N.Y. Education Law § 8701: Definitions

§ 8701. Definitions. As used in this article:

1. "Clinical" shall mean activities directly relating to the treatment

or diagnosis of human ailments.

2. "Specialty" or "specialty area" shall mean the following branch or

branches of special competence within medical physics:

(a) "Diagnostic radiological physics" shall mean the branch of medical

physics relating to the diagnostic application of radiation, the

analysis and interpretation of image quality, performance measurements

and the calibration of equipment associated with the production and use

of such radiation, the analysis and interpretation of measurements

associated with patient doses and exposures, and the radiation safety

aspects associated with the production and use of such radiation;

(b) "Medical health physics" shall mean the branch of medical physics

pertaining to the radiation safety aspects of the use of radiation for

both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, and the use of equipment to

perform appropriate radiation measurements;

(c) "Medical nuclear physics" shall mean the branch of medical physics

pertaining to the therapeutic and diagnostic application of

radionuclides, excluding those used in sealed sources for therapeutic

purposes, the analysis and interpretation of performance measurements

associated with radiation imaging equipment and performance oversight of

radionuclide calibration equipment associated with the use and

production of radionuclides, the analysis and interpretation of

measurements and calculations associated with patient organ doses, and

the radiation safety aspects associated with the production and use of

such radionuclides; and

(d) "Therapeutic radiological physics" or "radiation oncology physics"

shall mean the branch of medical physics relating to the therapeutic

application of radiation, the analysis and interpretation of radiation

equipment performance measurements and the calibration of equipment

associated with the production and use of such radiation, the analysis

and interpretation of measurements associated with patient doses, and

the radiation safety aspects associated with the production and use of

such radiation.

3. "Medical physics" shall mean the branch of physics limited to the

field of radiological physics.

4. "Radiation" shall mean all ionizing radiation above background

levels or any non-ionizing radiation used in diagnostic imaging or in

radiation oncology.

5. "Radiological physics" shall mean diagnostic radiological physics,

therapeutic radiological physics or radiation oncology physics, medical

nuclear physics and medical health physics.

6. "Radiological procedure" shall mean any test, measurement,

calculation or radiation exposure for the purpose of diagnosis or

treatment of any medical condition of a human, including therapeutic

radiation, diagnostic imaging and measurements, and nuclear medicine

procedures.