History and context of the program (updated in 2025)
The Postgraduate Program (PPG) Professional Master’s Degree in Imaging Sciences and Medical Physics (MP CIFM) at FMRP USP was created in 2013.
The PPG MP CIFM is aligned with the PDI (Institutional Academic Project of FMRP USP), contributing to the School’s indicators and developing actions to meet institutional goals, both considering aspects specific to the program and actively participating in global actions related to the various levels listed in the five-year Academic Project.
Despite the large number of postgraduate programs (PG), including Professional Master’s Programs at USP, in the country and at CAPES, the Program’s coordination did not find a similar proposal for postgraduate professional training at USP or at other institutions, although there are common points with other PG programs, indicating an opportunity for cooperation and solidarity between programs. The Program has become a regional and national reference in the professional and academic training of radiologists, radiotherapists, interventional physicians, medical physicists, and other professionals with applied activities in the areas of medical imaging and radiotherapy, particularly professionals working with artificial intelligence. We emphasize that the CCIFM has a tradition of providing quality professionals to different Brazilian states. Additionally, the USP Campus in Ribeirão Preto is a recognized center for the training of high-level professionals in various medical specialties, including diagnostic imaging, as well as in several other interface areas such as Medical Physics and Biomedical Informatics.
The Professional Master’s Degree in Imaging Sciences and Medical Physics graduated 20 (twenty) students in 2015, 18 (eighteen) students in 2016, 16 (sixteen) students in 2017, 4 (four) students in 2018, 9 (nine) in 2019 and 10 (ten) in 2020, 3 (three) in 2021, 10 (ten) in 2022, 11 (eleven) in 2023 and 12 (twelve) in 2024.
The Program is attentive to the changes in the scenario that arise for the areas of concentration, mainly with regard to the increased use of computational tools and artificial intelligence in Imaging Diagnosis, which represents great potential for innovation. Several products related to these topics have already been developed by students of the program, described in their dissertations and in use in the service, with other projects being developed by active students.
An indicator of the program’s social inclusion is the dissemination of students’ dissertations, which is done by making them available in the USP thesis bank (http://www.teses.usp.br/, as well as by publishing articles in journals. The number of publications of scientific articles with the participation of students and graduates in the program totals 75 publications of scientific articles, 6 in the 2013-2016 four-year period, 34 in the 2017-2020 four-year period and 27 in the 2021-2024 four-year period. The impact of scientific works from the PPG and the social inclusion of the program can be exemplified by studies on mechanical thrombectomy in ischemic stroke, including the participation of several students as researchers in the RESILIENT trial (Randomization of Endovascular Treatment with Stent-retriever and/or Thromboaspiration versus Best Medical Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke due to Large Vessel Occlusion Trial) with results published in NEJM (N Engl J Med 2020;382:2316-26), culminating in the inclusion of this treatment in the SUS, according to SCTIE/MS Ordinance No. 5, of February 19, 2021, in which the decision to incorporate mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke was made public within the scope of the Unified Health System – SUS (ref. 25000.093156/2020-17.0019120952). In this example, there was a real scientific contribution from the program, with the participation of students and graduates, to a paradigm shift in patient care at a national level.
The online platform “IA CCIFM Laboratory” (https://iaccifm.fmrp.usp.br/) also characterizes the social insertion of the program, having been conceived and developed by students, graduates and professors of the program. To learn more: visit the official website of the IA CCIFM Laboratory: https://iaccifm.fmrp.usp.br/ and watch a demonstration video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twi9LTlbRLQ. The artificial intelligence tools are integrated into the Hospital’s Computerized System and serve as support for radiologists in clinical practice. and are integrated into the care flow of the HCRP – FMRP – USP Complex.