The fifth edition of this respected book encompasses all the advances and changes that have been made since it was last revised. It not only presents new ideas and information, it shifts its emphases to accurately reflect the inevitably changing perspectives in the field engendered by progress in the understanding of radiological physics. The rapid development of computing technology in the three decades since the publication of the fourth edition has enabled the equally rapid expansion of radiology, radiation oncology, nuclear medicine and radiobiology. The understanding of these clinical disciplines is dependent on an appreciation of the underlying physics. The basic radiation physics of relevance to clinical oncology, radiology and nuclear medicine has undergone little change over the last 70 years, so much of the material in the introductory chapters retains the essential flavour of the fourth edition, updated as required. This book is written to help the practitioners in these fields understand the physical science, as well as to serve as a basic tool for physics students who intend working as medical radiation physicists in these clinical fields. It is the authors’ hope that students and practitioners alike will find the fifth edition of The Physics of Radiology lucid and straightforward.

Review

The release of “The Physics of Radiology” ۵th Edition has re-affirmed this textbook as the definitive reference for medical physicists in the twenty-first century. This book will be an essential text for the next generation of medical physicists who are just beginning their journey now. The more experienced physicists who are familiar with the fourth (or third) edition will also not be disappointed. It will undoubtedly serve as a valuable clinical and educational reference for the future while reminiscing our own journeys and experiences in medical physics. –Excerpt from review by Michael J.J. Douglass / Physical and Engineering Sciences and Medicine / May 2021

Contents

۱ BASIC CONCEPTS
۲ THE FUNDAMENTALS OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS
۳ INTERACTION OF IONISING RADIATION WITH MATTER
۴ THE PRODUCTION AND PROPERTIES OF KILOVOLTAGE X-RAY BEAMS
۵ HIGH-ENERGY MACHINES
۶ RADIOISOTOPES FOR MEDICAL IMAGING & RADIOTHERAPY
۷ RADIATION DOSIMETRY: THE MEASUREMENT OF IONIZING RADIATION
۸ MEASUREMENT OF RADIATION: INSTRUMENTATION
۹ BASIC RADIOBIOLOGY
۱۰ CLINICAL RADIOBIOLOGY
۱۱ DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY
۱۲ DIAGNOSTIC NUCLEAR MEDICINE
۱۳ CHARACTERISTICS OF RADIOTHERAPY PHOTON BEAMS
۱۴ THE INTERACTION OF PHOTON BEAMS WITH A SCATTERING MEDIUM
۱۵ EXTERNAL PHOTON BEAM DOSE CALCULATION
۱۶ PHOTON BEAM TREATMENT: DOSE PRESCRIPTION AND REPORTING
۱۷ PHOTON BEAM TREATMENT: PLANNING AND DELIVERY
۱۸ EXTERNAL ELECTRON BEAMS
۱۹ RADIOTHERAPY WITH NEUTRONS, PROTONS AND HEAVY IONS
۲۰ BRACHYTHERAPY
۲۱ MOLECULAR RADIOTHERAPY
۲۲ RADIATION PROTECTION