System and method for radiation beam measurement normalization

• US 9,561,388 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2015
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sun Nuclear Corporation (American Capital Limited)
• Original Assignee: Sun Nuclear Corporation (American Capital Limited)
• Inventors: Hildreth, Jeffrey L., Simon, Thomas Allen
• Primary Examiner(s): Vanore, David A
• Application Number:
  US14/706,907
• Publication Number:
  US 20150238778A1
• Time in Patent Office: 642 Days
• Field of Search: 250/492.3, 250/252.1, 250/336.1, 250/394, 378/65, 378/19, 378/7, 378/82
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1054 using a portal imaging system
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1048 Monitoring, verifying, controlling systems and methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1075 for testing, calibrating, or quality assurance of the radiation treatment apparatus

Abstract

A radiotherapy system includes a radiotherapy device, such as a LINAC, operable to direct a radiation beam from a head thereof during operation, a field detector positioned to be within the radiation beam during operation of the radiotherapy device and operable to generate a beam measurement signal, a reference detector positioned to be outside of the radiation beam during operation of the radiotherapy device and operable to generate a reference signal, and at least one computer in signal communication with the field detector and the reference detector and configured with software to normalize the beam measurement signal based on the reference signal and to output a normalized beam measurement.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising a non-transient machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one programmable processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a beam measurement signal from a field detector, the beam measurement signal being representative of a radiation beam directed from a head of a radiotherapy device during operation of the radiotherapy device;

receiving a reference signal from a reference detector positioned outside of the radiation beam during operation of the radiotherapy device; and

normalizing the beam measurement signal based on the reference signal.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the radiotherapy device comprises a linear accelerator (LINAC).

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the reference detector is positioned to measure scattered radiation.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the field detector and the reference detector are configured to detect ionizing radiation based on an acquired charge resulting from the ionizing radiation at the field detector and the reference detector, respectively.

5. A system comprising:

a reference detector configured to generate a reference signal from scattered radiation outside of a radiation beam of a radiotherapy device; and

a computer configured to perform operations comprising;

receive a beam measurement signal from a field detector, the beam measurement signal being representative of the radiation beam directed from a head of the radiotherapy device during operation of the radiotherapy device;

receive the reference signal from the reference detector; and

normalize the beam measurement signal based on the reference signal.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the radiotherapy device comprises a linear accelerator (LINAC).

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the radiotherapy device includes a movable gantry that carries the head, and the reference detector is carried on the movable gantry so as to move therewith.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the field detector and the reference detector are configured to detect ionizing radiation based on an acquired charge resulting from the ionizing radiation at the field detector and the reference detector, respectively.