Particle beam therapy system

• US 8,466,441 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2011
• Issued: 06/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Iwata, Takaaki, Sugahara, Kengo, Harada, Hisashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Berman, Jack
• Assistant Examiner(s): OSENBAUGH-STEWART, ELIZA W
• Application Number:
  US13/258,240
• Publication Number:
  US 20120211667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 852 Days
• Field of Search: 250396 R-396 ML, 250/492.3
• US Class Current: 250/492.3
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/48 Other medical applications
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1074 Details of the control system, e.g. user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1087 Ions; Protons
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1043 Scanning the radiation beam, e.g. spot scanning or raster scanning

Abstract

The objective is to eliminate the effect of the hysteresis of a scanning electromagnet and resume high-accuracy beam irradiation from an irradiation position where it has been interrupted, even in the case where emergency-stop processing is performed during therapy. There are provided an irradiation management apparatus that controls a scanning electromagnet; and an interlock information inputting device that generates an interlock signal for stopping irradiation of the charged particle beam, when a contingency occurs. When irradiation of the charged particle beam is resumed, the irradiation management apparatus performs idle operation in which the scanning electromagnet is controlled, with the charged particle beam unirradiated, from a start step, which is situated prior to a stop step and is different from the initial step in actual irradiation, to the stop step, and then irradiates the charged particle beam from the desired irradiation position coordinates corresponding to the stop step.

Claims

1. A particle beam therapy system that irradiates a charged particle beam, accelerated by an accelerator and scanned by a scanning electromagnet, onto a diseased site of a patient, the particle beam therapy system comprising:

an irradiation management apparatus that controls the scanning electromagnet, based on desired irradiation position coordinates of the charged particle beam; and

an interlock information inputting device that generates an interlock signal for stopping irradiation of the charged particle beam, when a contingency occurs,

wherein the irradiation management apparatus is provided with a command value generator that outputs a control input to the scanning electromagnet; and

a stop step storage memory that stores a stop step corresponding to the desired irradiation position coordinates at which irradiation of the charged particle beam stops, when the interlock signal is generated by the interlock information inputting device, and

wherein when irradiation of the charged particle beam is resumed, the irradiation management apparatus performs idle operation in which the scanning electromagnet is controlled, with the charged particle beam unirradiated, from a start step, which is situated prior to the stop step and is different from an initial step corresponding to the initial desired irradiation position coordinates in actual irradiation, to the stop step, and then irradiates the charged particle beam from the desired irradiation position coordinates corresponding to the stop step.

2. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation management apparatus scans the charged particle beam onto respective slices, of the diseased site, that are layers corresponding to kinetic energy levels;

and the start step is a step corresponding to the initial desired irradiation position coordinates, in the slice, at which irradiation of the charged particle beam stops.

3. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 2, wherein the interlock information inputting device includes a patient sensor that detects a motion of the patient and a signal generator that generates the interlock signal when a detection signal from the patient sensor exceeds a predetermined range.

4. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 2, wherein the interlock information inputting device includes an irradiation stop button that is pushed when a contingency occurs and a signal generator that generates the interlock signal, based on a signal from the irradiation stop button.

5. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 2, wherein the irradiation management apparatus performs initialization processing for the scanning electromagnet before the idle operation, when irradiation of the charged particle beam is resumed.

6. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation management apparatus scans the charged particle beam onto respective slices, of the diseased site, that are layers corresponding to kinetic energy levels;

and the start step is a step in the slice at which irradiation of the charged particle beam stops and is a step that is situated predetermined steps prior to the stop step.

7. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 6, wherein the interlock information inputting device includes a patient sensor that detects a motion of the patient and a signal generator that generates the interlock signal when a detection signal from the patient sensor exceeds a predetermined range.

8. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 6, wherein the interlock information inputting device includes an irradiation stop button that is pushed when a contingency occurs and a signal generator that generates the interlock signal, based on a signal from the irradiation stop button.

9. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 6, wherein the irradiation management apparatus performs initialization processing for the scanning electromagnet before the idle operation, when irradiation of the charged particle beam is resumed.

10. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 1, wherein the interlock information inputting device includes a patient sensor that detects a motion of the patient and a signal generator that generates the interlock signal when a detection signal from the patient sensor exceeds a predetermined range.

11. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 10, wherein the irradiation management apparatus performs initialization processing for the scanning electromagnet before the idle operation, when irradiation of the charged particle beam is resumed.

12. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 1, wherein the interlock information inputting device includes an irradiation stop button that is pushed when a contingency occurs and a signal generator that generates the interlock signal, based on a signal from the irradiation stop button.

13. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 12, wherein the irradiation management apparatus performs initialization processing for the scanning electromagnet before the idle operation, when irradiation of the charged particle beam is resumed.

14. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation management apparatus performs initialization processing for the scanning electromagnet before the idle operation, when irradiation of the charged particle beam is resumed.

15. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 14, further including a magnetic-field sensor that measures a magnetic field of the scanning electromagnet,

wherein the irradiation management apparatus scans the charged particle beam onto respective slices, of the diseased site, that are layers corresponding to kinetic energy levels,

wherein the magnetic-field sensor measures a magnetic field of the scanning electromagnet at the initial desired irradiation position coordinates in each of the slices, and

wherein the irradiation management apparatus performs initialization processing for the scanning electromagnet, based on a measured value of the magnetic field at the initial desired irradiation position coordinates in the slice at which the idle operation is started.

16. A particle beam therapy system that irradiates a charged particle beam, accelerated by an accelerator and scanned by a scanning electromagnet, onto a diseased site of a patient, the particle beam therapy system comprising:

an irradiation management apparatus that controls the scanning electromagnet, based on desired irradiation position coordinates of the charged particle beam; and

an interlock information inputting device that generates an interlock signal for stopping irradiation of the charged particle beam, when a contingency occurs,

wherein the irradiation management apparatus scans the charged particle beam onto respective slices, of the diseased site, that are layers corresponding to kinetic energy levels,

wherein the irradiation management apparatus is provided with a command value generator that outputs a control input to the scanning electromagnet; and

a stop step storage memory that stores a stop step corresponding to the desired irradiation position coordinates at which irradiation of the charged particle beam stops, when the interlock signal is generated by the interlock information inputting device, and

wherein when irradiation of the charged particle beam is resumed, the irradiation management apparatus performs idle operation in which the scanning electromagnet is controlled, with the charged particle beam unirradiated, from a start step, which is situated prior to a step in the slice at which irradiation of the charged particle beam stops corresponding to the initial desired irradiation position coordinates, to the stop step, and then irradiates the charged particle beam from the desired irradiation position coordinates corresponding to the stop step.

17. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 16, wherein the interlock information inputting device includes a patient sensor that detects a motion of the patient and a signal generator that generates the interlock signal when a detection signal from the patient sensor exceeds a predetermined range.

18. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 16, wherein the interlock information inputting device includes an irradiation stop button that is pushed when a contingency occurs and a signal generator that generates the interlock signal, based on a signal from the irradiation stop button.

19. The particle beam therapy system according to claim 16, wherein the irradiation management apparatus performs initialization processing for the scanning electromagnet before the idle operation, when irradiation of the charged particle beam is resumed.