Physicists, engineers and technologists play vital roles in delivering healthcare in the NHS and now Kent and Medway’s very own chief healthcare scientist is taking the helm at a national organisation representing this sector.
Mark Knight, Chief Healthcare Scientist at NHS Kent and Medway is president elect of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM). The role formally starts in October 2024.
IPEM is the professional organisation that represents this diverse workforce. It has more than 4,500 members drawn from healthcare, academia and industry.
Some help to make sure patients are correctly diagnosed and safely treated for illnesses, such as cancer and stroke through their work on imaging and radiotherapy. Some develop, maintain and manage medical equipment, such as MRI and ultrasound scanners, X-ray machines, drug delivery systems and patient monitors.
Other members' clinical work, research and innovation leads to technologies and methods, which support and improve on existing medical treatments. They provide solutions, which enable people with injuries or long-term conditions to complete everyday tasks.
Mark will be representing IPEM's members to promote medical physics and clinical engineering priorities with the UK government and national bodies.
Mark said: “We are at a crucial time for the sector and under my leadership IPEM will continue to actively promote medical physics and clinical engineering for the benefit of society.
“A major theme is accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence in the NHS to benefit patients and help save money. For example, artificial intelligence can be used to reduce MRI scan times from 25 minutes to eight minutes to help reduce waiting lists. Artificial intelligence can also highlight suspicious areas on medical images, giving the potential to speed up diagnoses and improve public health.
“My appointment has already led to an increase in new connections from students and science professionals from across and beyond the UK, which gives me the opportunity to spotlight Kent and Medway as a great place to live, work and learn.”
IPEM’s current president, Dr Anna Barnes said:
“I congratulate Mark on his election and thank both candidates for putting themselves forward.
“This election has been a really positive experience for IPEM and I am pleased that so many of our members engaged with it and took the time to vote.
“IPEM is here for its members and I look forward to working with Mark to continue to develop the organisation at this exciting time for us.”