Encyclopaedia of MEDICAL PHYSICS SECOND EDITION

Almost 25 years have passed from the birth of the idea to this second updated edition of the Encyclopaedia of Medical Physics. During this period of time, the medical physics profession has had incredible growth – from about 12,000 medical physicists globally in 1995 (starting from 6,000 in 1965) to about 30,000 globally in 2020. The most substantial growth has been in low-and middle-income countries. It is without doubt that a significant part of this growth was underpinned by the educational projects carried out by various teams, including our projects and the Encyclopaedia and Dictionary team. This focus on education will undoubtedly continue in order to reach over 60,000 medical physicists in 2035 (as predicted in various publications). One of the key aspects of developing the education materials was the ease of access for university students and hospital medical physicists; this is especially relevant for professional development in low-and middle-income countries. Thus the numerous con-tributors to our projects over the years have striven to make these materials free where possible. In a world where medical care is of increasing importance and visibility, this generous approach and collegial attitude is one of the truest forms of international collaboration. This preface gives a short description of the projects and activities which led to the development of the Encyclopaedia of Medical Physics and the Scientific Dictionary of Medical Physics Terms.