Biography
Carmel J. Caruana B.Sc. (Malta), P.G.C.E. (Malta), M.Sc.(Birm, UK), Ph.D.(Prague) lectures in Biomedical
Physics, Medical Imaging, Radiation Protection, Imaging Device Quality Control and Medical Devices. His
main research interest is Biomedical Physics Education for the Healthcare Professions, of which he is an
acknowledged international expert. In September 2009 he chaired and reviewed papers for the research
track ‘Biomedical Physics Education for the Medical and Healthcare Professions and the General Public’
at the World Conference of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Munich, Germany. Dr Caruana
is chair of the Special Interest Research Group ‘Biomedical Physics Education for the Healthcare
Professions’ and a member of the Education & Training and European Affairs Committees of the
European Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics. He is reviewer for the journals European
Journal of Medical Physics, European Journal of Radiography, Medicina (Kaunas) and Radiography.
List of Publications
Theses:
PhD Thesis
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague (2003 - 2006).
Title of thesis: A strategic development model for the educator role of the biomedical physicsengineering academic in Faculties of Health Science in Europe.
MSc Thesis
University of Birmingham, UK (1989 - 1990).
Title of Thesis: Measurement of heavy metals and radionuclides in the estuarine environment using
proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and high resolution gamma spectroscopy.
Awarded the John Fremlin Prize for best thesis.
BSc Thesis
Title of Thesis: University of Malta, Malta, (1973-76)
Resistivity methods in geophysical prospecting.
Refereed Articles and Conference Papers (full articles):
Caruana C.J., Wasilewska-Radwanska M., Aurengo A., Dendy P.P., Karenauskaite V., Malisan M.R.,
Meijer J.H., Mihov D., Mornstein V., Rokita E., Vano E., Wucherer M., Weckstrom M. (2009). A
comprehensive SWOT audit of the role of the biomedical physicist in the education of healthcare
professionals in Europe. Physica Medica - European J of Medical Physics. (accepted for publication).
Caruana C. J. (2009). Biomedical Physics Education for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Radiographers in
Europe - a Review. Proceedings of the World Congress of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering
‘For the benefit of the patient’, Munich.
Caruana C.J., Wasilewska-Radwanska M., Aurengo A., Dendy P.P., Karenauskaite V., Malisan M.R.,
Meijer J.H., Mihov D., Mornstein V., Rokita E., Vano E., Wucherer M., Weckstrom M. (2009) EFOMP
project: ‘Biomedical physics education for the healthcare professions’ – an update for WC2009.
Proceedings of the World Congress of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering ‘For the benefit of the
patient’, Munich.
Christofides S., Wasilewska-Radwanska M., EFOMP Council and Caruana C. J. (1990) An initial EFOMP
Position on the Tuning Process for Masters Programs in Medical Physics in Europe. Proceedings of the
World Congress of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering ‘For the benefit of the patient’, Munich.
Vlk D., MornsteinV. and Caruana C. J. (2009) A Medical Biophysics Conceptual Base for Medical /
Healthcare / Technology Students at the department of Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk Uni.,
Brno. Proceedings of the World Congress of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering ‘For the benefit
of the patient’, Munich.
Paclova S., Mornstein V. and Caruana C. J. (2009). Biomedical Device Learning Needs of General Nurses
in First Cycle Programs in the Czech Republic. Proceedings of the World Congress of Medical Physics and
Biomedical Engineering ‘For the benefit of the patient’, Munich.
Tatsuhito Akimoto, Carmel J. Caruana, Masayuki Shimosegawa (2009) A qualitative comparative survey
of First Cycle radiography programmes in Europe and Japan. Radiography 15, 333-340.
Caruana C.J., Wasilewska-Radwanska M., Aurengo A., Dendy P.P., Karenauskaite V., Malisan M.R.,
Meijer J.H., Mornstein V., Rokita E., Vano E., Wucherer M. (2008). The role of the biomedical physicist in
the education of the healthcare professions: an EFOMP project. Physica Medica - European J of Medical
Physics, 25, 133-40.
Vachutka1 J., Grec P., Mornstein V., Caruana C. J. (2008). Visualizing and measuring the temperature
field produced by medical diagnostic ultrasound using thermography. European J of Physics, 29, 128794.
Caruana C.J., Wasilewska-Radwanska M., Aurengo A., Dendy P.P., Karenauskaite V., Malisan M.R.,
Meijer J.H., Mornstein V., Rokita E., Vano E., Wucherer M. (2008, accepted for publication). EFOMP
project on the role of biomedical physicist in the education of healthcare professionals. Polish Journal of
Medical Physics and Engineering.
Caruana, C. J., Tabakov S., Wasilewska-Radwanska M., Christofides S. (2008). Curriculum innovation in
biomedical physics education in Europe. Proceedings GIREP 2008 Physics Curriculum Design,
Development and Validation, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Caruana, C. J., Padovani R., Christofides S. (2008). Physics and society: the medical physics profession
and its contribution to healthcare. Proceedings GIREP 2008 Physics Curriculum Design, Development and
Validation, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Vlk D., Mornstein V., Caruana C. J. (2008). A medical biophysics laboratory practical curriculum for
biomedical technology and bioinformatics students. Proceedings ESBME 2008 6th European symposium
on biomedical engineering, Chania, Crete.
Mornstein V., Provazník I., Vlk D., Caruana C. J. (2008). The contribution of the medical faculty, Masaryk
Univ, Brno, to the education of biomedical technologists. Proceedings ESBME 2008 6th European
symposium on biomedical engineering, Chania, Crete.
Mornstein V., Caruana C. J., Vlk, D., Skorpikova, J., Fortykova L. and Grec P. (2008). Vyuka lekarske
biofyziky pro zdravoticke profese v budounosti: co bychom meli ucit? (Medical Biophysics education for
the healthcare professions of the future: what should we teach?). Lekar a Technika (Medicine and
Technology) 2008 vol 1.
Caruana C.J., Wasilewska-Radwanska M., Aurengo A., Dendy P.P., Karenauskaite V., Malisan M.R.,
Meijer J.H., Mornstein V., Rokita E., Vano E., Wucherer M. (2008). Biomedical physics education for the
healthcare professions: A project of the European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics.
Proceedings of the Days of Medical Biophysics 2008, Mala Moravka, Czech Republic. ISBN 978-80-2441985-5, p31-5.
Mornstein V., Skorpikova J., Vlk D., Caruana C.J. (2008) Biofyzika ve zdravotnickych bakalarskyh oborech
(Biophysics for healthcare bachelor studies). Proceedings of the Days of Medical Biophysics 2008, Mala
Moravka, Czech Republic. ISBN 978-80-244-1985-5, p105-110.
Caruana C. J. (2007). A strategic role development primer for physics educators in higher education:
some general principles and their application to the case of a physicist teaching in a Faculty of Medicine
/ Health Science. Proceedings GIREP-EPEC 2007, Frontiers in Physics Education, Opatija, Croatia.
Caruana C. J. (2007). A summary account of the historical development and present state of the role of
biomedical physics-engineering in the education of the healthcare professions. Proceedings GIREP-EPEC
2007, Frontiers in Physics Education, Opatija, Croatia.
Caruana C. J. (2007). An Initial Biomedical Physics Elements-of-Competence Inventory for First Cycle
Physiotherapy Programmes in Europe. Proceedings GIREP-EPEC 2007, Frontiers in Physics Education,
Opatija, Croatia.
Caruana, C. J., & Plasek, J. (2006).
An inventory of biomedical imaging physics elements-of-competence for diagnostic radiography
education in Europe. Radiography, 12(3), 189-202.
Caruana, C. J., & Plasek, J. (2006).
A SWOT audit for the educator role of the biomedical physics academic within Faculties of Health
Science in Europe. Proceedings of the Groupe International de Recherche sur l’Enseignement de la
Physique (GIREP) Conference 2006. Modeling in Physics and Physics Education. Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Caruana, C. J., & Plasek, J. (2006).
An initial biomedical physics elements-of-competence inventory for First Cycle nursing educational
programmes in Europe. Proceedings of the Groupe International de Recherche sur l’Enseignement de la
Physique (GIREP) Conference 2006. Modeling in Physics and Physics Education, Amsterdam,
Netherlands.
Caruana, C. J., & Plasek, J. (2005).
A biomedical physics elements-of-competence inventory for undergraduate medical education in
Europe. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference of Medical Physics, Nuremberg, 2005.
Published in Biomedizinische Technik Vol 50 Supplementary vol.1 Part 1. pp31-2
Caruana, C. J., & Plasek, J. (2005).
A systematic review of the biomedical physics component within undergraduate medical curricula in
Europe. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference of Medical Physics, Nuremberg, 2005.
Published in Biomedizinische Technik Vol 50 Supplementary vol.1 Part 2. pp931-2
Caruana, C. J., & Plasek, J. (2004).
Generic learning objectives in the domain of medical device physics. Proceedings of the Groupe
International de Recherche sur l’Enseignement de la Physique (GIREP) Conference 2004. Teaching and
learning physics in new contexts. Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Caruana, C. J., & Plasek, J. (2004).
An initial set of exploratory case studies regarding the role of the biomedical physics-engineering
educator as practiced in health science faculties in Europe. Proceedings of the Groupe International de
Recherche sur l’Enseignement de la Physique (GIREP) Conference 2004. Teaching and learning physics in
new contexts. Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Caruana, C. J. (2002).
The role of the medical physics educator in a faculty of health sciences. Groupe International de
Recherche sur l’Enseignement de la Physique (GIREP) Conference 2002 Physics in new fields and modern
applications. Lund, Sweden.
Caruana C. J. (2002).
Teaching radiation physics concepts and techniques to archaeology students. Groupe International de
Recherche sur l’Enseignement de la Physique (GIREP) Conference 2002 Physics in new fields and modern
applications. Lund, Sweden.
Invited Presentations:
Caruana C. J. et al. (2009) EFOMP project on the role of biomedical physics in the education of
healthcare professionals: an update for ISMP09 (Univ. of Silesia, Poland)
Christofides S., Wasilewska-Radwanska M., van der Putten W.J. M., Caruana C. J.
(2009) Medical physics competences in Europe: an EFOMP inventory. ISMP09 (Univ. of Silesia, Poland)
Conference Presentations (Abstract):
Caruana, C. J. et al (2009) EFOMP project on the role of biomedical physics in the education of
healthcare professionals: an update for the IV International Symposium on Medical Physics, Univ. of
Silesia, Katowice, Poland (Invited Speaker)
Caruana, C. J. et al (2009) EFOMP project ‘Biomedical physics for the medical / healthcare professions’:
an update for the 32nd Days of Medical Biophysics, Univ. of Kosice, Slovakia.
Mornstein V., Caruana C. J., Vlk D., Skorpikova J., Forytkova L. (2007). Biomedical physic education for
healthcare professionals of the future. In Sborník abstrakt. Vyd. 2007. Praha : Universita Karlova v Praze,
2007. ISBN 978-80-239-9421-6, s. 40-40. 30.5.2007, Jindřichův Hradec.
Caruana, C. J. (2003). The medical physics educator and the education of health professionals: the
medical physics educator as medical device educator. Proceedings of the European Congress of Medical
Physics of the European Federation of Organizations of Medical Physics (EFOMP), Eindhoven, The
Netherlands. Abstracted in Physica Medica, 19 (1), 71.
Conference Presentations (Posters):
Mornstein V, Caruana C. J., and Vlk, D. (2007). The Biomedical Physics Laboratory Practical Curriculum
for Medical and Healthcare First Cycle Students at the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno Present State and Future Directions. European Conference on Medical Physics 2007, Pisa, Italy.
Presentations at European Educational Projects:
Caruana, C. J. (2006).
From broad subject-specific-competencies to tutor-expertise-specific elements-of-competence: a case
study in biomedical imaging physics for diagnostic radiography. Conference of the Higher Education
Network for Radiography in Europe (HENRE), Malta, February 2006.
Caruana, C. J. (2004).
A medical imaging physics elements-of-competence inventory for radiography education in Europe.
Conference of the Higher Education Network for Radiography in Europe (HENRE), Malta, October 2004.
Caruana, C. J. (2004).
Basic biomedical device physics elements-of-competences for nursing. Report incorporated as an
exemplar of good practice in the Tuning document Summary of Outcomes - Nursing. Accessible from
the Tuning Educational Structures in Europe website at:
http://tuning.unideusto.org/tuningeu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=112&Itemid=139#com
petences
Local articles:
Caruana C. J. (2007).
The role of biomedical physics-engineering in the development of medical device education for the
healthcare professions. Paper included in the annual report of the Institute of Health Care (2006-7),
University of Malta.
Chirchop, D., Caruana, C. J., Callus, J., Fabri, F., Giodimaina, J., Grech Marguerat, P., & Mallia, M. (2000).
Democracy in schools. National Minimum Curriculum on its way - a conference on the implementation of
the National Minimum Curriculum. Malta.
This update: March 2010