Apparatus responsive to movement of a patient during treatment/diagnosis
DC CAFCFirst Claim
1. Apparatus responsive to movement of a patient positioned on a patient positioning assembly during treatment/diagnosis, said apparatus comprising:
- camera means generating digital image signals representing an image of at least one passive fiducial having a lambertian surface on said patient; and
processing means comprising means responsive to actual shape, appearance and lighting conditions of said at least one passive fiducial having a lambertian surface in said image represented by said digital image signals to determine successive positions of said at least one passive fiducial having a lambertian surface, means repetitively determining movement of said at least one passive fiducial having a lambertian surface from said successive positions, and means generating an output in response to predetermined values of said movement.
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Abstract
A camera generates digital image signals representing an image of one or more natural or artificial fiducials on a patient positioned on treatment or diagnosis equipment. A processor applies multiple levels of filtering at multiple levels of resolution to repetitively determine successive fiducial positions. A warning signal is generated if movement exceeds certain limits but is still acceptable for treatment. Unacceptable displacement results in termination of the treatment beam. Tracking templates can be generated interactively from a display of the digital image signals or through automatic selection of an image having the median correlation to an initial template. A gating signal synchronized to patient breathing can be extracted from the digital image signals for controlling the radiation beam generator.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. Apparatus responsive to movement of a patient positioned on a patient positioning assembly during treatment/diagnosis, said apparatus comprising:
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camera means generating digital image signals representing an image of at least one passive fiducial having a lambertian surface on said patient; and processing means comprising means responsive to actual shape, appearance and lighting conditions of said at least one passive fiducial having a lambertian surface in said image represented by said digital image signals to determine successive positions of said at least one passive fiducial having a lambertian surface, means repetitively determining movement of said at least one passive fiducial having a lambertian surface from said successive positions, and means generating an output in response to predetermined values of said movement.
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2. Apparatus responsive to movement of a patient positioned on a patient positioning assembly during treatment/diagnosis, said apparatus comprising:
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a single camera generating digital image signals representing an image of at least one fiducial on said patient; and processing means comprising means responsive to actual shape, appearance and lighting conditions of said at least one fiducial in said image represented by said digital image signals to determine successive positions of said at least one fiducial, means tracking three-dimensional movement of said at least one fiducial from said successive positions and means generating an output in response to predetermined values of said movement. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. Apparatus responsive to movement of a patient positioned on a patient positioning assembly during treatment/diagnosis, said apparatus comprising:
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camera means generating digital image signals representing an image of at least one fiducial on said patient; and processing means comprising means responsive to actual shape, appearance and lighting conditions of said at least one fiducial in said image represented by said digital image signals to determine successive positions of said at least one fiducial at a rate of at least 20 Hz, means tracking movement of said at least one fiducial from said successive positions, and means generating an output in response to predetermined values of said movement. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. Apparatus responsive to movement of a patient positioned on a patient positioning assembly during treatment/diagnosis, said apparatus comprising:
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camera means generating digital image signals representing an image of at least one fiducial on said patient; and processing means comprising means responsive to actual shape, appearance and lighting conditions of said at least one fiducial in said image represented by said digital image signals to determine successive positions of said at least one fiducial, means repetitively determining movement of said at least one fiducial from said successive positions, and means generating an output in response to predetermined values of said movement; said processing means further comprising means using a template to successively determine position of said at least one fiducial and means selecting said template comprising display means, means generating on said display means an image of said at least one fiducial from said digital image signals and user interface means for selection of a template from said image of said at least one fiducial.
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20. Apparatus responsive to movement of a patient positioned on a patient positioning assembly, said apparatus comprising:
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camera means generating digital image signals representative of an image of said patient; and processing means comprising means determining movement of said patient from said digital image signals, including movement associated with breathing by said patient, and gating means generating gating signals synchronized with said movement associated with breathing by said patient. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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Specification