Particle Therapy

• US 20080267349A1
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Rietzel, Eike
• Application Number:
  US12/092,771
• Publication Number:
  US 20080267349A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 378/44
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1061 using an x-ray imaging system having a separate imaging source
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1087 Ions; Protons
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1043 Scanning the radiation beam, e.g. spot scanning or raster scanning
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1049 for verifying the position of the patient with respect to the radiation beam
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1064 for adjusting radiation treatment in response to monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1067 in real time, i.e. during treatment
• CPC Class Codes: G21K 5/04 with beam-forming means

Abstract

A particle therapy facility has a particle accelerator, a therapy control system and at least one treatment room, where the particle accelerator accelerates particles and supplies them to the treatment room via an adaptation unit in order to irradiate a volume which is to be irradiated in a patient, and where the treatment room has a patient positioning device for positioning the patient relative to a scan area of the adaptation unit and at least one fluoroscopy system for continuously obtaining fluoroscopic image data from the patient in an area around the scan area, and where the therapy control system is designed for online evaluation of the fluoroscopic image data for movement of the volume which is to be irradiated and/or of the adjoining tissue and/or organs arranged around it and/or markers implanted in the patient which are depicted in the fluoroscopic images, and for output of a control signal for the adaptation unit which (control signal) adapts a particle beam direction and/or a particle energy to the movement, and/or for output of the control signal for a beam interruption unit for irradiating the volume which is to be irradiated on the basis of movement states.

Claims

1. A particle therapy system, comprising:

a treatment room including a patient positioning device for positioning a patient relative to a scan area of a adaptation unit and at least one fluoroscopy system for continuously obtaining fluoroscopic image data from the patient in an area around the scan area;

a particle accelerator that accelerates particles and supplies them to the treatment room via the adaptation unit to irradiate a volume in the patient; and

a therapy control system that is operable to evaluate the fluoroscopic image data with respect to movement of the volume, the adjoining tissue, organs arranged around the volume, markers implanted in the patient which are depicted in the fluoroscopic images, or a combination thereof; and

operable to output a control signal for the adaptation unit, the control signal adapting a particle beam direction and/or a particle energy with respect to the movement, and operable to output a control signal for a beam interruption unit for irradiating the volume on the basis of movement states.

2. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluoroscopy system comprises at least two image series producing units, wherein at least two image series are arranged at an angle of greater than 45°

relative to each other.

3. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adaptation unit has deflecting magnets of a raster scan device, a particle energy adaptation unit, or the combination thereof, particularly based on a wedge system that can be introduced into the particle beam, which are able to be actuated by the therapy control center in order to react to detected movements.

4. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the particles of the particle beam are protons.

5. The particle therapy system as claimed in one claim 1, wherein the particles of the particle beam are pions, helium ions, carbon ions, or oxygen ions.

16. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluoroscopic images are evaluated online.

17. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least two image series are arranged at an angle of close to 90°

to each other.

6. A particle therapy system, comprising:

a particle accelerator that accelerates particles and supplies them to a treatment room via an adaptation unit in order to irradiate a volume in a patient, the treatment room comprising;

a patient positioning device for positioning the patient relative to a scan area of the adaptation unit and at least one fluoroscopy system for continuously obtaining fluoroscopic image data from the patient in an area around the scan area; and

a therapy control system is operable for online evaluation of the fluoroscopic image data with respect to movement of the volume, the adjoining tissues, organs arranged around it the volume, markers implanted in the patient that are depicted in the fluoroscopic images, or any combination thereof, and is operable for output of a control signal for a beam interruption unit for irradiating the volume on the basis of movement states.

7. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the fluoroscopy system comprises at least two image series producing units, wherein at least two image series are arranged at an angle of greater 45°

relative to each other.

8. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the adaptation unit has deflecting magnets of a raster scan device and/or a particle energy adaptation unit, on the adaptation unit being a wedge system that can be introduced into the particle beam, which are able to be actuated by the therapy control center in order to react to detected movements.

9. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the particles of the particle beam are protons.

10. The particle therapy facility as claimed in claim 6, wherein the particles of the particle beam are pions, helium ions, carbon ions or oxygen ions.

18. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the at least two image series are arranged at an angle of close to 90°

to each other.

11. A particle therapy system, comprising:

a particle accelerator, a therapy control system and at least one treatment room,

wherein the particle accelerator accelerates particles and supplies them to the treatment room via an adaptation unit in order to irradiate a volume that is to be irradiated in a patient,

wherein the treatment room has a patient positioning device that is operable to position the patient relative to a scan area of the adaptation unit and at least one fluoroscopy system for continuously obtaining fluoroscopic image data from the patient in an area around the scan area, and

wherein the therapy control system is operable for online evaluation of the fluoroscopic image data with respect to movement of the volume which is to be irradiated, and of the adjoining tissue, organs arranged around the volume, markers implanted in the patient which are depicted in the fluoroscopic images, or any combination thereof, and for output of a control signal for the adaptation unit, the control signal adapting a particle beam direction and/or a particle energy with respect to the movement.

12. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the fluoroscopy system comprises at least two image series producing units, wherein at least two image series are arranged at an angle of greater than 45 to each other.

13. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the adaptation unit has deflecting magnets of a raster scan device and/or a particle energy adaptation unit, particularly based on a wedge system which can be introduced into the particle beam, which are able to be actuated by the therapy control center in order to react to detected movements.

14. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the particles of the particle beam are protons.

15. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the particles of the particle beam are pions, helium ions, carbon ions or oxygen ions.

19. The particle therapy system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least two image series are arranged at an angle of close to 90°

to each other.