ABSTRACT
For the most part the advantage of low dose rate remote afterloaders only comes from the reduction of the radiation exposure to personnel. Some of the units facilitate some increased optimization capabilities compared to manual low dose rate applications, and in some cases use the same sources as with manual loading. The reduction in personnel exposure led to wide use of remote afterloaders throughout Europe, although it never seemed important enough to overcome the price of the units to produce a large market in the United States. While high dose rate brachytherapy units tend to follow very similar designs (however, with important differences in features), the LOR units vary remarkably, and quality considerations almost must address each available unit.
