Overview

 

Dr D Wigg
Phone:	+ 61 8 8222 4799
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Unit Secretary: Ms. C Maddeford
Phone:	+ 61 8 8222 4799
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Clinical Radiobiology Overview

The aim of Clinical Radiobiology remains to bridge the gap between the rapidly developing fields of physics, laboratory and clinical radiobiology, mathematics of clinical relevance and clinical practice. 

Bringing together these disparate disciplines is a difficult task because of the wide diversity of knowledge and skills required, but the final pathway is through the clinicians.

Over many years mathematical models of great relevance to radiotherapy have been developed but these have not been extensively used in determining treatment prescriptions. There are many reasons for the division between the cultures of clinicians depending mostly on empirical methods basic scientists and mathematicians working from deductive reasoning and general scientific principles.

It is emphasised that modelling and mathematics are only a part of the requirements, but nowadays an essential and unavoidable part. Richard Feynman’s view that people who wished to analyse nature without using mathematics must settle for a reduced understanding certainly applies now to radiotherapy.

I perceive that one means of bringing these disciplines together was to adapt commercial radiotherapy planning computers to incorporate clinically relevant mathematical models that would predict tissue effects of treatment in a more realistic manner than conventional radiotherapy planning systems that relied on dose distributions alone. 

By 1984 I had developed a Bioeffect Computer Planning System which included a range of biological models this system was called the Adelaide Bioeffect Planning System. The development of this system has been published in several forms including in the Text Book Wigg DR Applied Radiobiology and Bioeffect Planning 2002. Medical Physics Publishing 4513 Vernon Boulevard Madison 53705-4964 Wisconsin USA. The contents and associated mathematical software may be obtained through www.medicalphysics.org. The contributors to this work acknowledged. The book is still selling steadily and over 3,000 companion mathematical CD’s have been distributed. This book was mainly concerned with fractionated treatment rather than continuous irradiation.