how an ultrasound system forms an image from echoes, what the transducer's layers do, why frequency trades resolution against depth, how Doppler measures velocity, and recognise the image signs of a damaged transducer.22 min06Nuclear magnetic resonance: spin, Larmor frequency, signal, relaxation
Explain at an engineer's level how an MRI scanner gets a signal from hydrogen nuclei, why the Larmor frequency ties field strength to RF, what T1 and T2 relaxation are, how gradients locate the signal, and which hardware failure shows up as which image problem.22 min07Superconductivity and cryogenics: helium, 4.2 K, vacuum, shields, quench
Explain why an MRI magnet needs liquid helium, how the cryostat keeps heat out with vacuum, shields and a coldhead, how to read a falling helium level, and what a quench is and why it is dangerous to people in and around the room.24 min08Gases and flow: pressure, gas laws, flow, leaks
Convert between the pressure units used on medical equipment, apply the gas laws to cylinders, ventilators and anaesthesia machines, reason about flow and resistance, and run and interpret a leak test.22 min09Light, heat and cooling: optics, lasers, chillers and room climate
Explain how pulse oximeters, photometers, endoscopes and lasers use light, and how chillers, water and glycol loops and room air conditioning carry heat away from equipment, so that you can trace an optical or cooling fault to its physical cause.25 min10Measurement, calibration, uncertainty, phantoms and test equipment
Distinguish calibration, adjustment and verification; read accuracy, resolution and uncertainty correctly; choose and use test equipment and phantoms so that a pass or fail decision is valid; and recognise when a wrong reading after calibration comes from the reference, not the device.24 min—Exam
30 · 45 min · 75 %
The certificate
Pass the exam and get a certificate of course completion with your name, hours and score. Every certificate has a unique number and a public verification page, so an employer or a customer can check it in one click. It confirms completion of the course; it is not an educational document (diploma) and not a manufacturer authorisation.
Who it is for
Who it is for
- New service engineers and graduates entering medical equipment service
- Engineers moving into medical equipment from another industry
- Hospital biomedical / clinical engineering staff who want the 'why' behind their daily checks
Who teaches
Written by a service engineer working with medical equipment since 2014, including 6.5 years at GE Healthcare and service supervision at Mindray, together with the engineers of Service Engineer.
FAQ
Do I need a physics degree?
No. School-level physics and basic algebra are enough. The course keeps formulas to the few an engineer actually uses and explains each through a machine.
Is this manufacturer training?
No. It is independent, vendor-neutral training. It does not replace any manufacturer's service procedures, does not grant authorisation, and does not qualify you to work on radiation, cryogenic or high-voltage systems on its own.
How does it fit with the other courses?
It is a General course: the foundation under the modality courses (MRI, CT, ultrasound, ventilators, anaesthesia, monitors) and the repair fundamentals track.
What does the certificate say?
Your name, the course, the hours, the date and your exam score, with a unique number and a public verification page.
Can my company buy seats for a team?
Yes: five seats and a progress overview for the manager.
Languages?
English and Russian.