Adaptive Motion Compensation in Radiotherapy PDF

Series Preface

Advances in the science and technology of medical imaging and radiation therapy are more profound and rapid than ever before, since their inception over a century ago. Further, the disciplines are increasingly cross-linked as imaging methods become more widely used to plan, guide, monitor, and assess treatments in radiation therapy. Today, the technologies of medical imaging and radiation therapy are so complex and so computer-driven that it is difficult for the persons (physicians and technologists) responsible for their clinical use to know exactly what is happening at the point of care, when a patient is being examined or treated. The persons best equipped to understand the technologies and their applications are medical physicists, and these individuals are assuming greater responsibilities in the clinical arena to ensure that what is intended for the patient is actually delivered in a safe and effective manner.

The growing responsibilities of medical physicists in the clinical arenas of medical imaging and radiation therapy are not without their challenges, however. Most medical physicists are knowledgeable in either radiation therapy or medical imaging and expert in one or a small number of areas within their discipline. They sustain their expertise in these areas by reading scientific articles and attending scientific lectures at meetings. In contrast, their responsibilities increasingly extend beyond their specific areas of expertise. To meet these responsibilities, medical physicists periodically must refresh their knowledge of advances in medical imaging or radiation therapy, and they must be prepared to function at the intersection of these two fields. How to accomplish these objectives is a challenge.

At the 2007 annual meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine in Minneapolis, this challenge was the topic of conversation during a lunch hosted by Taylor & Francis Group among a group of senior medical physicists (Arthur L. Boyer, Joseph O. Deasy, C.-M. Charlie Ma, Todd A. Pawlicki, Ervin B. Podgorsak, Elke Reitzel, Anthony B. Wolbarst, and Ellen D. Yorke). The conclusion of this discussion was that a book series should be launched under the Taylor & Francis banner, with each volume in the series addressing a rapidly advancing area of medical imaging or radiation therapy of importance to medical physicists. The aim for each volume would be to provide medical physicists with the information needed to understand technologies driving a rapid advancement and their applications to safe and effective delivery of patient care.

Each volume in the series is edited by one or more individuals with recognized expertise in the technological area encompassed by the book. The editors are responsible for selecting the authors of individual chapters and ensuring that the chapters are comprehensive and intelligible to someone without such expertise. The enthusiasm of volume editors and chapter authors has been gratifying and reinforces the conclusion of the Minneapolis luncheon that this series of books addresses a major need of medical physicists.

Imaging in Medical Diagnosis and Therapy would not have been possible without the encouragement and support of the series manager, Ms. Luna Han of Taylor & Francis Group. The editors and authors, and most of all I, are indebted to her steady guidance of the entire project.