PROTON TOMOGRAPHY APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATION THEREFOR

• US 20110196223A1
• Filed: 04/14/2011
• Published: 08/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Andrey Vladimirovich Balakin, Pavel Vladimirovich Balakin
• Original Assignee: Vladimir Balakin
• Inventors: Balakin, Vladimir
• Granted Patent: US 9,044,600 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/407
• 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 5/10 X-ray therapy; Gamma-ray therapy; Particle-irradiation therapy A61N5/01 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05H 13/04 Synchrotrons
• CPC Class Codes: H05H 7/10 Arrangements for ejecting particles from orbits

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for charged particle tomographic imaging using a tomography system. The tomography imaging system is optionally simultaneously operational with a charged particle cancer therapy system using common elements, allows tomographic imaging with rotation of the patient, is operational on a patient in an upright, semi-upright, and/or horizontal position, is simultaneously operational with X-ray imaging, and/or allows use of adaptive charged particle cancer therapy. The common tomography and cancer therapy apparatus elements are operational in a multi-axis and/or multi-field raster beam mode.

Claims

1. An apparatus for acquiring a three-dimensional image of a portion of a patient using charged particles traveling along a beam path, said apparatus comprising:

a tomographic reconstruction algorithm configured to generate the three dimensional image using an image set; and

a platform configured to support the patient, said platform comprising computer control of at least one of;

a vertical position of said platform; and

a rotation position of said platform,

wherein at least a portion of said platform comprises a position under a portion of the beam path, during use said beam path comprising charged particles extracted from a synchrotron of a charged particle beam system,

said platform configured to rotate through at least one hundred eighty degrees during an irradiation period, and

said computer control configured to collect the image set, the image set comprising images collected during at least ten rotation positions of said rotatable platform.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, the image set comprising:

at least fifty total images collected over a set of at least five rotation positions.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a patient support, said support configured to hold the patient in at least a semi-upright position during the irradiation period.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

means for targeting a tumor in the patient with the charged particles, said means configured to operate within one minute of acquisition of a portion of a proton or heavier element based tomographic image of the patient.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, said charged particle beam system further comprising:

an injector configured to inject the particles into said synchrotron;

an extraction system configured to extract the particles from said synchrotron; and

a delivery system configured to guide the particles along the beam path.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, at least one of said injector, said extraction system, and said delivery system configured to deliver the charged particles to a tumor within one minute of collection of a tomographic image of the patient.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, the charged particles comprising carbon ions.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a scintillating plastic material configurably positioned on an exit side of the patient, the charged particles entering the patient on an entrance side of the patient, said scintillating plastic material configured to provide a metric of a transmittance intensity of the charged particles.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an x-ray beam system configured to generate at least one x-ray image of the patient.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said three dimensional image comprises a hybrid of the x-ray image and a tomographic image.

11. A method for acquiring a three-dimensional image of a portion of a patient using charged particles traveling along a beam path, said method comprising the steps of:

rotating the patient on a platform during an irradiation period through at least one hundred eighty degrees of rotation;

generating an image set by imaging the patient with charged particles extracted from a synchrotron of a charged particle beam system during at least ten rotation positions of said platform; and

using a tomographic reconstruction algorithm to generate the three dimensional image using the image set.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of:

imaging a tumor of the patient with at least one two-dimensional tomographic image using the charged particles from said synchrotron.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of:

treating the tumor using the charged particles from the synchrotron within five minutes of said step of imaging.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

generating a two-dimensional tomographic image of the patient with a first cycle of the charged particle beam system; and

treating a tumor of the patient using a second cycle of the charged particle beam system, said second cycle occurring less than ten minutes from said first cycle.

15. The method of claim 14, said second cycle occurring within ten seconds of said first cycle.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of:

generating a hybrid image of the patient using said three dimensional image generated using a proton beam and at least one separate imaging technology.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

using at least one of an injector, an extraction element, and a delivery system of said charged particle system in both;

collection of a proton tomographic image of a tumor; and

treatment of the tumor.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of:

using said three dimensional image in adjusting position of the patient for tumor therapy.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

establishing a respiration pattern of the patient; and

generating elements of the image set in phase with the respiration pattern.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

developing a tumor irradiation plan using the three dimensional image;

repositioning the patient and the tumor; and

subsequent to said step of repositioning, verifying position of the tumor using a verification tomographic image generated using said synchrotron.

21. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of:

during a tumor treatment irradiation period, adaptively altering a radiation plan for treatment of a tumor based upon at least one charged particle tomographic image collected using said synchrotron.