| Summary: | Prior to the virtual atomic explosion of medical knowledge, at a time when communica tion was very much slower, a medical book, to be authoritative and believable, had to be written by a very knowledgable, and, per force, usually quite senior person. The choice of texts was limited and tended to be dominated by a few "classic" (a phrase not quite synonymous with dogma). Following the information explosion, the scenario is quite different. Not only is there a geometric progression in the quantity and speed of devel opment of new medical knowledge, but also this development is occurring at very dif ferent rates in different countries. This is particularly true in medical imaging. The result is that it is now virtually impossible to produce a "single author" book that can cover the field or even a subdivi sion of it. This absolute requirement for multiple authors has in turn created the need for a new type of editor/author who must be multinational in approach, have a uniquely informed appreciation of what is going on in medical imaging research throughout the entire world and possess the depth of personal knowledge and experience to judge cor rectly what work is the most rigorous and likely to have the greatest impact
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