METHODS AND DEVICES FOR DETECTING, CONTROLLING, AND PREDICTING RADIATION DELIVERY
First Claim
1. A method of treating a lesion on or adjacent the retina of an eye of a patient with an external-beam radiation device, comprising:
- (a) placing the patient'"'"'s eye in alignment with a known system axis in an external three-dimensional coordinate system, and measuring the eye'"'"'s axial length;
(b) from the known position of the system axis and from the measured axial length, determining the coordinates of the lesion to be treated in the external coordinate system;
(c) directing a collimated radiation beam along a known beam axis in the external coordinate system at the lesion to be treated;
(d) during said directing, tracking the position of the patient'"'"'s eye with respect to the known system axis, thus to track the position of the lesion to be treated in the external coordinate system; and
(e) based on the known beam axis of the collimated beam in the external coordinate system, and the instantaneous position of the lesion to be treated in the external coordinate system, as determined at least in part by the tracked position of the eye, calculating a total radiation equivalent received at the lesion to be treated during the treatment.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments provide method and systems for determining alignment of a patient'"'"'s body part, such as an eye, in an external coordinate system of a treatment or diagnostic device, such as a radiotherapy device, so as to define a reference axis for guiding device operation. Additional embodiments provide image-based methods and systems for aligning, tracking and monitoring motion of a body part and a treatment target in relation to a radiation beam axis. Particular ophthalmic embodiments provide method and systems including an eye-contact guide device and imaging system for aligning and tracking motion of an eye and ocular treatment target in relation to an orthovoltage X-ray beam axis, so as to monitor application of radiation to a lesion, such as a macular lesion of the retina. Particular methods for controlling radiation in response to motion of the target during treatment are described, such as algorithms for gating or interrupting radiation emission, both to ensure treatment goals and to avoid exposure to sensitive structures.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of treating a lesion on or adjacent the retina of an eye of a patient with an external-beam radiation device, comprising:
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(a) placing the patient'"'"'s eye in alignment with a known system axis in an external three-dimensional coordinate system, and measuring the eye'"'"'s axial length; (b) from the known position of the system axis and from the measured axial length, determining the coordinates of the lesion to be treated in the external coordinate system; (c) directing a collimated radiation beam along a known beam axis in the external coordinate system at the lesion to be treated; (d) during said directing, tracking the position of the patient'"'"'s eye with respect to the known system axis, thus to track the position of the lesion to be treated in the external coordinate system; and (e) based on the known beam axis of the collimated beam in the external coordinate system, and the instantaneous position of the lesion to be treated in the external coordinate system, as determined at least in part by the tracked position of the eye, calculating a total radiation equivalent received at the lesion to be treated during the treatment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for treating a target area in a patient with an irradiation beam, comprising:
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(a) a tracking assembly for tracking the position of a patient body region containing the target area and at least one radiation-sensitive area with respect to a known reference axis in an external coordinate system; (b) a beam source for directing an irradiation beam at the patient target area along a known treatment axis in the external coordinate system; and (c) a processor operatively connected to the tracking device and beam source, and operable to; (i) determine, from the known position of body region in the external coordinate system, the coordinates of the target area to be treated and the coordinates of the at least one radiation-sensitive patient structure; (ii) during a period when the irradiation beam is being directed along the treatment axis at the target area, and based on information received from the tracking device, track the positions of the target area to be treated and the at least one radiation-sensitive structure; (iii) based on the known beam axis of the collimated beam in the external coordinate system, and the instantaneous positions of the target area to be treated and the at least one radiation-sensitive structure, calculate a total radiation equivalent received at the target area and at least one radiation-sensitive structure; and (iv) based on the calculated radiation equivalents from step (iii), control the irradiation beam to insure that the at least one radiation-sensitive structure does not receive more than a preselected radiation equivalent during the treatment.
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22. Machine-readable code operable on an electronic computer in a treatment system for treating a lesion of a patient'"'"'s eye by directing a collimated radiation beam along a beam path to the lesion and including, operably connected to an eye-tracking device, the eye tracking device including an eye-contact member configured to engage the eye and having visible fiducials, and a camera configured to capture an electronic image of the eye, to execute instructions effective to perform the steps comprising:
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(a) aligning the camera to a known position and/or orientation with respect to a treatment system coordinate system (system coordinates) wherein the camera is directed to the eye as engaged with the contact member; (b) capturing an image of the eye as engaged with the contact member; (c) identifying one or more pixels of the image representing the location of an axis of the contact member; (d) determining from image data that the eye-guide axis is aligned to a known position and/or orientation with respect to the system coordinates; (e) determining from image data the location of the center of limbus in the system coordinates; and (f) determining a deviation of the location of the center of limbus to a known position and/or orientation of the eye-guide. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification