Treatment-Speed Regulated Tumor-Tracking
First Claim
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1. A method for delivering therapeutic radiation during a radiation treatment procedure to a tumor moving within a patient due to physiological activity of said patient, comprising:
- in a preliminary procedure, monitoring motion of said tumor in location and shape over a time period corresponding to said radiation treatment procedure, generating a surrogate signal representing said motion of said tumor, and recording said signal in a recording device to provide an estimated surrogate signal;
determining a radiation therapy plan for the patient, wherein the radiation therapy plan defines a planned sequence of varying parameters of a radiation beam to track the tumor motion and a planned rate of execution of said sequence of parameters;
configuring a radiation therapy device to deliver radiation in accordance with the radiation therapy plan;
positioning the patient within said radiation therapy device;
activating the radiation therapy device to perform said planned sequence of parameters of said radiation beam;
monitoring tumor motion during said radiation therapy procedure to provide a treatment surrogate signal;
determining the difference between said estimated surrogate signal and said treatment surrogate signal; and
regulating the speed of said radiation treatment procedure by varying the rate of execution of said sequence of radiation beam parameters in accordance with said difference between said estimated surrogate signal and said treatment surrogate signal.
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Abstract
A method for delivering therapeutic radiation during a radiation treatment procedure to a tumor moving within a patient due to physiological activity of the patient includes:
- in a preliminary procedure, monitoring motion of the tumor to generating and record a surrogate signal representing the tumor motion;
- determining a radiation therapy plan for the patient including a planned sequence of varying parameters of a radiation beam to track the tumor motion and a planned rate of execution of the planned sequence;
- configuring a radiation therapy device to deliver radiation in accordance with the radiation therapy plan, positioning the patient within the device, and activating the device to perform the planned sequence;
- monitoring tumor motion during the procedure to provide a treatment surrogate signal;
- determining the difference between the estimated and treatment surrogate signals; and
regulating the speed of the radiation treatment procedure by varying the rate of execution of the sequence of beam parameters in accordance with the difference between the estimated and treatment surrogate signals.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for delivering therapeutic radiation during a radiation treatment procedure to a tumor moving within a patient due to physiological activity of said patient, comprising:
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in a preliminary procedure, monitoring motion of said tumor in location and shape over a time period corresponding to said radiation treatment procedure, generating a surrogate signal representing said motion of said tumor, and recording said signal in a recording device to provide an estimated surrogate signal; determining a radiation therapy plan for the patient, wherein the radiation therapy plan defines a planned sequence of varying parameters of a radiation beam to track the tumor motion and a planned rate of execution of said sequence of parameters; configuring a radiation therapy device to deliver radiation in accordance with the radiation therapy plan; positioning the patient within said radiation therapy device; activating the radiation therapy device to perform said planned sequence of parameters of said radiation beam; monitoring tumor motion during said radiation therapy procedure to provide a treatment surrogate signal; determining the difference between said estimated surrogate signal and said treatment surrogate signal; and regulating the speed of said radiation treatment procedure by varying the rate of execution of said sequence of radiation beam parameters in accordance with said difference between said estimated surrogate signal and said treatment surrogate signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for regulating the speed of radiation therapy treatment delivered to a patient by a radiation therapy device, comprising:
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a detection mechanism for obtaining the time course of tumor motion (shape and location change) and its correlation with a measurable surrogate, typically a physical signal associated with breathing or the location of implanted markers in the tumor, for a patient in need of radiation therapy; a determining mechanism for determining a radiation therapy plan for the patient, the radiation therapy plan including a target location that varies in accordance with the estimated breathing pattern; a configuring mechanism for configuring the radiation therapy device to deliver radiation in accordance with the radiation therapy plan; an activating mechanism for activating the radiation therapy device; a monitoring mechanism for monitoring an actual breathing pattern of the patient during delivery of radiation; a second determining mechanism for determining a difference between the estimated breathing pattern and the actual breathing pattern of the patient; and a regulating mechanism for regulating a treatment speed of the radiation therapy device in accordance with the difference. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification