MPC had its origins at the University of Michigan where Jim Carey was the Nuclear Medical Physicist in the Division of Nuclear Medicine. In 1977, a graduate student overheard Jim turning down a consulting opportunity and offered to join him and provide physics consulting as a full-time employee. With encouragement from both home and work, MPC began in 1978.
MPC is now the major diagnostic medical physics-consulting group in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Utah/Nevada. We also provide physics support to 10 other states. MPC has expanded from the 1 full-time physicist to 48 employees (38 physicists and 8 support staff). After 40+ years, Jim retired from the University of Michigan to help direct MPC.
Our initial physics services were mainly in support of nuclear medicine with some diagnostic radiology. Nuclear Medicine services were in great demand because of Atomic Energy Commission (soon to become NRC) requirements and the rapid growth of Nuclear Medicine. Diagnostic radiology physics was not highly regulated and “physics” support was provided by a mix of biomed personnel, radiation therapy physicists, and only a few dedicated diagnostic physicists.
JCAHO (later to become TJC) changed all that with the requirement that hospitals have the support of a diagnostic x-ray physicist. Next came the mammography dose reduction/image quality evolution and the recognition of the importance of the acceptance testing/QA in both Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. The need for diagnostic physics support grew as CT/MRI/US increased in importance. State diagnostic x-ray regulatory requirements also increased and the role of the medical physicist became more clearly defined.
With the latest TJC revised requirements for diagnostic imaging services and the emphasis on patient radiation safety and dose optimization, the demand for MPC physics support keeps expanding. The introduction of hybrid imaging systems (e.g., SPECT/CT, PET/CT, and PET/MRI) has increased the need for sophisticated medical physics support.
MPC has over 1200 hospitals and clinics in our family of accounts. We look forward to serving them in the future and thank you for your support and friendship over the many years (43 years and counting).
