High filling flow water phantom

• US 8,183,522 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2009
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ion Beam Applications s.a.
• Original Assignee: Ion Beam Applications s.a.
• Inventors: Harmansa, Roman, Celi de la Torre, Juan-Carlos, Reinhold, Stefan, Plompen, Rob
• Primary Examiner(s): Porta, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bryant, Casey
• Application Number:
  US12/507,518
• Publication Number:
  US 20100019137A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,035 Days
• Field of Search: 250/252.1, 250/393.06, 378/207
• US Class Current: 250/252.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1076 using a dummy object placed in the radiation field, e.g. phantom
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1087 Ions; Protons
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1075 for testing, calibrating, or quality assurance of the radiation treatment apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/169 Exploration, location of contaminated surface areas

Abstract

The present invention is related to a water phantom for measuring and determining the dose distribution of radiation produced by a particle beam or photon radiation beam comprising: a water tank, the water tank having a lower base and side walls; supply means for supplying water to the water tank. The water tank comprises an intermediate base that forms, together with side walls and said lower base, a closed lower tank underneath said intermediate base and an upper tank above said intermediate base, the closed lower tank being connected to the supply means and allowing the flow of water toward said upper tank through a plurality of water admission passages defined in the intermediate base to provide an unturbulent water flow within said water tank 2.

Claims

1. A water phantom which measures and determines a dose distribution of radiation produced by a beam selected from the group consisting of a particle beam or photon radiation beam, the water phantom comprising:

a water tank, the water tank having an upper tank and a lower tank, an upper base between the upper and lower tank, a lower base at a bottom of the lower tank, and side walls, the upper base having an array of a plurality of water admission passages extending through the upper base; and

a water supply system which supplies water to the water tank, the lower tank configured to be connected to the water supply system to allow a flow of water upward from the lower tank into the upper tank through the array of the plurality of water admission passages in the upper base, the array effective to provide an unturbulent water flow within the upper tank.

2. The water phantom according to claim 1 further comprising an acquisition detector and at least one driving unit, the acquisition detector configured to be moved within the upper tank with the driving unit.

3. The water phantom according to claims 1 or 2 wherein the acquisition detector is a two dimensional detector and the two dimensional detector includes a plurality of sensors located in between the water admission passages, the plurality of sensors effective for simultaneously measuring the dose distribution at a plurality of points in the surface of the upper base.

4. The water phantom according to claim 3, wherein the sensors are selected from the group consisting of ionization chambers;

diodes, diode arrays, ionization chamber arrays and combinations thereof.

5. The water phantom according to claim 1 wherein the lower base is downwardly slanted shape to provide a downward inclined portion within the lower tank to a connection with water supply system, the incline configured to allow evacuation of unwanted water from the water tank.

6. A method of measuring and determining the dose distribution of a radiation produced by a particle beam or photon radiation beam using a water phantom comprising:

a water tank, the water tank having an upper tank and a lower tank, an upper base between the upper and lower tank, a lower base at a bottom of the lower tank, and side walls, the upper base having an array of a plurality of water admission passages extending through the upper base; and

a water supply system which supplies water to the water tank, the lower tank configured to be connected to the water supply system to allow a flow of water upward from the lower tank into the upper tank through the array of the plurality of water admission passages in the upper base, the array effective to provide an unturbulent water flow within the upper tank;

the method comprising;

moving water from the lower tank to the upper tank through the array of the water admission passages where during the movement of the water from the lower tank to the upper tank the water in the upper tank is not turbulent during the measuring and determining the dose distribution.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein the method further includes a commissioning of a radiation therapy apparatus.

8. The method according to claims 6 or 7, wherein the method includes performing the measurements are made when the method is practiced on an apparatus in a tissue to phantom ratio configuration.