COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY EXAMINATION AND PARTICLE THERAPY TREATMENT

• US 20110051891A1
• Filed: 08/31/2009
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Analogic Corporation
• Original Assignee: Analogic Corporation
• Inventors: Shaughnessy, Charles, O'Connor, John P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,462,912 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 378/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/04 Positioning of patients; Tiltable beds or the like operating tables A61G13/00; operating chairs A61G15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/0478 Chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/12 Arrangements for detecting or locating foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4092 for producing synchrotron radiation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4429 related to the mounting of source units and detector units
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/547 involving tracking of position of the device or parts of the device
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1061 using an x-ray imaging system having a separate imaging source
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1063 maintaining the position when the patient is moved from an imaging to a therapy system
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1087 Ions; Protons
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1049 for verifying the position of the patient with respect to the radiation beam
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1078 Fixed beam systems

Abstract

An operation room may comprise both an object scanning apparatus for examining an object using x-ray radiation and an irradiation component for treating an object using particle radiation. A support article upon which the object may reside during (both) the examination and treatment may be configured to rotate about an axis substantially perpendicular to a plane through which x-ray radiation travels, may be configured to tilt with respect to the axis, and/or may be configured to yaw with respect to the axis. In this way, the relative orientation of the support article and the object remain substantially constant during the examination and treatment to facilitate treating a desired area of the object.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

an x-ray component configured to emit x-ray radiation onto an object; and

an irradiation component configured to emit particle radiation onto the object.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising a support article configured to support the object.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the support article is configured to support the object when both the x-ray radiation and the particle radiation are emitted onto the object.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein a relative orientation of the support article and the object remain substantially constant when both the x-ray radiation and the particle radiation are emitted onto the object.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the support article is in a first orientation with respect to the irradiation component when the x-ray radiation is emitted onto the object and in a second orientation with respect to the irradiation component when the particle radiation is emitted onto the object, the first orientation different from the second orientation.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a first plane passes through the support article when the support article is in the first orientation, a second plane passes through the support article when the support article is in the second orientation, the first plane different from the second plane, and the x-ray radiation is emitted in a third plane that is substantially parallel to the first and second planes.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the support article is configured to rotate about a first axis laying in a first plane substantially perpendicular to a second plane along which x-ray radiation travels.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the emitted particle radiation passes through a third plane, the second plane and third plane being substantially coextensive.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the support article is configured for translation along the first axis.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the support article is configured to tilt relative to the first axis.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein a relative orientation of the support article and the object remains substantially constant while both the x-ray radiation and the particle radiation are emitted onto the object.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the support article is configured to rotate about the first axis when the x-ray radiation is emitted onto the object and during an interval between a first emission of the particle radiation and a second emission of the particle radiation onto the object.

13. A method, comprising:

emitting x-ray radiation onto an object that resides on a support article; and

emitting first particle radiation onto the object that resides on the support article while the object is positioned in a first position.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the object is in a first orientation with respect to the support article while the x-ray radiation is emitted, comprising maintaining the first orientation while the first particle radiation is emitted.

15. The method of claim 13, comprising:

rotating the object from the first position to a second position, the object rotated about an axis laying in a first plane substantially perpendicular to a second plane through which the x-ray radiation travels; and

emitting second particle radiation onto the object that resides on the support article while the object is positioned in the second position.

16. The method of claim 13, comprising rotating the object about an axis laying in a first plane substantially perpendicular to a second plane through which the x-ray radiation travels while the x-ray radiation is emitted, the relative orientation between the support article and the object substantially maintained while rotating the object.

17. The method of claim 13, comprising, before emitting first particle radiation, tilting the object relative to an axis laying in a first plane substantially perpendicular to a second plane through which the x-ray radiation travels while substantially maintaining the relative orientation of the support article and the object.

18. The method of claim 13, comprising:

detecting x-ray radiation that traversed the object; and

determining a treatment plan for the object based upon the detected x-ray radiation, wherein the first particle radiation is emitted according to the treatment plan.

19. The method of claim 13, comprising:

orienting the object into a first orientation with respect to an irradiation component when the x-ray radiation is emitted; and

orienting the object into a second orientation with respect to the irradiation component when the first particle radiation is emitted while substantially maintaining the relative orientation between the support article and the object, the first orientation different from the second orientation.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein while the object is in the first orientation, a first plane passes through the object and while the object is in the second orientation, a second plane passes through the object, the first plane different than the second plane, and the first and second planes substantially parallel to a third plane through which the x-ray radiation travels.

21. The method of claim 13, comprising,

securing the object to the support article before the x-ray radiation is emitted;

and

unsecuring the object from the support article after the first particle radiation is emitted, wherein the object remains secured between when the x-ray radiation is emitted and when the first particle radiation is emitted.

22. An apparatus for particle therapy treatment, comprising:

a support article configured to support an object while the object is undergoing an operation;

a radiation source configured to emit x-ray radiation onto the object being operated upon during a first time interval;

a detector array configured to detect x-ray radiation that traversed the object being operated upon, wherein the detected x-ray radiation is used to develop a treatment plan; and

an irradiation component configured to emit particle radiation onto the object being operated upon during a second time interval according to the treatment plan.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the support article is configured for rotation about a first axis, the first axis laying in a first plane substantially perpendicular to a second plane along which the x-ray radiation travels, during at least one of the first time interval and the second time interval, wherein during rotation, a relative orientation of the support article and the object is substantially maintained.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the support article is configured to tilt relative to the first axis.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the irradiation component emits particle radiation through a third plane, the third plane and the second plane being substantially coextensive.