Charged particle cancer therapy system magnet control method and apparatus
First Claim
1. A particle beam irradiation apparatus for cancer therapy of a tumor of a patient, said apparatus controlling an operational magnetic field, wherein the operational magnetic field controls direction of charged particles, said apparatus comprising:
- a synchrotron comprising turning magnets, a magnetic field sensor, a gap through which the charged particles pass during use, and at least one correction coil, said magnetic field sensor placed proximate said gap in said synchrotron,wherein, said turning magnets comprise;
windings operating at a first power level to generate a first magnetic field about said gap; and
said at least one correction coil operating at a second power level, said second power level less than about five percent of said first power level, to generate a correction magnetic field about said gap during use,wherein the first magnetic field and the correction magnetic field combine to yield the operational magnetic field during use,wherein said synchrotron adjusts to a target magnetic field strength via monitoring the operational magnetic field to determine said second power level, wherein as a result of lower power consumption said second power level allows for more accurate and/or precise control of the operational magnetic field.
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Abstract
The invention comprises a charged particle beam acceleration, extraction, and/or targeting method and apparatus used in conjunction with charged particle beam radiation therapy of cancerous tumors. Novel design features of a synchrotron are described. Particularly, turning magnets, edge focusing magnets, concentrating magnetic field magnets, winding and control coils, and extraction elements are described that minimize the overall size of the synchrotron, provide a tightly controlled proton beam, directly reduce the size of required magnetic fields, directly reduces required operating power, and allow continual acceleration of protons in a synchrotron even during a process of extracting protons from the synchrotron.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A particle beam irradiation apparatus for cancer therapy of a tumor of a patient, said apparatus controlling an operational magnetic field, wherein the operational magnetic field controls direction of charged particles, said apparatus comprising:
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a synchrotron comprising turning magnets, a magnetic field sensor, a gap through which the charged particles pass during use, and at least one correction coil, said magnetic field sensor placed proximate said gap in said synchrotron, wherein, said turning magnets comprise; windings operating at a first power level to generate a first magnetic field about said gap; and said at least one correction coil operating at a second power level, said second power level less than about five percent of said first power level, to generate a correction magnetic field about said gap during use, wherein the first magnetic field and the correction magnetic field combine to yield the operational magnetic field during use, wherein said synchrotron adjusts to a target magnetic field strength via monitoring the operational magnetic field to determine said second power level, wherein as a result of lower power consumption said second power level allows for more accurate and/or precise control of the operational magnetic field. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for adjusting an operational magnetic filed of a synchrotron for irradiation of a tumor of a patient with charged particles, wherein the operational magnetic field controls direction of the charged particles, said method comprising the steps of:
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accelerating the charged particles with a synchrotron, said synchrotron comprising turning magnets, a magnetic field sensor, a gap through which the charged particles pass during use, and at least one correction coil, said magnetic field sensor placed proximate said gap in said synchrotron; operating windings of said turning magnets at a first power level to generate a first magnetic field about said gap; and generating a correction magnetic field with at least one correction coil operating at a second power level, said second power level less than about two percent of said first power level, wherein the first magnetic field and the correction magnetic field combine to yield the operational magnetic field during use; and adjusting the operational magnetic field to a target magnetic field strength via monitoring the operational magnetic field to determine said second power level, wherein as a result of lower power consumption said second power level allows for more accurate and/or precise control of the operational magnetic field. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for irradiation of a tumor of a patient with charged particles, comprising the steps of:
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accelerating the charged particle beam with a synchrotron; focusing the charged particles with a focal system to a volume of less than about two millimeters in diameter; controlling kinetic energy of the charged particles using at least one correction coil in said synchrotron; and actively scanning the charged particles at the tumor with an active scanning system, wherein said active scanning system simultaneously scans the charged particles along all of; a horizontal axis; a vertical axis; and a kinetic energy axis. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification