Method and apparatus for automated three dimensional dosimetry
First Claim
1. A hodoscope dosimeter comprising a tapered scintillator volume that flashes light in two places when struck by an ionizing radiation beam from a stereotactic radiosurgery system, a camera that records an image of said light, and a computer that calculates location coordinates of said beam and that also calculates a profile of said beam, including its width and intensity.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for recording in real-time the duration, strength, and position of multiple collimated beams of ionizing radiation as delivered during stereotactic radiosurgery for the purpose calibrating the radiological system and verifying the treatment plans for various lesions. The beams of ionizing radiation are made visible by means of a cone or paraboloid shaped scintillator the interior of which is viewed by a sensitive visible-light camera equipped with fish-eye style optics mounted in a darkened enclosure. As the beam enters and exits the scintillator cone, two bright spots are seen in the camera'"'"'s field of view. The centroids of these spots create a hodoscope and describe the path of the beam through three dimensional space. A computer connected to the camera measures the location and intensity of these spots over time during radiosurgery, calculates each beam path, and archives the spot parameters and computed beam paths to memory. Software algorithms reconstruct a mathematical description of each treatment beam that intersects the scintillator volume. In turn, these rays are used to construct a three dimensional model of the dosimetric pattern delivered within the scintillator. The operator can then determine discrepancies between the measured dosimetric pattern and the intended radiosurgery treatment or calibration pattern.
27 Citations
10 Claims
- 1. A hodoscope dosimeter comprising a tapered scintillator volume that flashes light in two places when struck by an ionizing radiation beam from a stereotactic radiosurgery system, a camera that records an image of said light, and a computer that calculates location coordinates of said beam and that also calculates a profile of said beam, including its width and intensity.
-
4. A hodoscope dosimeter comprising a tapered scintillator volume that flashes light in two places when struck by an ionizing radiation beam from a stereotactic radiosurgery system that moves said beam in different directions, a camera that records an image of said light, and a computer that calculates location coordinates of said beam and that records said location coordinates in real time.
- 5. A method for calibrating a stereotactic radiosurgery system, comprising detecting an X-ray or Gamma ray beam by letting it intersect a tapered scintillator volume twice, capturing an optical image of light flashes from said scintillator, computing three dimensional location coordinates for said beam, and computing a profile of said beam, including its width and intensity.
Specification