The Physics of Radiotherapy X-Rays from Linear Accelerators [Paperback]

Peter Metcalfe (Author), Tomas Kron (Author), Peter Hoban (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an excellent rendering of the field for medical physics students interested in becoming professionals in this field." -- Medical Physics, March 1998

"This book should be required reading for someone preparing for board exams in radiation oncology physics. Excellent figures are provided." -- Health Physics, September 1998

From the Publisher

This text deals with the mathematical modeling and dosimetry of radiotherapy x-ray beams and includes traditional modeling methods as well as the convolution and Monte Carlo methods. Ionization chamber and TLD dosimetry are dealt with in detail and new dosimetry techniques such as radiochromic film are also discussed. The authors link dose to radiobiological effect and tumor control probability by use of the linear quadratic model.

The book is designed as a comprehensive reference for medical radiation oncology physicists as well as a reference text and tutorial for students. Dosimetrists, radiation therapists, and oncologists who have a particular interest in radiation dose distributions in patients will also find the book useful, especially with regard to dose distributions in and around inhomogeneities. It is illustrated with more than 200 photos, charts, and tables. There are extensive references and an index.

Product Details

• Paperback: 493 pages
• Publisher: Medical Physics Pub Corp; 1 edition (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0944838766
• ISBN-13: 978-0944838761
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #776,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to radiotherapy physics, July 30, 2000

By 

Dr. Lee D. Carlson (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Physics of Radiotherapy X-Rays from Linear Accelerators (Hardcover)

The authors give a good introduction to the physics behind radiation therapy planning in this book, from an applied, theoretical, and computational perspective. The coverage emphasizes the physics of linear accelerators in the first chapter of the book. The discussion is a good one, and when reading it one appreciates why medical physicists choose the physical units they do. Treatment aids, such as wedges, multileaf collimators, blocks, and compensators are also discussed in this chapter, although somewhat hurriedly. The interaction of X-rays with matter is treated in Chapter 2, from a phenomenological point of view, with the cross sections for the physical processes written down instead of being calculated from quantum electrodynamics. The authors do a good job of discussing the origins of the terms kerma and terma in this chapter. The important topic of electron scattering powers is discussed, again with quantum field theory left out of the picture, along with a purely desciptive discussion of charged particle equilibrium. Dosimetry is discussed in Chapter 3, and the authors give an overview of current techniques. A discussion of the connection between dose measurements and how they relate to tumour control should have been more comprehensive. The authors do however do a good job in informing the reader of the current techniques in dosimetry in this, the longest chapter of the book. The next two chapters discuss the properties of X-ray beams and the actual treatment planning process. The reader will gain an appreciation of the use of the physical unit MU in these chapters. The authors are not democratic in their choice of commercial treatment planning systems in this book. The major vendors, such as Computerized Medcial Systems and ADAC, are only barely mentioned. The authors do give a general overview of the convolution and superposition methods in calculating dose, along with a discussion of Monte Carlo methods. The solution of the transport problem, via the Boltzmann transort equation, is not mentioned at all. This is not really a detriment to the book, since this approach has not resulted in anything close to a clinical application, but it is important to mention why the other techniques in dose calculation were employed so as to not have to deal with the general (and difficult) transport problem. Tumor and tissue response issues are discussed in the last chapter, and the authors do a good job of discussing this approach to RTP. The book should definitely be on the shelf of those who aspire to learn this important field and make subsequent contributions to it.