The British Journal of Radiology, 85 (2012), 290
Book review
Physics for diagnostic radiology. 3rd edition. Dendy been updated. In particular, there is a summary at the
PP, Heaton B (editors). London: CRC Press; 2011. 720 beginning of each chapter to indicate the key learning
pp. £49.99 points. There are also additional notes in the form of
ISBN 9781420083156 insight sections which cover the more technical points
of the subject. Another change is that the number of
This is the third edition of a well-established textbook contributors to the textbook has increased.
on the physics of medical imaging which was first The main reason why this textbook has been so
published in 1987. Over the intervening years, the popular over the years is that the science and technology
textbook has been revised to keep up with the develop- of diagnostic imaging has always been described in a
ments in imaging technology. In this third edition there manner which the typical trainee radiologist, radio-
has been a major revision which includes new material on grapher or medical physicist could easily understand.
digital detectors and the differences between analogue This edition remains true to that ethos. For example, the
and digital imaging. The chapter on CT has been updated chapter on digital image storage and handling by Geoff
to include recent developments such as multislice CT, Cusick covers difficult-to-understand techniques such as
three-dimensional resolution, the application of dual sampling and aliasing. The figures illustrating bit depth
energy CT scanning and cone beam CT. The chapters on complement the text and bring the subject alive. The
radiographical imaging have been extended to include, other new sections are also written in the same style.
among other topics, subtraction techniques and in- In summary, this is the third edition of a textbook on
terventional radiology. Nuclear medicine benefits from the science and technology of diagnostic radiology,
a new chapter on positron emission tomography (PET) which has served numerous trainee radiologists, radio-
including multimodal imaging (e.g. PET/CT). The impact graphers and medical physicists well over the years. It is
of European legislation and new developments in radia- written in a clear and concise style and covers the basic
tion protection have been included as well as an ex- subject of physics in diagnostic radiology and the recent
tended treatment of radiation doses and risks. Finally, technological advances. It is recognised by the Inter-
there is a new chapter on the handling of digital image national Organisation for Medical Physics as part of
data in radiology departments which includes picture an official book series. The textbook can be recom-
archiving and communication systems, teleradiology, mended to trainee medical physicists, radiographers and
computer networks and the archiving/storage of digital radiologists.
images. K FAULKNER
Readers of the previous editions of this book will North East Strategic Health Authority
recognise that the layout of the educational material has DOI: 10.1259/bir/89098047
290 The British Journal of Radiology, March 2012
