Fiducial marker/cancer imaging and treatment apparatus and method of use thereof
First Claim
1. A method for determining a position of a tumor in a patient for treatment of the tumor using positively charged particles in a treatment room, comprising the steps of:
- providing a set of fiducial indicators, comprising;
a set of fiducial markers, a first fiducial marker of said set of fiducial markers mechanically affixed to a first object of a set of objects in the treatment room, a second fiducial marker of said set of fiducial markers affixed to a second object of said set of objects; and
a set of fiducial detectors configured to detect photons from said set of fiducial markers, wherein at least one reference element of a union of said set of fiducial markers and said set of fiducial detectors comprises a mechanical connection to an element of said set of objects;
using a known position of the reference element of said set of objects in establishing a reference line;
determining relative positions, using a controller, of each object in the treatment room relative to the reference line using all of said reference element, said set of fiducial markers, and said set of fiducial detectors;
targeting the tumor of the patient with the positively charged particles using the determined relative positions of each object in the treatment room; and
connecting a synchrotron to an exit nozzle with a first beamline, said reference line defined relative to a zero-vector path of the positively charged particles passing through said exit nozzle absent electromagnetic steering in said exit nozzle.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention comprises a fiducial marker—fiducial detector based treatment room position determination/positioning system apparatus and method of use thereof. A set of fiducial markers and fiducial detectors are used to mark/determine relative position of static and/or moveable objects in a treatment room using photons passing from the markers to the detectors. Further, position and orientation of at least one of the objects is calibrated to a reference line, such as a zero-offset beam treatment line passing through an exit nozzle, which yields a relative position of each fiducially marked object in the treatment room. Treatment calculations are subsequently determined using the reference line and/or points thereon. The treatment calculations are optionally and preferably performed without use of an isocenter point, such as a central point about which a treatment room gantry rotates, which eliminates mechanical errors associated with the isocenter point being an isocenter volume in practice.
383 Citations
17 Claims
-
1. A method for determining a position of a tumor in a patient for treatment of the tumor using positively charged particles in a treatment room, comprising the steps of:
-
providing a set of fiducial indicators, comprising; a set of fiducial markers, a first fiducial marker of said set of fiducial markers mechanically affixed to a first object of a set of objects in the treatment room, a second fiducial marker of said set of fiducial markers affixed to a second object of said set of objects; and a set of fiducial detectors configured to detect photons from said set of fiducial markers, wherein at least one reference element of a union of said set of fiducial markers and said set of fiducial detectors comprises a mechanical connection to an element of said set of objects; using a known position of the reference element of said set of objects in establishing a reference line; determining relative positions, using a controller, of each object in the treatment room relative to the reference line using all of said reference element, said set of fiducial markers, and said set of fiducial detectors; targeting the tumor of the patient with the positively charged particles using the determined relative positions of each object in the treatment room; and connecting a synchrotron to an exit nozzle with a first beamline, said reference line defined relative to a zero-vector path of the positively charged particles passing through said exit nozzle absent electromagnetic steering in said exit nozzle. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
2. A method for determining a position of a tumor in a patient for treatment of the tumor using positively charged particles in a treatment room, comprising the steps of:
-
providing a set of fiducial indicators, comprising; a set of fiducial markers, a first fiducial marker of said set of fiducial markers mechanically affixed to a first object of a set of objects in the treatment room, a second fiducial marker of said set of fiducial markers affixed to a second object of said set of objects; and a set of fiducial detectors configured to detect photons from said set of fiducial markers, wherein at least one reference element of a union of said set of fiducial markers and said set of fiducial detectors comprises a mechanical connection to an element of said set of objects; using a known position of the reference element of said set of objects in establishing a reference line; determining relative positions, using a controller, of each object in the treatment room relative to the reference line using all of said reference element, said set of fiducial markers, and said set of fiducial detectors; targeting the tumor of the patient with the positively charged particles using the determined relative positions of each object in the treatment room; and calibrating position of at least two fiducial detectors of said set of fiducial detectors to a zero vector of a treatment beam, said treatment beam comprising the positively charge particles, wherein the zero vector passes through an exit nozzle in the absence of electromagnetic steering of the treatment beam in said exit nozzle, said exit nozzle comprising at least one steering magnet.
-
-
15. An apparatus for determining a position of a tumor in a patient for treatment of the tumor using positively charged particles in a treatment room, comprising:
-
a set of fiducial indicators, comprising; a set of fiducial markers, a first fiducial marker of said set of fiducial markers mechanically affixed to a first object of a set of objects in the treatment room, a second fiducial marker of said set of fiducial markers affixed to a second object of said set of objects; and a set of fiducial detectors configured to detect photons from said set of fiducial markers, wherein a least one reference element of a union of said set of fiducial markers and said set of fiducial detectors comprises a mechanical connection to a reference element of said set of objects, a known position of said reference element used to establish a reference line during use; a controller configured to determine relative positions of each object in the treatment room relative to the reference line using all of said reference element, said set of fiducial markers, and said set of fiducial detectors, said controller configured to target the tumor of the patient with the positively charged particles using the determined relative positions of each object in the treatment room; and a synchrotron connected to an exit nozzle via a first beamline, said reference line defined relative to a zero-vector path of the positively charged particles through said exit nozzle absent electromagnetic steering in said exit nozzle. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
-
Specification