Sign on

SAO/NASA ADS Physics Abstract Service

· Find Similar Abstracts (with default settings below)
· Electronic Refereed Journal Article (HTML)
· References in the article
· Citations to the Article (8) (Citation History)
· Refereed Citations to the Article
· Also-Read Articles (Reads History)
·
· Translate This Page
Title:
REVIEW: Back to the future: the history and development of the clinical linear accelerator
Authors:
Thwaites, David I.; Tuohy, John B.
Affiliation:
AA(Radiotherapy Physics, Medical Physics and Engineering, Cookridge Hospital and University of Leeds, Leeds LS16 6QB, UK), AB(Radiotherapy Physics, Medical Physics and Engineering, Cookridge Hospital and University of Leeds, Leeds LS16 6QB, UK)
Publication:
Physics in Medicine and Biology, Volume 51, Issue 13, pp. R343-R362 (2006).
Publication Date:
07/2006
Origin:
IOP
DOI:
10.1088/0031-9155/51/13/R20
Bibliographic Code:
2006PMB....51R.343T

Abstract

The linear accelerator (linac) is the accepted workhorse in radiotherapy in 2006. The first medical linac treated its first patient, in London, in 1953, so the use of these machines in clinical practice has been almost co-existent with the lifetime of Physics in Medicine and Biology. This review is a personal selection of things the authors feel are interesting in the history, particularly the early history, and development of clinical linacs. A brief look into the future is also given. One significant theme throughout is the continuity of ideas, building on previous experience. We hope the review might re-connect younger radiotherapy physicists in particular with some of the history and emphasize the continual need, in any human activity, to remain aware of the past, in order to make best use of past experience when taking decisions in the present.
Bibtex entry for this abstract   Preferred format for this abstract (see Preferences)

Find Similar Abstracts:

Use: Authors
Title
Abstract Text
Return: Query Results Return    items starting with number
Query Form
Database: Astronomy
Physics
arXiv e-prints