Four-dimensional volume of interest

• US 7,352,370 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2005
• Issued: 04/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accuray Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Accuray Incorporated
• Inventors: Wang, Hongwu, Dooley, John R., West, Jay B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman; Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): MATHEWS, CRYSTAL ANN
• Application Number:
  US11/144,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20060274061A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,034 Days
• Field of Search: 600/3, 600/411, 600/424, 600/427, 382/131, 382/154, 345/424
• US Class Current: 345/424
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/103 Treatment planning systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1037 taking into account the movement of the target, e.g. 4D-image based planning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/08 Volume rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10076 4D tomography; Time-sequential 3D tomography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30096 Tumor; Lesion
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51

Abstract

A method and apparatus for representing a deformable volume of interest in four dimensions is described, where the four dimensions are three spatial dimensions and one temporal dimension including discrete points in time, and where the deformable volume of interest can be represented at intermediate points in time by interpolation.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

interpolating between 3D models of a volume of interest (VOI) generated from 3D anatomical images captured at different points in time, wherein the VOI includes a moving 3D anatomical target;

modeling motion and deformation of the 3D anatomical target; and

planning trajectories of a radiation treatment beam before treatment to deliver radiation treatment to the moving 3D anatomical target during treatment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein interpolating between 3D models of the VOI comprises:

generating a first VOI including the target at a first point in time;

generating a second VOI including the target at a second point in time;

registering the first VOI with the second VOI; and

interpolating a third VOI including the target at a third point in time based on the registering of the first VOI with the second VOI. the third point in time being between the first and second points in time.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating a visualization of the third VOI.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein generating the visualization comprises rendering a mask volume of the third VOI.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein rendering comprises volume rendering.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein rendering comprises direct rendering of a three-dimensional geometrical structure of the third VOI.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising refining the third VOI.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein refining comprises a model-based refinement.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the third VOI is changed with respect to at least one of the first and second VOIs.

10. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a first image having the target at the first point in time; and

receiving a second image having the target at the second point in time.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the target at the first time point is changed with respect to the target at the second time point based on motion adjacent the target.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the motion comprises a periodic motion characterized by a cycle.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D anatomical images comprise computed tomography images.

14. An article of manufacture, comprising a machine-accessible medium including data that, when accessed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

interpolating between 3D models of a volume of interest (VOI) generated from 3D anatomical images captured at different points in time, wherein the VOI includes a moving 3D anatomical target;

modeling motion and deformation of the 3D anatomical target; and

planning trajectories of a radiation treatment beam before treatment to deliver radiation treatment to the moving 3D anatomical target during treatment.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 14, wherein interpolating between 3D models of the VOI comprises:

generating a first VOI including a target at a first point in time;

generating a second VOI including the target at a second point in time;

registering the first VOI with the second VOI; and

interpolating a third VOI including the target at a third point in time based on the registering, the third point in time being between the first and second points in time.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform operations comprising generating a visualization of the third VOI.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform operations comprising refining the third VOI.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein generating the visualization comprises rendering a mask volume of the third VOI.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

a storage device to store 3D images of a volume of interest (VOI) captured at different points in time, wherein the VOI includes a moving 3D anatomical target; and

a processor coupled to the storage device, the processor configured to;

generate 3D models of the VOI at the different points in time;

interpolate between the 3D models to model motion and deformation of the 3D anatomical target; and

generate a pre-treatment radiation treatment plan comprising radiation beam trajectories to deliver radiation to the moving 3D anatomical target during treatment.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processor is:

configured to receive first and second 3D images, the processor to generate a first VOI model including the target at a first point in time and a second VOI model including the target at a second point in time, the processor further to register the first VOI model with the second VOI model and interpolate a third VOI model including the target at a third point in time based on the registering, the third point in time being between the first and second points in time.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to generate a visualization of the third VOI.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processor is further configured to refine the third VOI.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processor is further configured to render a mask volume of the third VOI.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising an imager coupled to the storage device, the imager to generate the first and second 3D images.

25. A method of tracking a changing target within an anatomical region to deliver radiation to the target during motion of the anatomical region, the method, comprising:

determining, at a time of treatment planning. a plurality of locations of the target over time using a four-dimensional volume of interest (VOI) having a fourth dimension being a time dimension;

determining, at a time of treatment planning using the four-dimensional VOI, one or more radiation beam trajectories to be delivered to the target within the moving anatomical region at a time of treatment delivery, wherein determining comprises performing at least one of enabling and disabling of the one or more radiation beams depending whether the one or more radiation beams intersect the target at the plurality of locations of the target determined using the four-dimensional VOI; and

generating the four-dimensional VOI, wherein generating comprises;

generating a first VOI including the target at a first point in time;

generating a second VOI including the target at a second point in time;

registering the first VOI with the second VOI; and

interpolating a third VOI including the target at a third point in time based on the registering of the first VOI with the second VOI, the third point in time being between the first and second points in time.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the target at the first time point is changed with respect to the target at the second time point based on the motion of the anatomical region.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the motion comprises a periodic motion characterized by a cycle.

28. An apparatus. comprising:

means for directly interpolating between a first contour of a first volume of interest (VOI) and a second contour of a second VOI using one or more points on the first and second contours; and

means for generating an intermediate contour of an intermediate VOI based on the interpolating, wherein the means for directly interpolating comprises a four-dimensional VOI having a fourth dimension being a time dimension, and wherein the apparatus further comprises;

means for determining, at a time of treatment planning, a plurality of locations of a target over time using the four-dimensional volume of interest (VOI); and

means for determining, at a time of treatment planning using the four-dimensional VOI, one or more radiation beam trajectories to be delivered to the target within the moving anatomical region at a time of treatment delivery.