title: Current state of the art brachytherapy treatment planning dosimetry algorithms.
abstract: Following literature contributions delineating the deficiencies introduced by the approximations of conventional brachytherapy dosimetry, different model-based dosimetry algorithms have been incorporated into commercial systems for (192)Ir brachytherapy treatment planning. The calculation settings of these algorithms are pre-configured according to criteria established by their developers for optimizing computation speed vs accuracy. Their clinical use is hence straightforward. A basic understanding of these algorithms and their limitations is essential, however, for commissioning; detecting differences from conventional algorithms; explaining their origin; assessing their impact; and maintaining global uniformity of clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics Laboratory, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Papagiannis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pantelis
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karaiskos
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D011874:Radiometry; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted