Firas Mourtada, MSE, PhD, DABR, presented “Physics of HDR Brachytherapy for Urologists” for the Grand Rounds in Urology audience in September 2023.
How to cite: Mourtada, Firas. “Physics of HDR Brachytherapy for Urologists.” September 2023. Accessed Mar 2026. https://grandroundsinurology.com/physics-of-hdr-brachytherapy-for-urologists/
Physics of HDR Brachytherapy for Urologists – Summary
Firas Mourtada, MSE, PhD, DABR, discusses the physics of high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy in this talk sponsored by the American Brachytherapy Society (ABS). Dr. Mourtada enumerates prostate cancer treatment options before identifying HDR brachytherapy as the ultimate approach for dose escalation, asserting that with image guidance, HDR for prostate can be implemented safely and result in an increase in biochemical disease-free survival.
Dr. Mourtada describes the advantages of HDR brachytherapy technology and illustrates how brachytherapy delivers high dose within the prostate, with less dose to surrounding normal tissue. He enumerates advantages such as bringing the source close to the target, using inverse-planning, and the potential for high-efficacy combined with lower-risk of toxicity or secondary malignancy.
Dr. Mourtada reviews common radionuclides in brachytherapy before defining HDR and addressing methodology, workflow, and equipment involved in using transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) for prostate brachytherapy. He explains the feedback loop and illustrates the iterative contouring and reconstruction of the gland that takes place during this workflow and the optimization settings involved.
Dr. Mourtada turns to radiation safety, emphasizing the importance of time, distance, and shielding and citing regulatory radiation safety programs, ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable,) and QMP (Quality Management Program.) He reviews radiation terminology and emphasizes the importance of radiation dosimeters and required radiation area signs.
Dr. Mourtada then concludes that prostate HDR with real-time image guidance provides high-quality implants with an efficient process using inverse planning, HDR radiation exposure is minimal due to the afterloading technology and ALARA controls, and quality management steps are essential to providing high-quality HDR implants.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Firas Mourtada, MSE, PhD, DABR, is the Enterprise Clinical Director of Medical Physics, and Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology with Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Mourtada’s research and clinical interests include brachytherapy, image-guided radiotherapy, radiation transport methods (Monte Carlo and deterministic), molecular imaging, and targeted radiation therapy.
Dr. Mourtada earned his MSE in Biomedical Engineering and a PhD in Radiation Health from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Dr. Mourtada serves as chief of clinical physics at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center. His research at ChristianaCare includes a National Institutes of Health-funded grant to investigate a novel dose calculation method for treatment planning of targeted radionuclide therapy. Dr. Mourtada has over 140 publications, and is board certified in Radiation Therapy Physics by the American Board of Medical Physics.
