Primer on Radiation Oncology Physics

Eric Ford, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is a board certified medical physicist and has taught radiation oncology residents for 15 years within the programs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Washington. He is recipient of the Educator of the Year award in 2008, 2014, and 2016. In the past six years five residents have been recognized in the “Best of ASTRO” series. He has published over 125 research articles and delivered 24 invited lectures at national and international meetings in the last three years. He also serves in volunteer capacities in the leadership of AAPM and ASTRO and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). He is a Fellow of the AAPM.

• Basic Physics. Nuclear Structure and Decay. Mathematics of Nuclear Decay. Brachytherapy I. Photon Interactions with Matter. Photon Beams, Dose, and Kerma. Particle Interactions with Matter. X-Ray tubes and Linear Accelerators. Medical Linear Accelerators. Megavoltage Photon Beams. Megavoltage Photon Beams: TMR and Dose Calculations. Photon Beam Treatment Planning: Part I. Photon Beam Treatment Planning: Part II. IMRT and VMAT. Megavoltage Electron Beams.Radiation Measurement: Ionization Chambers. Other Radiation Measurement Devices. Quality Assurance (QA). Radiographic Imaging. Non-Radiographic Imaging. Image-Guided Radiation Therapy and Motion Management. Stereotactic Treatments. Total Body Irradiation (TBI) and Total Skin Electron Therapy (TSET). Particle Therapy. Radiation Protection. Brachytherapy Applications and Radiopharmaceuticals. Patient Safety and Quality Improvement.

"Primer on Radiation Oncology Physics by Eric Ford is an excellent textbook for diverse trainees in radiation oncology who take the first course in radiation therapy physics. It is also valuable to medical physics graduate students and residents as a refresher and review resource. The book is ideally suited for new teaching models with interactive videos and extensive problem sets, and it directly meets the educational needs of radiation oncology professionals with diverse backgrounds."–Minsong Cao, University of California, Los Angeles, USA, in Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, March 2021, 22(3):288–289"Ford (Univ. of Washington School of Medicine) has developed a highly readable textbook that spans basic chemistry/physics to address the practical aspects of radiation therapy. Each of the 27 chapters is short, well organized, and can be read either in sequence or as stand-alone reference material. The important points in each chapter are easy to spot as key concepts are printed in bold. While many of the figures are hand drawn, they are clear, simple, and nicely complement the text. In addition to a wealth of practical information about topics such as dose measurements and quality assurance, this textbook also highlights some of the cutting-edge technologies that are currently entering the field. . . . each chapter features a series of problem sets of varying difficulty, making this a useful resource for both graduate students and residents in medical physics. Also noteworthy is the publisher's supporting website where 60 interactive videos provide useful tutorials, each narrated by Ford and including comprehension quizzes, correlated to the chapters of the volume. Physics is a notoriously difficult topic to teach to an audience of students arriving with different backgrounds. The particular strength of this textbook is its accessibility to nonexperts."– L. S. Cahill, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, in CHOICE August 2021 Vol. 58 No. 12