Treatment planning software and corresponding user interface

• US 20060274885A1
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Published: 12/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accuray Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Accuray Incorporated
• Inventors: Sayan, Neda, Wang, Hongwu, Wang, Bai, Chang, I-Ning, Dooley, John R., West, Jay B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,077,936 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 378/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/103 Treatment planning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/20 relating to practices or guidelines

Abstract

A method and apparatus for treatment planning are described.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

separating a treatment plan into a plurality of tasks; and

displaying two or more of the plurality of tasks in separate user interfaces that are not simultaneously viewable by a user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment plan is a radiation treatment plan.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein information corresponding to one of the plurality of tasks in not displayed in a user interface that corresponds to a different task than the one of the plurality of tasks.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein information and data entry corresponding to a particular task of the plurality of task is only displayed to the user in the user interface corresponding to the particular task.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user is presented with the user interfaces corresponding to the plurality of tasks in a predetermined order.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user is prevented from viewing a user interface of a proceeding task before completing a preceding task of the plurality of tasks.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of tasks has a plurality of steps and wherein the method further comprises:

displaying two or more of the plurality of steps in separate user interfaces that are not simultaneously viewable by a user.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein function, information and data entry corresponding to a particular step of the plurality of steps is only displayed to the user in the interface corresponding to the particular step.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tasks comprises two or more of the following consisting of a load task, a fuse task, an align task, a contour task, a plan task and a visualize task.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tasks comprises a load task and a fuse task.

11. The method of claim 10, where in the load task is displayed to the user prior to the fuse task.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tasks comprises a contour task and a plan task.

13. The method of claim 12, where in the contour task is displayed to the user prior to the plan task.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tasks are separately displayed to the user in the following order of a load task, a fuse task, an align task, a contour task and a plan task.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of tasks is an align tasks with a corresponding user interface for setting a plurality of treatment parameters.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the user interface for setting the plurality of treatment parameters prevents the user from setting a proceeding treatment parameter before setting a preceding parameter of the plurality of treatment parameters.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of treatment parameters comprises a treatment anatomy.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of treatment parameters comprises at least one of a number of stages, a treatment path set, a tracking method, a treatment mode, and a beam on time.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising forcing the user to set a particular enabled treatment parameter before providing the user the ability to set a different one of the plurality of treatment parameters.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of treatment parameters comprises, in order, at least one of a treatment anatomy, a number of stages, a treatment path set, a tracking method, a treatment mode, and a beam on time, and wherein the user is forced to set each of the plurality of treatment parameters in the order listed.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a targeting slider control to enable the user to define a first number of beams aimed at points internal to a target region and a second number of beams aimed at a boundary of the target region.

22. A method, comprising:

optimizing one or more treatment planning parameters to treat a target using an optimization process;

generating output by the optimization process after an iteration of the optimization process; and

updating data displayed to a user based on the output generated by the iteration of the optimization process.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein updating data comprises updating data displayed to the user after one or more additional iterations of the optimization process.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein updating data comprises updating data displayed to the user after each iteration of the optimization process.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the optimization process comprises an iterative algorithm.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the optimization process further comprises a simplex algorithm.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein updating data is performed after completion of the simplex algorithm but before running of the iterative algorithm.

28. The method of claim 22, wherein updating data displayed to the user comprises updating a dose volume histogram.

29. The method of claim 28, where the dose volume histogram is a target dose volume histogram.

30. The method of claim 28, where the dose volume histogram is a critical structure dose volume histogram.

31. The method of claim 22, wherein updating data displayed to the user comprises updating a dose isocontour.

32. The method of claim 22, wherein the pathological anatomy is treated using a plurality of beams and wherein updating data displayed to the user comprises updating a statistic of the plurality of beams.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the statistic comprises a number of the plurality of beams.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the statistic comprises a total monitor units for the plurality of beams.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the statistic comprises a minimum non-zero monitor unit of beams of the plurality of beams.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein the statistic comprises a maximum monitor units for the plurality of beams.

37. The method of claim 22, wherein updating data displayed to the user comprises updating a point constraint value.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the point constraint value is a dose.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the point constraint value is at least one of a position and a percentage.

40. The method of claim 22, wherein the target is a pathological anatomy and wherein the one or more treatment planning parameters comprises a radiation dose delivered to the pathological anatomy.

41. A method, comprising:

fusing a plurality of images, generated using different imaging modalities, onto a common space using a fusion process;

displaying the common space of the fused images to a user during a refinement process; and

updating the display of the common space based on a progression of the refinement process.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the common space is displayed in a three-dimensional space.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the plurality of images comprises a fixed image and a moving image.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the fixed image is a computerized tomography image.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the moving image is a magnetic resonance image.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the moving image is a positron emission tomography image.

47. The method of claim 41, wherein the common space is displayed in a checkerboard mosaic of the plurality of images.

48. The method of claim 41, wherein the common space is displayed in a split diameter mosaic of the plurality of images.

49. The method of claim 41, wherein the common space is displayed in a overlay view of the plurality of images.

50. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

performing at least one of translating or rotating the moving image in any one of three planar views.

51. The method of claim 41, wherein the fusing is based on a transformation of the plurality of images and wherein the method further comprises providing the user an interface to make changes to the transformation.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the interface comprise a displayed boundary around an object in the plurality of images that defines a boundary between a translation and a rotation of the moving image.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein cursor movements by the user in the displayed boundary translate the moving image and cursor movements by the user outside the displayed boundary rotate the moving image.

54. A method, comprising:

defining a center of an imaging modality; and

displaying the center of the imaging modality on an acquired image generated by the imaging modality.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising enabling a user to adjust the center by interacting with the displayed center.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

generating a reference image using the acquired image generated by the imaging modality; and

displaying the center of the imaging modality on the reference image.

57. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

re-displaying the center of the imaging modality on the reference image in response to a change in the displaying of the center on the acquired image.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the acquired image is a computerized tomography image and wherein the reference image is a digitally reconstructed radiography.

59. The method of claim 57, wherein displaying the center comprises displaying a cross-hair icon.

60. The method of claim 57, wherein displaying the center comprises displaying coordinates of the center.

61. A method, comprising:

receiving a plurality of images, generated using different imaging modalities;

fusing the plurality of images onto a common space using a fusion process; and

displaying the common space having the plurality of images together with a graphic of a treatment plan parameter in a single view.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein the treatment plan parameter comprises one or more beam paths.

63. The method of claim 61, wherein the treatment plan parameter is a volume of interest structure.

64. The method of claim 61, wherein the treatment plan parameter is a dose contour.

65. The method of claim 61, wherein the treatment plan parameter is developed using one of the plurality of images.

66. The method of claim 61, further comprising:

generating one or more additional graphics of one or more additional treatment plan parameters;

fusing the one or more additional graphics with the plurality of images onto the common space; and

displaying the one or more additional graphics in the common space.

67. The method of claim 66, wherein the graphic and the one or more additional graphics comprises a beam path, a volume of interest structure and a dose contour.

68. The method of claim 61, wherein displaying comprises performing volume rendering to generate the graphic of the treatment plan parameter.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein the treatment plan parameter comprises one or more beam paths.

70. The method of claim 68, wherein displaying further comprises performing a volume of interest rendering.