#34 Clinical Dosimetry Measurements in Radiotherapy (2009 AAPM Summer School)
Author: D.W.O. Rogers and Joanna E. Cygler, EditorsISBN: 9781936366118
Published: 2009 | 1112 | Softcover
Price: $ 72.95 was 145.00
Medical Physics, Vol. 37, No. 5 | May 2010
Description
This book on the Clinical Dosimetry Measurements in Radiotherapy served as the textbook of the 2009 AAPM summer school. Several authors have contributed to the material presented, but the editors have done a great job in unifying the style and flow of information between chapters. The book is organized in 32 chapters, extensively covering clinical dosimetry topics in modern radiotherapy. A 20-page Appendix with a collection of reference data is included at the end of the book, containing updated tables and figures on stopping power ratios, ratios of mass-energy absorption coeffecients, and CSDA ranges for electrons. The solutions-answers to the chapter problems are given in Part B of the Appendix. The book comes with a CD that has all the chapters in electronic format.
Purpose
This book contains the material presented in the summer school and as such, it is didactic in nature. The text is well-written and maintains a good balance between practical description of concepts and their theoretical foundation. The emphasis is on the clinical aspects of dosimetry and targets the practicing clinical medical physicist. There are several figures, tables, and graphs throughout the text, making it easier for the reader to understand the concepts of modern clinical dosimetry.
Audience
The book is intended primarily for practicing clinical medical physicists in radiation therapy physics who wish to have a comprehensive review and reference in clinical dosimetry. However, this book is a very useful accompaniment to any of the classic radiotherapy books used in graduate schools and medical physics residency programs.
Contents/Features
As mentioned earlier, the book is organized in 32 chapters. Although the length of each chapter varies, it is, on average, about 33 pages long, making this book over 1000 pages long. A rich bibliography is included at the end of each chapter, making it easier for the reader to retrieve topic specific references. In fulfillment of its role as a didactic book, each chapter ends with a list of problems. The problems are comprehensive and certainly help the reader validate what they learned from each chapter.
Assessment/Comparison
True to the tradition of the AAPM summer schools, the topic of this school and its accompanying book is current, practical, and very specific. There are no other books or reference son the same topic, but one can find chapters on this topic in classical radiotherapy textbooks. The editors have managed with great success to assemble the information submitted by the contributing authors and put it in a format that is concise, easy to read, and rich in content. Although this book is not a replacement for a textbook in radiation therapy, it can serve as an excellent reference and resource in clinical dosimetry measurements in radiotherapy.
Niko Papanikolaou, Ph.D.
Professor of Radiology and Radiation Oncology
University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio