Focussing of therapeutic radiation on internal structures of living bodies
First Claim
1. A method of therapeutic treatment of an internal structure of a living body with therapeutic radiation, said method comprising the steps of:
- a) implanting, at said internal structure, a sensor to identify a selected location of said internal structure, said sensor being capable of emitting a signal in response to irradiation thereof by a beam of an investigative radiation, b) scanning a region of said living body which includes said internal structure with a beam of said investigative radiation of a sufficiently low intensity to avoid causing injury to portions of said region that are adjacent to said internal structure, c) measuring said signal to determine occurrence of a maximum intensity of said signal during scanning step (b), d) associating said maximum intensity with a corresponding scanned location of said region, and e) focussing a selected intensity of said therapeutic radiation at a target determined from said corresponding scanned location of said region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention helps achieve accurate focussing of therapeutic radiation at an internal structure (e.g. cancerous organ), which is often substantially movable within a living body. For this purpose, suitable sensors are laproscopically or surgically implanted at the location of the organ. These sensors may include semiconductor materials, scintillation materials, piezo-acoustic materials, x-ray emitters, or other materials which emit a signal when they are scanned by a beam of harmless investigative radiation, such as low intensity therapeutic radiation. The emitted signal is then monitored via implanted wires or light fibers or via external detectors during scanning to determine the targetted location at which a signal maximum occurs, whereupon the desired intensity of therapeutic radiation is focussed on this targetted location.
60 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of therapeutic treatment of an internal structure of a living body with therapeutic radiation, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) implanting, at said internal structure, a sensor to identify a selected location of said internal structure, said sensor being capable of emitting a signal in response to irradiation thereof by a beam of an investigative radiation, b) scanning a region of said living body which includes said internal structure with a beam of said investigative radiation of a sufficiently low intensity to avoid causing injury to portions of said region that are adjacent to said internal structure, c) measuring said signal to determine occurrence of a maximum intensity of said signal during scanning step (b), d) associating said maximum intensity with a corresponding scanned location of said region, and e) focussing a selected intensity of said therapeutic radiation at a target determined from said corresponding scanned location of said region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for therapeutic treatment of an internal structure of a living body with therapeutic radiation, said system comprising:
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a) a sensor implanted to identify a selected location of said internal structure, said sensor being capable of emitting a signal in response to irradiation thereof by a beam of investigative radiation, b) a beam projector for scanning a region of said living body which includes said internal structure with a beam of said investigative radiation of a sufficiently low intensity to avoid causing injury to portions of said region that are adjacent to said internal structure, c) a signal measurement device for measuring said signal to determine occurrence of a maximum intensity of said signal during scanning of said region by said beam projector, d) a computing apparatus for associating said maximum intensity with a corresponding scanned location of said region, and e) a controlled source of therapeutic radiation for focussing a selected intensity of said therapeutic radiation at a target determined from said corresponding scanned location of said region. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification