#29 Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy: The State of the Art

Author:  Jatinder R. Palta and T. Rockwell Mackie, editors
ISBN:  9781930524163      ISBN10:  1930524161
Published:  2003 | 904 pp. | Hardcover

Price:   $ 44.95      was 100.00


  
  




Canadian Medical Physics Newsletter  |  October 2003


"This AAPM monograph provides the proceedings from a five-day program on IMRT presented at the 2003 AAPM summer school in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The preface to the book states that 'the goal of the program is to present a snapshot of the current IMRT planning and delivery technology, to discuss issues that confront safe implementation of IMRT, and finally to encourage a reflection on the future of IMRT.' The book certainly does all this.

"The editors should be congratulated on the diversity and scope of the topics covered and their selection of contributing authors. They point out that the presentation is designed for practicing medical physicists who are not specialists in IMRT. I believe that anyone with a professional interest in IMRT (including administrators) would find important and interesting information presented, from historical to future perspectives, technical and social issues and clinical considerations.

"As a proceedings, this book lies somewhere between a reference text and a general compilation of knowledge accumulated to date on IMRT. Certainly there is no general index to point you to a particular word or concept so finding a specific piece of information might prove a little difficult. However, the chapter headings are adequately descriptive and progress nicely to cover most general topics of interest in IMRT. Also, the monograph might have less editorial input than a regular reference text and the quality of the presentation do vary somewhat, but generally they stay on topic and represent a considerable and quality effort on the part of the authors. Even though the nitty-gritty details may be purposely omitted, there are always plenty of references to more complete and academic works.

"The general feeling that I get from the presentations is that IMRT is still in its infancy (maybe a pre-teen) and that attitudes vary greatly about the clinical acceptability of IMRt techniques at this stage of development. It is interesting to observe that IMRT has evolved to the point where the experts are able to reflect on the main issues that have arisen, in a meaningful way. Many of the authors direct us to think carefully about the issues before adopting IMRt in clinical practice; from this perspective alone, the book is worth a careful read.

"A list of acronyms (so that's what MEAT really means) and a CD which contains pdf files of the chapters in the book. In some cases, color reproductions of the figures in the book are provided. There are also animated files by Paul Keall et al. from their chapter on Dynamic MLC IMRT.

"Usually reading a good book makes me curious to see the movie, but in this case reading the book makes me wish I had attended the summer school. Unfortunately, since I was unable to attend, I cannot comment on how well this monograph reflects the quality and content of the presentations in Colorado Springs. However, I do fell that it makes an excellent stand-alone reference on IMRT. Is there still room for more technical and clinically oriented books on IMRT? Definitely. Would I consider this book an essential addition to my fledgling library on IMRT? Most definitely."
-Patrick Cadman