ABSTRACT
Brachytherapy developed largely through the use of sealed radium and radon sources.
In the 1950s, alternative artificially produced nuclides became available, and gradually
radium and radon were replaced with
Cs,
Ir,
Co,
Au, and
I sources (Trott
1987; Godden 1988). Although radium and radon are no longer used, many of the techniques
that are used currently are based on the clinical experience gained with those sources over more
than sixty years. Table M.4 in Part M gives data for a number of brachytherapy sources in
current use.
