#22 Brachytherapy Physics (1994 AAPM Summer School)

Author:  Jeffrey Williamson et al.
ISBN:  9780944838501      ISBN10:  0944838502
Published:  1995 | 715 pp | 


OUT OF PRINT

  
  




Medical Physics  |  May 1996


"This book is the proceedings from the 1994 AAPM Summer School on clinical brachytherapy physics and has been anxiously awaited by at least some of us who were unable to attend. It is divided into four sections: basic principles (physical and biological), treatment planning, dose specification and clinical implementation, and, finally, remote afterloading.

"The book starts out with a chapter on the history of brachytherapy. While it covers some material that is commonly found, it also contains a number of very interesting items that are not. In addition it is written from the perspective of an author whose extensive experience has spanned many decades. The first section goes on to cover physical properties of radionuclides, radiobiology, all aspects of source strength, quantitative dosimetry, dose calculation models, and quality assurance as well as regulatory aspects. The chapter on this last topic provides a welcome overview for those who are tired of searching through pages of regulatory documents.

"The treatment planning section covers dosimetry of sources and applicators, source localization and 3D imaging techniques. In addition, it has a chapter on quality assurance of treatment planning systems that has some particularly interesting material about the software design process including verification, validation, and acceptance testing by manufacturer. It briefly discusses quality assurance to be performed by the user and provides references for such.

"The next section, dose specification and clinical implementation, covers clinical techniques and applicators for interstitial and intracavitary brachytherapy, classical systems of dosimetry (Manchester, Quimby, Paris, etc.), and dose prescription and specification (including ICRU recommendations) for both permanent and temporary intracavitary and interstitial implants. It includes an extremely good chapter on eye plaques which discusses guidelines both of COMS and the RPC and as well as discussing the entire treatment process starting with tumor localization through OR procedures to plaque removal, seed unloading, and identification.

"Finally, there is a very comprehensive section on all types of remote afterloading, high dose rate, low dose rate as well as pulsed dose rate, covering principles, quality assurance, calibration, commissioning, optimization, and clinical implementation. The book, as well as this section, ends with a chapter on the socioeconomic aspects of remote afterloading, a topic perhaps more commonly seen in publications for administrators. However, it is particularly interesting and informative in the current atmosphere of cost reduction and managed care. It should prove useful for physicists who are increasingly called upon to provide cost analysis and justification.

"There is some overlap between the chapters. However, rather than proving repetitive, this offers different perspectives on issues which are still evolving. For the most part, the authors are well known for their brachytherapy work. Much of what is presented here has been published in bits and pieces elsewhere. However, the reader could gather an entire file drawer full of publications and still fail to have as comprehensive a collection on brachytherapy. In addition, all of the chapters provide extensive reference lists. As comprehensive and thorough as this book is, it is not intended for the student who would do best getting his basics from a general textbook.

"Perhaps the only fault that I could find with the book is that highly experimental developments were not fully covered. This omission was a conscious decision by the organizers of the summer school who have produced exactly what they set out to produce-a practical clinical manual. The last AAPM monograph or proceedings devoted entirely to brachytherapy was published some time ago. Brachytherapy has vastly changed since that time undergoing many technological advances, all of which are represented in this comprehensive source book. The book should greatly aid all those radiation oncology physicists implementing these advances as well as with conventional brachytherapy.

"In summary, this comprehensive book of over 700 pages should provide an excellent source book for anyone interested in brachytherapy. The authors and editors certainly have met the goal as stated in the preface: 'to develop a textbook quality handbook to aid experienced radiation oncology physicists in implementing unfamiliar treatment modalities in their clinics.'"

Reviewed byCindy Thomason

Cindy Thomason, Ph.D., is Chief Physicist in Radiation Oncology, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Associate Professor in Radiology at Northwestern University.