About

Our Story

What if there was a company built by physicists for physicists?

That is the question Matt Daniels, Rob Heyward and Robert Staton asked themselves in 2022. While working together at Landauer, they learned the company was looking to sell their commissioning division. So, Matt, Rob and Robert decided ‘why not us’ and the rest is history. TrueNorth Medical Physics was born.

Once they decided to build a company for physicists, more questions came to mind. Those questions define TrueNorth’s values, culture and business plan. Those questions include:

  • What would you do differently if you ran a medical physics practice group?

  • What if the accountants worked for the physicists and not the other way around?

  • What if our time horizon was decades instead of hitting next quarter’s numbers?

  • What if we offer a different path for owners who wanted to sell their company?

  • What if we work with startups to bring new technology into the clinic faster?

  • What if we invest in startups and help them be successful?

  • What if we create software and commercialize it?

  • What if we shared our success in all our endeavors?

  • What if the more we grow, the more we share?

  • What if doing the best medical physics was more important than growth?

And if you know Matt, Rob and Robert, then you realize that their vision will not stop with just those 10 questions.

Our Values

Physics Leadership. At TrueNorth science leads, with adoption of the latest techniques and a commitment to absolute accuracy in all of our work for you to keep patients safe.

Reliability. We believe in doing what we say we will do, on time and on budget. We want you to always be able to count on us whenever you have a medical physics need.

Agility. We are flexible and fast, able to adapt to changing market conditions and to your evolving needs.

Collaboration. We value working closely with our clients and being relatable, friendly and always listening.

Putting Clients First. Clients come first, before our operational needs or other aspects of our business, and we believe in always offering meaningful, sustainable value in the products and services we provide.

Integrity. Reputation matters, and we want to earn your trust with our actions every single day.

Leadership

Matt Daniels, Ph.D., DABR
Managing Partner & Owner

An ABR board-certified medical physicist, Matt is a founding partner of TrueNorth Medical Physics. Previously, he served as director of linear accelerator commissioning for Landauer; senior product and physics team manager at Sun Nuclear Corporation; and medical physicist at Health First.

Matt has many sports allegiances. He grew up in the Pacific Northwest; earned his PhD in Physics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison; and studied business at “the” Ohio State University and Rollins College. When he isn’t playing degree bingo, Matt is an active member of American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), American Physical Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He also enjoys herding chickens with his wife and kids.

Rob Hayward, Ph.D.
Managing Partner & Owner

Prior to becoming a founding partner of TrueNorth Medical Physics, Rob worked as a product physicist for Sun Nuclear Corporation where he developed QA software with a focus on dose calculation algorithms.

Rob is the co-author of several peer-reviewed publications related to applications of transport theory in both radiation therapy and reactor physics. He holds an MS in Medical Physics and a PhD in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering from Georgia Tech.

Robert Staton, Ph.D., DABR
Managing Partner & Owner

Robert is a founding partner of TrueNorth Medical Physics and an ABR board-certified medical physicist. Prior to TrueNorth, he served as lead commissioning physicist at Landauer and as senior medical physicist at Orlando Health Cancer Institute.

He performed funded research on clinical applications of adaptive radiation therapy and is the co-author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles. Robert is a frequently-invited speaker for industry groups and is active in residency education. He is a member of the Florida Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and serves as an AAPM liaison to the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors.

Trusted Partners, Partnerships and More

Relationships with others in the industry are everything. As an independent, physicist-owned medical physics practice group, we are not bound by corporate or investor policies that dictate how business relationships must be structured.

At TrueNorth Medical Physics, we do what feels right. TrueNorth participates with others in the traditional “Trusted Partner” status. In addition, we create unique partnership arrangements including investing in start-ups.

Accuray – Partnership

Accuray is partnering with TrueNorth to provide radiation oncology departments with third-party support – on-site, remote or hybrid – to help ensure they have the staffing needed to achieve patient treatment goals.

TrueNorth has the knowledge base to provide physics, dosimetry and commissioning support for the Accuray TomoTherapy®, Radixact® and CyberKnife® Systems and is dedicated to providing unbiased feedback and support that improves the practice of radiation therapy medicine as well as the team’s ability to deliver care.

Accuray partnered with TrueNorth to provide care teams with another option for obtaining the resources they require to advance the treatment of cancer for more patients within their facilities.

Medical Physics Services International (MPSi) - Partnership 

MPSi is a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) based in Ireland. Since 2004, MPSi has led the European radiation oncology community in providing comprehensive commissioning support and in assisting clients with implementing cutting-edge technologies.

What is better than independence? Independence is great. Independence and expertise are better.
Independence, expertise and scale are an unbeatable combination. How do you form that unbeatable combination?

MPSi and TrueNorth Medical Physics are partnering to expand MPSi’s commissioning presence in Europe. Blending MPSi’s independence and world-class expertise in Europe with the scale and software tools of TrueNorth, the largest independent commissioning company in North America, creates that unbeatable combination.

Medscint – Strategic Partner and Investor

Supporting the industry’s startup ecosystem is part of TrueNorth’s vision. Medscint, an innovative, leading provider of flexible dosimetry solutions based on plastic scintillation detector technology, is the first startup with which TrueNorth is affiliating. TrueNorth serves as a strategic partner and investor to Medscint with the objective of pushing the limits of innovation in radiotherapy.

This partnership grew out of the successful collaboration between the two companies. TrueNorth spent a year testing Medscint’s HYPERSCINT dosimetry system at multiple sites and saw how it can improve small field dosimetry.

TrueNorth is investing both time and money in the partnership to assist Medscint in delivering better products and achieving regulatory approvals in the US and internationally. The partnership is a commitment of both companies to advancing patient care through innovation and excellence.

Radiation Oncology Systems, Inc. – Trusted Partner

Radiation Oncology Systems (ROS) provides affordable, high-quality refurbished and used radiation oncology and diagnostic imaging equipment solutions to facilities around the world, increasing access to quality health care services for millions of patients.

“When it comes to commissioning a linear accelerator, TrueNorth is one of the most capable companies around. They specialize in commissioning work and can shave valuable days off the commissioning schedule, allowing facilities to start treating faster. TrueNorth also offers on-site, remote, and hybrid medical physics and dosimetry support.” 
— Radiation Oncology Systems

TrueNorth loves partnering with residency programs to help teach the next generation of physicists about commissioning in a real “on-the-job” setting. If you know of medical physics residents who would like a similar experience, have them contact us at info@truenorthmedphys.com

Commissioning Residency

A medical physics resident from MD Anderson/Cooper University joined us when we commissioned a new Elekta VersaHD at the Radiation Center of Greater Nashua.