Medical aspects of quality assurance in brachytherapy.

Brachytherapy is a special treatment method which should be performed by experienced teams. The indication of a brachytherapy treatment should follow national and international standards, which are usually result of consensus meetings. Treatment planning requires the definition of various volumes. Different imaging methods take an important place in target delineation and assessment of critical volumes through significantly influencing the quality of a treatment plan. There are also differences between diagnostic imaging and imaging for external beam treatments as well as for brachytherapy treatment. Different levels of brachytherapy treatment planning and an overview of medical decisions having an impact on brachytherapy quality are discussed.