Biological, Physical and Clinical Aspects of Hyperthermia

While the establishment of hyperthermia as a routine therapy awaits the results of ongoing controlled clinical trials, the advancement in biological sciences, physics and engineering, clinical physics and dosimetry, as well as clinical implementation continues to make advances. A first attempt to document these advances was made by Dr. Gilbert H. Nussbaum in the Medical Physics Monograph No. 8 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, published by the American Institute of Physics in 1982. This monograph is an extension of the above work. The material is divided into six catagories: Hyperthermia Biology, Physics and Engineering, Clinical Physics, Dosimetry and Modeling, Analysis of Clinical Results, and Quality Assurance. There are numerous methods of inducing hyperthermia and there are also equally numerous clinical strategies as expected in an experimental modality. A conscious effort has been made to document the basic information and thus provide an objective learning tool. The material contained herein will be of interest to biologists, physicists, engineers, and physicians who are actively involved in the field of hyperthermia, as well as to those who are anxious to learn about this new field. Some sections provide extremely practical information needed in the routine delivery of treatments and, therefore, will be of benefit to nurses and technologists. We also believe that this material provides insight and guidance for future research.