Book review “Emerging Technologies in Brachytherapy”

The book “Emerging Technologies in Brachytherapy” (ISBN 9781498736527; hardback) was written by many scientists form different countries and edited by: William Y. Song, Kari Tanderup, Bradley R. Pieters, experienced professionals in the field of brachytherapy.
This book covers almost all brachytherapy indications, describing techniques and results as well as tips and tricks. The use of color pictures further enhances this excellent guide for those interested in brachytherapy, especially in emerging new technologies.
With 5 sections, 31 chapters by 102 authors who are authorities in their area of specialization, the book is divided into five sections. Section I includes twelve chapters on physics of brachytherapy, discusses basic definitions of sources and loading technologies and applicators. These chapters give detailed information how to reconstruct applicators, to calculate dose, and to optimize the dose distribution. In another chapter, readers are informed about image-guided treatment and processing in planning agenda, real-time dosimetry, and quality assurance technologies. The newest developments in robotics are also presented. Section II contains guidelines of modern imaging for brachytherapy. All modern imaging techniques used nowadays in clinical practice are discussed such as optical imaging and navigation, X-ray imaging, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography. All techniques are used for treatment verification. The most interesting chapter provide a glimpse on optical molecular imaging and its potential in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Organization of Brachytherapy Units depends on country, tradition, and experience. In Section III, brachytherapy suites (departments) from Vienna, Utrecht, Erlangen, Montreal, Toronto, Mumbai, and Dakar are presented. This section can be especially useful for planning new facilities all over the World. Section IV contains 3 important chapters comparing different radiotherapy modalities. In many centers, treatment of cancer is accomplished by external beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy; however, the use of appropriate beam therapy is increasing. Furthermore, an important issue addresses the values and costs of treatment. Section V, the last section of the book, is written by the industry, giving their viewpoint for the next few years.
This book is not a comprehensive review of technologies related to brachytherapy planning...


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