“Brachytherapy Physics” in Comprehensive Biomedical Physics

B. Thomadsen,¹ R. Miller^2
1University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI; ²Northwest Medical Physics Center, Lynnwood, WA

Book chapter. Anders Brahme, editor-in-chief, Vol 9, Amsterdam: Elsevier, 315-381 (2014).

Brachytherapy is the treatment of disease using small radioactive sources placed in or near the tissues to be treated.    This chapter explores some of the most common sources used for brachytherapy as well as their therapeutic applications.  The delivered dose rate is one means utilized to categorize brachytherapy treatments into low, medium or high dose-rate delivery.  Further characterization is based on how long the sources are implanted, either as a temporary or a permanent implant.  Several clinical examples are reviewed.  Calculation methods, optimization and quality management are also discussed.