Medical Physicists at PTW

I already found physics lessons very fascinating when I was at school. After high school graduation, I initially fluctuated between studying medicine and physics. When researching the possibilities in these areas, I finally came across the medical physics course of study at Martin-Luther University in Halle. This was the perfect combination of the two subjects for me.

When I started working at PTW, I investigated a new trend in dosimetry. I dealt with the relevant technology, conducted extensive literature research, met with research groups and analyzed customer needs. It was a question of finding out whether we would like to develop and offer such a product at PTW. Based on my results, PTW has decided that we will move in this direction.

The second project was about high-precision radiation therapy, i.e., stereotaxy. I developed the first prototypes for the stereotactic QA phantom “Ruby”, which we launched in early 2020.

I find it exciting to investigate new technologies. I greatly appreciate having the time and the freedom to deal with them intensively and to meet and exchange ideas with international research groups and experts from hospitals. A lot of initiative and creativity is required, which I like a lot.

I received an insight into the daily routine of a hospital during my internships when I was studying at the university. The work in a hospital is demanding, but at the same time it is characterized by routine and sometimes shift work. That's why my first choice was to work in industry and develop medical devices after I received my Ph.D.

I like the high demands of PTW on precision and on achieving high measuring accuracy. In my view, this is very valuable and I can identify very well with it.

I think it's great that all departments as well as the production are located in and around Freiburg, so you can interact directly with all your colleagues and be very productive.
There is an informal atmosphere with flat hierarchies. This makes everyday life very pleasant.
At PTW, I also have a relatively large amount of flexibility in terms of working hours. This makes it much easier for me to reconcile family and work and to continue to pursue a demanding career.

I was generally aware of the tasks that a medical physicist has in radiation therapy or research. On the other hand, I did not know much about the possibilities for medical physicists in industry. I could imagine that it is the same for others. I regularly attended conferences at that time, for example the annual meeting of the German Society for Medical Physics. At the industrial exhibition, I asked the exhibitors directly about job opportunities for medical physicists in their companies. I have learned a lot in that way and would recommend it to others. That can not only create an opportunity for an internship, but such contacts can also be worth their weight in gold when you search for a position in a company.