Don Lawrence and the “k-capture” revolution

Abstract 

Purpose

The practice of brachytherapy was in steep decline in the mid-20th century, largely because of safety issues. This article explores the innovations that revitalized brachytherapy with special attention to the introduction of low-energy seeds for permanent implantation.

Methods and Materials

Literature review; interviews; and the memos, records, and correspondence of Donald C. Lawrence.

Results

Paul Harper first proposed the use of radionuclides that decay by k-capture in the 1950s. But it was the vision and tenacity of health physicist Donald Lawrence that led to the successful implementation of I-125 (in the 1960s) and Cs-131 (40 years later).

Keywords: Brachytherapy, Iodine, Radioiodine, Gold, Iridium, Radon, Radiogold, Palladium, Cesium, Seeds, Donald Lawrence, Ulrich Henschke, History of medicine