Patient alignment system with external measurement and object coordination for radiation therapy system
First Claim
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1. A radiation therapy delivery system comprising:
- a gantry;
a patient fixation device configured to secure a patient with respect to the patient fixation device;
a patient positioner interconnected to the patient fixation device so as to position the patient fixation device along translational and rotational axes within the gantry;
a radiation therapy nozzle interconnected to the gantry and selectively delivering radiation therapy along a beam axis;
a plurality of external measurement devices which obtain position measurements of at least the patient fixation device and the nozzle; and
a controller which receives the position measurements of at least the patient fixation device and the nozzle and provides control signals to the patient positioner to position the patient in a desired orientation with respect to the beam axis.
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Abstract
A patient alignment system for a radiation therapy system. The alignment system includes multiple external measurement devices which obtain position measurements of components of the radiation therapy system which are movable and/or are subject to flex or other positional variations. The alignment system employs the external measurements to provide corrective positioning feedback to more precisely register the patient and align them with a radiation beam. The alignment system can be provided as an integral part of a radiation therapy system or can be added as an upgrade to existing radiation therapy systems.
136 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A radiation therapy delivery system comprising:
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a gantry;
a patient fixation device configured to secure a patient with respect to the patient fixation device;
a patient positioner interconnected to the patient fixation device so as to position the patient fixation device along translational and rotational axes within the gantry;
a radiation therapy nozzle interconnected to the gantry and selectively delivering radiation therapy along a beam axis;
a plurality of external measurement devices which obtain position measurements of at least the patient fixation device and the nozzle; and
a controller which receives the position measurements of at least the patient fixation device and the nozzle and provides control signals to the patient positioner to position the patient in a desired orientation with respect to the beam axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A patient positioning system for a radiation therapy system having a plurality of components that are subject to movement, the positioning system comprising:
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a plurality of external measurement devices arranged to obtain position measurements of the plurality of components so as to provide location information;
a movable patient support configured to support a patient substantially fixed in position with respect to the patient support and controllably position the patient in multiple translational and rotational axes; and
a controller receiving information from the plurality of external measurement devices and providing movement commands to the movable patient support to align the patient in a desired pose such that the positioning system compensates for movement of the plurality of components. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of registering and positioning a patient for delivery of therapy with a system having a plurality of components subject to movement, the method comprising the steps of:
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positioning a patient in an initial treatment pose with a controllable patient positioner;
externally measuring the location of selected points of the plurality of components;
determining a difference vector between the observed initial patient pose and a desired patient pose; and
providing movement commands to the patient positioner to bring the patient to the desired patient pose. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A positioning system for use with a radiation treatment facility wherein the radiation treatment facility has a plurality of components that includes a source of particles and a nozzle from which the particles are emitted, wherein the nozzle is movable with respect to the patient to facilitate delivery of the particles to a selected region of the patient via a plurality of different paths, the positioning system comprising:
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a patient positioner that receives the patient wherein the patient positioner is movable so as to orient the patient with respect to the nozzle to facilitate delivery of the particles in the selected region of the patient;
a monitoring system that images at least one component of the radiation treatment facility in proximity to the patient positioner, wherein the monitoring system develops a treatment image indicative of the orientation of the at least one component with respect to the patient prior to treatment; and
a control system that controls delivery of particles to the patient wherein the control system receives signals indicative of the treatment to be performed, the signals including a desired orientation of the at least one component when the particles are to be delivered to the patient, wherein the control system further receives the treatment image and the control system evaluates the treatment image to determine an actual orientation of the at least one component prior to treatment and wherein the control system compares the actual orientation of the at least one component prior to treatment to the desired orientation of the at least one component and, if the actual orientation does not meet a pre-determined criteria for correspondence with the desired orientation, the control system sends signals to the patient positioner to move the patient positioner such that the actual orientation more closely corresponds to the desired orientation during delivery of the particles. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification