Clinical Measurement

Clinical measurement (sometimes called physiological measurement) is part of the medical physics department and is the application of physics and engineering to assess and measure the physiological function of your body. Most of this work is performed by healthcare professionals known as clinical scientists.

Specialist healthcare scientists who work directly with patients are regulated by the health care and professions council (HCPC) as clinical scientists.

Clinical scientists oversee specialist tests for diagnosing and managing disease. They advise other healthcare professionals on what results from tests mean, and carry out research to help develop new techniques to measure the physiological function of the body. Clinical scientists are experts in healthcare science.

Our clinical scientists are supported by clinical technologists and assistants. Clinical technologists help to provide solutions to clinical problems. We have a dedicated engineering workshop that clinical technologists use to create things that we cannot buy elsewhere. Clinical technologists also perform safety testing on equipment in the hospital. Our assistants are vital to supporting all the work that happens across clinical measurement.

What we do

Spinal cord monitoring — Clinical scientist

Spinal cord monitoring – Clinical scientists montior the signals passing through the spinal cord and nervous system during surgery which involved the spine or brain. This allows us to detect any issues during surgery so surgeons can take corrective action.
Brain pressure monitoring – Clinical scientists monitor the pressure inside the skull.
Sleep testing – Our healthcare science assistants provide equipment to patients to help assess sleep disordered breathing (Patient information leaflet). The results of this test are then reported by clinical scientists.
Scientific safety – Clinical scientists and technologists provide safety testing of medical devices and non-ionising radiation such as lasers across the hospital and ultraviolet radiation that is used in phototherapy treatment for skin conditions.
Innovation and development – Clinical scientists and technologists work closely with other staff in the hospital to develop advanced solutions to complex clinical problems, using our scientific, engineering and computer science skills.