title: Anniversary paper: past and current issues, and trends in brachytherapy physics.
abstract: Brachytherapy began at the turn of the 20th century, contemporary with external-beam radiotherapy. Physicists and physicians together developed the field. There has not been a period since the beginning that has not witnessed innovations and progress in brachytherapy. At the time of this article, the pace of change in the field has never been more rapid, particularly in image-guided brachytherapy and the development of unconventional sources and treatment techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53705, USA. Thomadsen@humon.wisc.edu
authors.forename: Bruce R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Thomadsen
authors.forename: Jeffrey F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rivard
authors.forename: Ali S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Meigooni
mesh_terms: D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000266:history / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D005544:Forecasting; D006283:Health Physics / Q000266:history / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century