Radiation therapy method and system

• US 6,219,403 B1
• Filed: 08/06/1999
• Issued: 04/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishihara, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Robert H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kiknadze, Irakli
• Application Number:
  US09/369,316
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: 378/64, 378/205, 378/65, 378/69, 378/208, 250/492.3, 250/491.1
• US Class Current: 378/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1048 Monitoring, verifying, controlling systems and methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1064 for adjusting radiation treatment in response to monitoring

Abstract

A radiation therapy system has a radiation therapy planning CT system and a radiation therapy apparatus. The CT system includes a system control unit, a CT scanner unit, and a therapy planning portion. The collected data obtained by the CT scanner unit is output to the therapy planning unit. The therapy planning portion creates therapy planning data such as center projection images for when performing therapy and center projection images for when performing X-ray photography. On the other hand, the radiation therapy planning apparatus includes a central control unit, an apparatus proper, and a driving control unit. The driving control unit controls in real-time the period of irradiation of radiation based on the therapy planning data from the CT scanner unit 34 and the opening/closing of the collimator 97, according to the position of the marker 9 on the fluoroscopy image photographed by the X-ray TV. Such an arrangement provides a radiation treatment method and system which does away with deterioration in precision owing to bodily movement during irradiation.

Claims

1. A radiation therapy system using a center projection image synthesizing method for creating an image for determining the range of irradiation of radiation beams, in an arrangement wherein irradiation of radiation beams is aimed at a specific portion within the body of a subject, said system comprising:

a means for establishing a marker at said specific portion including the surface of said subject, and for specifying as an area of interest an area corresponding with said specific portion in 3-D data regarding inside of the body of said subject which has been obtained with a CT apparatus; and

a means for calculating a projection image for said area of interest according to a center-of-projection point at geometric conditions set for the area of interest and said marker, and/or said 3-D data;

wherein said geometric conditions are the same as the geometric conditions for the point of origin for irradiation of radiation beams to the portion corresponding with the area of interest in the body of the subject.

2. The radiation therapy system according to the claim 1, further comprising means for enlarging or reducing the size of said projection image by a desired ratio and outputting to a recording medium.

3. A radiation therapy system using a center projection image synthesizing method for creating an image for determining the range of irradiation of radiation beams by aiming X-rays at a specific portion within the body of a subject, said system comprising:

a means for establishing a marker at said specific portion including the surface of said subject, and for specifying as an area of interest an area corresponding with said specific portion in 3-D data regarding inside of the body of said subject which has been obtained with a CT apparatus; and

a means for calculating a projection image for said area of interest according to a center-of-projection point at geometric conditions set for said area of interest and said marker, and/or said 3-D data;

wherein said geometric conditions are the same as the geometric conditions for the focal point of an X-ray tube in an X-ray TV apparatus on the portion corresponding with the area of interest in the body of the subject.

4. The radiation therapy system according to the claim 3, further comprising means for enlarging or reducing the size of said projection image by a desired ratio and outputting to a recording medium.

5. A radiation therapy system, comprising:

a means for establishing a marker at a specific portion in the body of a subject including the surface of said subject, and for specifying as an area of interest a desired area in 3-D data regarding inside of the body of said subject which has been obtained with a CT apparatus; and

a means for projecting a projection image on the surface of said subject by means of an optical system which has conditions that are the same as said geometric conditions for the specific portion corresponding with the area of interest in the body of subject according to the center-of-projection point of the geometric conditions set for the area of interest, wherein the center-of-projection point thereof matches the point of origin for generating radiation beams.

6. The radiation therapy system according to the claim 5, further comprising means for enlarging or reducing the size of said projection image by a desired ratio and outputting to a recording medium.