Radiotheranostics A Primer For Medical Physicists

This book covers scientific, clinical, and educational aspects of radiotheranostics in cancer control. Setting the framework, the first volume defines radiotheranostics and describes the history of radionuclide therapy and theranostics, and the biology of cancer. It examines the clinical applications of unconjugated radionuclides, such as 131I and 223Ra, and of radionuclide-conjugated cancer-specific vectors: peptides, small molecules, antibodies, and nanoparticles; introduces clinical trials and drug development; and reviews epidemiological studies and the adverse effects of radionuclide therapy – both radiation injuries and chemical toxicity. It presents the chemistry and physics of radionuclide production, discusses radioactivity measurements and traceability, and addresses important instrumentation aspects: calibration, quantitative imaging, and quality control. Volume I concludes with guidance on the education, training, and competence of a radiotheranostic multidisciplinary team and summarizes the principal physics characteristics of theranostics today – including many to be expanded in the second volume – while offering a glimpse into tomorrow. This volume provides the foundations for the more advanced second volume, which explores dosimetric and radiation safety, aiming to empower medical physicists and demonstrate to the cancer community how to improve cancer control and yield increased patient survival times.It will be a valuable reference for medical and health physicists with basic knowledge of nuclear medicine. Key Features Provides a comprehensive introduction to the topic, presenting readers with thorough treatment in a cohesive two-volume book Presents a rigorous approach while remaining accessible to students and trainees in the field Contains consistent and extensive references to allow readers to delve deeper into the subject

"The book provides a comprehensive introduction to the relevant theranostics aspects involving pairs of radiopharmaceuticals used in imaging and therapy for cancer treatments. Chapters explore the history of radiotheranostics, before discussing cancer biology and radiation biology models; clinical applications; radionuclide production and radiopharmaceutical preparation; source calibration and imaging instrumentation; biokinetic modelling and dosimetric formalisms; epidemiological studies and clinical trials. It also details radiation safety considerations; regulatory requirements; economic considerations, and discusses staff education, training and competences on radiotheranostics, and the future outlook for the field. It will serve as a valuable guide for academic and practicing clinical medical and health physicists with a basic knowledge of nuclear medicine, and although the book is not meant as a textbook, students and trainees in nuclear medicine physics may also find the book useful. This book will empower medical and health physicists with not only the necessary practical tools to estimate and document the individual dosimetry of patients undergoing radiotheranostic treatment, but it will enable them to convince the cancer community that such a dosimetry improves cancer control and results in longer survival times and also open conversations about organ dose estimates and calculations with policy makers to guide the future of the field"--

This book provides a clinical insight into image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) for prostate cancer. It starts by setting the clinical scene, discussing immobilisation and standard IGRT practice and then considering important developments like IGRT with non-ionising radiation, adaptive radiotherapy, particle therapy, margins, hypofractionation, clinical outcomes, AI and training. Good IGRT requires both technical and clinical focus. So, in complement to our first study guide on IGRT, this book now brings together key, clinical insights into IGRT for Prostate Cancer patients, with a view to helping the professional learn more about ‘how-to’ undertake IGRT for these patients more accurately, effectively and safely, throughout the whole course of a patient’s treatment with radiation. This clinical insight guide will be of interest to newly qualified radiation therapists, therapeutic radiographers, medical dosimetrists, medical physicists, radiotherapy physicists and clinical oncologists. It will also be of use for trainees and can be used alongside continuing competency and clinical training within real clinical departments and radiation therapy centres worldwide. This is the first in a forthcoming series of clinical insights, each tackling a different treatment area. Further areas in the series will be: Head and Neck; Thorax; Breast; Pelvis; and the Brain. Key Features: • Internationally applicable, clinically focused, up-to-date and evidence based. · Accompanied by suitable electronic multimedia resources. · Authored by experts with decades of experience of pioneering electronic portal imaging and IGRT in clinical practice, pedagogic research and substantial experience of teaching/supervising students, trainees and qualified therapists/medical physicists at bachelors, postgraduate and doctoral levels. Mike Kirby and Kerrie-Anne Calder are well-respected authors and radiotherapy professionals, who have worked in radiotherapy physics/radiotherapy clinical and academic practice for nearly 35 years and 25 years respectively. Mike Kirby is a Senior Lecturer in Radiotherapy Physics at the University of Liverpool, UK, and an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Manchester, UK. He holds graduate and postgraduate qualifications in medical physics and has in total over 200 books, papers, oral and poster presentations to his name in the field of radiotherapy. Dr. Kirby holds professional membership of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology and the British Institute of Radiology, is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the British Institute of Radiology in the UK. Kerrie-Anne Calder is a Lecturer at the University of Liverpool, UK, where she educates undergraduate and post graduate students in many aspects of radiotherapy with a special interest and role in imaging training. Kerrie-Anne has graduate and postgraduate qualifications in radiotherapy, education and academic practice, is a member of the Society and College of Radiographers, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK. She was a clinical and professional lead in IGRT (on-treatment verification imaging) within the NHS in the UK for over ten years.

Ultrasound has been widely used in diagnostic imaging for a long time. In the past 10 years, image-guided focused ultrasound therapy has seen rapid growth, in biomedical science and engineering, and in clinical medicine. The purpose of this book is to bring internationally renowned authorities and experts in this field together to provide up-to-date and comprehensive reviews of basic physics, biomedical engineering, and clinical applications of focused ultrasound therapy in a widely accessible fashion. Focusing on applications in cancer treatment, this book covers basic principles, practical aspects, and clinical applications of focused ultrasound therapy. It reviews the medical physics and bio-effects of focused ultrasound beams on living tissues, dosimetric methods and measurements, transducer engineering, image guidance and monitoring (including magnetic resonance imaging -- MRI -- and ultrasound), treatment delivery systems, and clinical applications. The book also gives practical guidelines on patient setup, target localisation, treatment planning and image-guided procedures for the treatment in various sites, including the prostate, liver, pancreas, breast, kidney, uterus, bone, and brain. The book discusses major challenges for the use of focused ultrasound energy on living tissues and explores the cellular and physiological responses that can be employed in the fight against cancer from biological, physics and engineering perspectives. It also highlights recent advances, including the treatment of solid tumours using image-guided drug delivery, and the exploitation of microbubbles, nanoparticles, and other cutting-edge techniques. Readers who are interested in learning more about the technique and the clinical applications described in each chapter can find more information in the comprehensive bibliographies provided. This book is suitable for anyone involved in, or looking to become involved in, the research and clinical applications of focused ultrasound therapy, including medical professionals, physicists, biomedical engineers, graduate students and others working in this multidisciplinary field. It offers a balanced and critical assessment of state-of-the-art technologies, major challenges, and an outlook on the future of focused ultrasound therapy. It presents a thorough introduction for those new to the field while providing helpful, up-to-date information and guidelines for readers already using this therapy in clinical and pre-clinical settings. Key Features: Brings together a wide range of world-leading experts in this new field, presenting the latest clinical outcomes of using focused ultrasound for the treatment of benign and malignant diseases Covers the fundamental physics of focused ultrasound therapy and ultrasound-mediated drug delivery, including chapters on the mechanism of sonoporation, microbubble and ultrasound interaction, and their potential clinical applications Introduces clinical guidelines for focused ultrasound therapy, including indications and contraindications, treatment goals, the selection of patients, clinical observation during treatment procedure and follow-up, and characteristics of image changes after treatment

This book provides a comprehensive yet accessible overview of all relevant topics in the field of radiation protection (health physics). The text is organized to introduce the reader to basic principles of radiation emission and propagation, to review current knowledge and historical aspects of the biological effects of radiation, and to cover important operational topics such as radiation shielding and dosimetry. The author’s website contains materials for instructors including PowerPoint slides for lectures and worked-out solutions to end-of-chapter exercises. The book serves as an essential handbook for practicing health physics professionals.