Four-dimensional volume of interest

• US 20060274061A1
• Filed: 06/02/2005
• Published: 12/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accuray Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Accuray Incorporated
• Inventors: Wang, Hongwu, Dooley, John R., West, Jay B.
• Granted Patent: US 7,352,370 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/420
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/103 Treatment planning systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1037 taking into account the movement of the target, e.g. 4D-image based planning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/08 Volume rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10076 4D tomography; Time-sequential 3D tomography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30096 Tumor; Lesion
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51

Abstract

A method and apparatus for a four-dimensional volume of interest is described.

Claims

1. A volume of interest (VOI) architecture comprising a fourth dimension, where the fourth dimension is a time dimension.

2. The VOI architecture of claim 1, further comprising:

first, second and third dimensions comprising three space dimensions within an image space.

3. The VOI architecture of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of VOIs, wherein each of the plurality of VOIs is a three-dimensional VOI representing a given point in time.

4. The VOI architecture of claim 3, wherein the three-dimensional VOI comprises three space dimensions within an image space.

5. A method, comprising:

generating a first VOI including a target at a first point in time;

generating a second VOI including the target at a second point in time;

registering the first VOI with the second VOI; and

interpolating a third VOI including the target at a third point in time based on the registering of the first VOI with the second VOI, the third point in time being between the first and second points in time.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising generating a visualization of the third VOI.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein generating the visualization comprises rendering a mask volume of the third VOI.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein rendering comprises volume rendering.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein rendering comprises direct rendering of a three-dimensional geometrical structure of the third VOI.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving a first image having the target at the first point in time; and

receiving a second image having the target at the second point in time.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising refining the third VOI.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein refining comprises a model-based refinement.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the third VOI is changed with respect to at least one of the first and second VOIs.

14. The method of claim 5, wherein the target at the first time point is changed with respect to the target at the second time point based on motion adjacent the target.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the motion comprises a periodic motion characterized by a cycle.

16. The method of claim 6, wherein the first and second images are acquired in an anatomical imaging modality.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the anatomical imaging modality is computed tomography.

18. An article of manufacture, comprising a machine-accessible medium including data that, when accessed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

generating a first VOI including a target at a first point in time;

generating a second VOI including the target at a second point in time;

registering the first VOI with the second VOI; and

interpolating a third VOI including the target at a third point in time based on the registering, the third point in time being between the first and second points in time.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform the following comprising generating a visualization of the third VOI.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform the following comprising refining the third VOI.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein generating the visualization comprises rendering a mask volume of the third VOI.

22. An apparatus, comprising:

a storage device to store first and second images; and

a processor coupled to the storage device to receive the first and second images, the processor to generate a first VOI including a target at a first point in time and a second VOI including the target at a second point in time, the processor further to register the first VOI with the second VOI and interpolate a third VOI including the target at a third point in time based on the registering, the third point in time being between the first and second points in time.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the processor is further configured to generate a visualization of the third VOI.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the processor is further configured to refine the third VOI.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the processor is further configured to render a mask volume of the third VOI.

26. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising an imager coupled to the storage device, the imager to generate the first and second images.

27. A method of tracking a changing target within an anatomical region to deliver radiation to the target during motion of the anatomical region, the method, comprising:

determining, at a time of treatment planning, a plurality of locations of the target over time using a four-dimensional volume of interest (VOI) having a fourth dimension being a time dimension; and

determining, at a time of treatment planning using the four-dimensional VOI, one or more radiation beam trajectories to be delivered to the target within the moving anatomical region at a time of treatment delivery.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein determining comprises performing at least one of enabling and disabling of the one or more radiation beams depending whether the one or more radiation beams intersect the target at the plurality of locations of the target determined using the four-dimensional VOI.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising generating a four-dimensional mask volume using the four-dimensional VOI, and wherein determining is performed using the four-dimensional mask volume.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein determining comprises:

setting a bit in the four-dimensional mask volume to have a value indicating that a corresponding voxel is part of the target at a point in time; and

setting a beam, which is to intersect the voxel at the point in time, to have a zero weight.

31. The method of claim 28, further comprising generating the four-dimensional VOI, wherein generating comprises:

generating a first VOI including the target at a first point in time;

generating a second VOI including the target at a second point in time;

registering the first VOI with the second VOI; and

interpolating a third VOI including the target at a third point in time based on the registering of the first VOI with the second VOI, the third point in time being between the first and second points in time.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the target at the first time point is changed with respect to the target at the second time point based on the motion of the anatomical region.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the motion comprises a periodic motion characterized by a cycle.

34. An apparatus, comprising:

means for directly interpolating between a first contour of a first volume of interest (VOI) and a second contour of a second VOI using one or more points on the first and second contours; and

means for generating an intermediate contour of an intermediate VOI based on the interpolating.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising means for generating a visualization of the intermediate VOI.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising means for refining the third

37. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the means for directly interpolating comprises a four-dimensional VOI having a fourth dimension being a time dimension, and wherein the apparatus further comprises:

means for determining, at a time of treatment planning, a plurality of locations of a target over time using the four-dimensional volume of interest (VOI); and

means for determining, at a time of treatment planning using the four-dimensional VOI, one or more radiation beam trajectories to be delivered to the target within the moving anatomical region at a time of treatment delivery.