Systems, devices, and methods including implants for managing cumulative X-ray radiation dosage including X-ray radiation direction determination devices

• US 8,787,526 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2011
• Issued: 07/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Leuthardt, Eric C., Smith, Michael A., Sweeney, Elizabeth A., Wood, Lowell L. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): THOMAS, COURTNEY D
• Application Number:
  US13/373,678
• Publication Number:
  US 20130062527A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• Field of Search: 378/65, 378/97, 378/98.8, 378/108, 250/370.07
• US Class Current: 378/97
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/03 Computed tomography [CT] echo-tomography A61B8/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/107 Protection against radiation, e.g. shielding
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/487 involving fluoroscopy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/542 involving control of exposure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/56 Details of data transmission or power supply, e.g. use of slip rings
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1038 taking into account previously administered plans applied to the same patient, i.e. adaptive radiotherapy
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1048 Monitoring, verifying, controlling systems and methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1065 Beam adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1071 for verifying the dose delivered by the treatment plan
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/02 Dosimeters G01T1/15 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/161 Applications in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting apparatus for radiation diagnosis A61B6/00

Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods are described including implantable radiation sensing devices having exposure determination devices that determines exposure information based on the at least one in vivo measurand output.

Claims

1. An implantable radiation sensing device, comprising:

an x-ray radiation sensor device operable to detect, in vivo, one or more x-ray radiation stimuli associated with an x-ray radiation exposure event, the x-ray radiation sensor device including at least a first direction-selective sensor for detecting, in vivo, one or more x-ray radiation stimuli propagating in a first direction, and a second direction-selective sensor for detecting, in vivo, one or more x-ray radiation stimuli propagating in a second direction, the second direction different from the first direction; and

an x-ray radiation direction-determination device operable to determine at least one of an x-ray radiation source location or an x-ray radiation propagation direction based on one or more measurand outputs from at least one of the first direction-selective sensor or the second direction-selective sensor.

2. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 1, further comprising:

a third direction-selective sensor for detecting, in vivo, one or more x-ray radiation stimuli propagating in a third direction, the third direction different from the second direction and the first direction.

3. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 1, wherein the first direction-selective sensor and the second direction-selective sensor include one or more pixels that acquire at least a portion of an x-ray radiation stimulus, in vivo, and transduce the x-ray radiation stimulus into at least one measurand indicative of the x-ray radiation exposure event during an integration period of the x-ray radiation sensor device.

4. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 1, wherein the first direction-selective sensor includes one or more directions of propagation selective structures that substantially transmits the x-ray radiation input from the first direction incident while limiting transmission of the x-ray radiation input from the second direction.

5. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 1, wherein the x-ray radiation direction-determination device generates one or more position coordinates relative to a coordinate frame associated with the implantable radiation sensing device based on the one or more measurand outputs from at least one of the first direction-selective sensor or the second direction-selective sensor.

6. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 1, further comprising:

a biocompatible housing enclosing the x-ray radiation sensor device.

7. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 6, wherein the biocompatible housing includes one or more biocompatible materials that permit the passage of x-ray radiation from an exterior environment to an interior environment of the biocompatible housing.

8. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 1, further comprising:

a location sensor for detecting a geographical location associated with the x-ray radiation exposure event.

9. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 8, wherein the location sensor generates location of device data or orientation of device data based on the one or more measurand outputs from at least one of the first direction-selective sensor or the second direction-selective sensor.

10. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 1, wherein the x-ray radiation sensor device includes at least one computing device operably coupled to one or more sensors configured to acquire at least one of intensity data, energy, exposure time, rate of energy deposition, or depth of energy deposition associated with the x-ray radiation stimulus.

11. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 1, further comprising:

a power source, the power source including at least one of a thermoelectric generator, a piezoelectric generator, a microelectromechanical system generator, or a biomechanical-energy harvesting generator.

12. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 1, further comprising:

an interrogation interface operably coupled to at least one of the x-ray radiation sensor device or the x-ray radiation direction-determination device.

13. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one of receiver, transmitter, or transceiver configured to communicate radiation exposure information with a network.

14. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 13, wherein the network includes at least one of an enterprise network, a medical enterprise network, a body area network, or a wireless area network.

15. An x-ray radiation sensor device, comprising:

a multi-pixel x-ray radiation sensor having at least a first pixel and a second pixel, the second pixel having one or more x-ray mass attenuation coefficients different from the first pixel, the multi-pixel x-ray radiation sensor operable to generate one or more measurand outputs associated with an in vivo detected x-ray radiation exposure event; and

an exposure determination device that determines exposure information based on the one or more measurand outputs from the multi-pixel x-ray radiation sensor.

16. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the second pixel includes one or more characteristic x-ray absorption edges different from the first pixel.

17. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the exposure determination device generates at least one of cumulative x-ray radiation dose history data, lifetime exposure history data, x-ray radiation exposure alerting protocol data, x-ray radiation exposure response protocol data, x-ray radiation exposure status data, user-specific cumulative x-ray radiation dose history data, user-specific lifetime exposure history data, user-specific x-ray radiation exposure alerting protocol data, user-specific x-ray radiation exposure response protocol data, user-specific x-ray radiation exposure status data, or user-specific exposure information based on the one or more measurand outputs from the multi-pixel x-ray radiation sensor.

18. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the exposure determination device includes one or more memory devices having radiation exposure information stored thereon.

19. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the exposure determination device includes at least one of receiver, transmitter, or transceiver configured to receive radiation exposure information.

20. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the exposure determination device includes one or more memory devices having at least one of absorbed dose conversion data, absorbed dose rate conversion data, committed effective dose conversion data, cumulative dose conversion data, effective dose data, equivalent dose conversion data, or exposure conversion data stored thereon.

21. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the exposure determination device includes one or more memory devices having user-specific radiation dosimetry conversion data stored thereon.

22. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the multi-pixel x-ray radiation sensor includes one or more scintillators.

23. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the multi-pixel x-ray radiation sensor includes one or more thermoluminescent dosimeters.

24. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the multi-pixel x-ray radiation sensor includes one or more x-ray radiation scintillation crystals.

25. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the multi-pixel x-ray radiation sensor is configured to output or record pixel-by-pixel exposure information.

26. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the multi-pixel x-ray radiation sensor includes at least one computing device that outputs or causes the recordation of pixel-by-pixel exposure information.

27. The x-ray radiation sensor device of claim 15, wherein the multi-pixel x-ray radiation sensor is configured to output or record a difference in phase or intensity between at least a first pixel or a second pixel.

28. An implantable radiation sensing device, comprising:

an x-ray radiation sensor device operable to detect, in vivo, one or more x-ray radiation stimuli associated with an x-ray radiation exposure event and to generate one or more measurand outputs, the x-ray radiation sensor device including one or more gel dosimeters; and

an exposure determination device including one or more computing devices that determine a spatial dose distribution associated with the x-ray radiation exposure event based on the one or more measurand outputs from the x-ray radiation sensor device.

29. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 28, wherein the one or more gel dosimeters include at least one polymer gel dosimeter.

30. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 28, wherein the one or more gel dosimeters include at least one Fricke gel dosimeter.

31. The implantable radiation sensing device of claim 28, wherein the one or more gel dosimeters include at least one hydrogel-based gel dosimeter or cryogel-based gel dosimeter.