SMPE/e - Technische Universiteit Eindhoven

Where innovation starts
Mission statement:
‘To advance health care through technology
by training academic professionals
in medical physics and engineering’
SMPE/e - School of Medical Physics and Engineering Eindhoven
SMPE/e offers post-graduate, professional training programs
in medical physics and medical engineering for MSc
graduates in (applied) physics, (bio-)medical engineering,
and electrical or mechanical engineering.
The hospital-based, university-managed program leads to
a qualification as a Specialist Medical Physicist (2+2 years),
Qualified Medical Physicist (2 years), or Qualified Medical
Engineer (2 years).
SMPE/e
A highly-structured and well-organized post-graduate program
in Medical Physics and Medical Engineering is essential for
hands-on training of academic professionals in technology to
advance health care in hospitals and specialized care centers.
The School of Medical Physics and Engineering Eindhoven
(SMPE/e) was established in January 2006 as a universitywide,
post-graduate school for training academic professionals
in medical physics and medical engineering for
careers in health care institutions and industry.
Its curriculum and activities are based on a long-standing
experience – since 1990 – in hospital-based and universitymanaged
training of medical physicists leading to the final
degree of Specialist Medical Physicist. SMPE/e manages the
first two years in hospital, together with a senior medical
physicist.
School of Medical Physics and Engineering Eindhoven
SMPE/e - School of Medical Physics and Engineering Eindhoven
Director:
Prof.dr. Herman C.W. Beijerinck
Co-directors:
Prof.dr.ir. Frans N. van de Vosse
Ir. Herman J. van Kleffens, Medical Physicist
Office:
Department of Applied Physics (NL a.1.76)
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven
The Netherlands
T +(31)40 2472134
F +(31)40 2472549
Email: smpee@tue.nl
www.smpee.tue.nl
Photography in co-operation with
- Máxima Medisch Centrum, Eindhoven & Veldhoven
- Catharina Ziekenhuis, Eindhoven
- Elkerliek Ziekenhuis, Helmond
Co-ordination / production
- Ineke Fondse, office manager SMPE/e
- Dr.ir. Ivonne M.M. Lammerts, co-ordinator SMPE/e
SMPE/e
SMPE/e
School of
Medical Physics
and Engineering
Eindhoven
Photography: Bart van Overbeeke, Eindhoven
Design: vanRixtelvanderPut ontwerpers, Eindhoven
Printing: Lecturis, Eindhoven

SMPE/e
School of
Medical Physics
and Engineering
Eindhoven
National landscape Academic professionals
Training program European landscape
In a European setting, two distinct levels of training of
medical physicists are defined: a Specialist Medical Physicist
(SMP, 2+2 years) and a Qualified Medical Physicist (QMP,
2 years). Details of typical training programs have been
defined by EFOMP (European Federation of Organizations
for Medical Physics) in their Policy Statement #10 published
in 2001. Until now, only the SMP level is operational in The
Netherlands, registered by NVKF (Dutch Society for Medical
Physics), and legalized by a chapter in the civil law code on
Health Care (so-called ‘wet BIG’).
Specialist Medical Physicist
The two-year program for the basic training of Specialist
Medical Physicists is a joint effort of SMPE/e and NVKF.
This program has started out as part of the ‘Design and
Technology of Instrumentation (SAI-DTI)’ designer course
of the Stan Ackermans Institute of TU/e. These activities are
now embedded in SMPE/e and coordinated by a joint steering
committee with NVKF. The throughput is 4 to 6 SMP
graduates per year with an expected growth to 8 SMP per
year, amounting to 33% of the national output.
Qualified Medical Physicist
Responding to the predictions of the Sminia 2004 report,
SMPE/e has taken the lead role in establishing a twoyear
program leading to a degree of Qualified Medical
Physicist as defined by EFOMP. This program coincides
in large with the first two years of the SMP training, with
emphasis on a broad education as a general medical
physicist. We expect that the health care market will be
in great need for these professionals, as part of the
establishment of a pyramidal structure of technology
professionals in hospitals in the next decades.
Qualified Medical Engineer: a new brand
Even more important, SMPE/e has started an innovative
two-year training program for MSc graduates in Medical
Engineering. This program leads to a degree of Qualified
Medical Engineer (QME), a new brand of academic professionals
in health care. They are educated to collaborate with
medical doctors to establish more detailed and accurate
diagnoses, using their skills in detailed mathematical modeling
and advanced image analysis. This joint effort will lead
to a better patient selection and treatment planning. The
school caters for a throughput of eight trainees per year.
Hospital-based
All SMPE/e training programs – SMP, QMP, and QME – are
hospital-based, which means that the trainees are embedded
in the (hectic) environment of clinical practice of medical
doctors. Each trainee is assigned an advisor in hospital – a
senior medical physicist and/or medical specialist – and an
advisor from SMPE/e. The former is responsible for the weekto-week
local feedback to the trainee. The SMPE/e advisor
has monthly contacts with the trainee.
University-managed
The economics of SMPE/e is based on providing a two-year
all-inclusive training package that contains all curricular components,
project feedback, international travel, contacts with
international industry, and all managerial and administrative
support for the trainees. The trainees are also provided with
a budget for buying academic books, a laptop computer, and
other learning aids. A very important aspect is the quality
assurance by the university in terms of assessment of
positional papers to a tight-loop feedback on projects and
internships. All these activities are part of the two-year
educational package that a hospital purchases from SMPE/e.
Employment of the trainee during the two-year training period
is either at the university or at the hospital, depending on
the specific setting and funding.
Joint responsibility
Training programs are only started on demand from a
hospital. A highly competitive entry-level selection of trainees
is a shared responsibility of university and hospital.
The activities of SMPE/e fit well into the European scene
of medical physics and medical engineering, as coordinated
and stimulated by EFOMP. In fact, with SMPE/e, the
Netherlands is the first European country that has established
a hospital-based university-managed training program.
Most member countries have MSc programs that cater to a
university-based curriculum on medical physics. The tight
professional feedback loop and training of professional skills
during the two years of clinical practice in the hospital is
unique for SMPE/e. We expect to coordinate our activities
closely with EFOMP. Also, SMPE/e can play an advisory role
in establishing schools in other member countries.
SMPE/e
School of
Medical Physics
and Engineering
Eindhoven