ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to portray the essential elements comprehended by the term “thermal dosimetry”. The thermal dosimetry is viewed somewhat differently by individuals within the various disciplinary constituencies engaged in the development and application of hyperthermia in cancer therapy. These different views of thermal dosimetry, clinical requirements deriving from the various stages in the medical care process. The state of technology for determining threedimensional anatomical, power deposition, and temperature field mapping are portrayed in as a three–dimensional schematization of thermal dosimetry. The goal of thermal dosimetry is determination of a tissue thermal dose distribution which serves as an accurate predictor of clinical response. The four stages faced by the therapist throughout the course of a patient’s treatment were first articulated by Roemer as comparative, prospective, concurrent, and retrospective thermal dosimetry. There is a great deal of work that needs to be done in the field of thermal dosimetry as represented by the 40–element schematization.
