Customer Reviews

The Physics of Radiotherapy X-Rays from Linear Accelerators

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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.