Multipurpose tumor treatment system

Abstract

The invention discloses a multipurpose tumor treatment system, and relates to the technical field of medical equipment, and the system comprises an ion source which is used for generating a low-energy proton flow; the input end of the proton flow acceleration unit is connected with the output end of the ion source, and the proton flow acceleration unit is used for accelerating the low-energy proton flow and can lead out medium-energy proton flows with different numerical values; the switching deflection unit is connected to the proton flow acceleration unit to realize switching control of transmission of different paths; the proton flow acceleration unit is provided with three transmission paths: 1, the high-energy proton flow acceleration unit is connected with the synchrotron, and the high-energy proton flow is further accelerated by the synchrotron and then transmitted to at least one proton treatment room; secondly, the high-energy proton flow acceleration unit is transmitted to a radiopharmaceutical production terminal through the switching deflection unit; and thirdly, the proton flow acceleration unit with lower energy is transmitted to the neutron target chamber through the switching deflection unit for BNCT treatment. The device has a multi-purpose treatment mode, achieves multiple purposes, and improves the utilization rate of the device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of medical equipment, and in particular to a multi-purpose tumor treatment system. Background Art

[0002] Ion beam irradiation of organisms has better depth dose distribution and higher relative biological effect. It can better avoid damage to normal cells while killing tumor cells, making ion cancer treatment an advanced and effective cancer radiotherapy method in the world today. Currently, the most commonly used ions for ion cancer treatment are protons and carbon ions, which have great differences in indications and costs.

[0003] The depth of the Bragg peak of an ion is related to its energy. In order to obtain ions of suitable energy, an accelerator is needed to accelerate them and then directly transmit them to the treatment end through a beam transmission line. The higher the energy of the ions, the larger the accelerator and transmission line required, which increases the area and building space occupied by the cancer treatment device and increases investment.

[0004] It is known that hospitals may usually have multiple treatment methods such as nuclear medicine production and BNCT, which usually use proton accelerators of a certain energy. For example, BNCT uses a 2.5-3MeV proton linear accelerator, and nuclear medicine production uses a 7MeV proton linear accelerator or a 10MeV cyclotron. Usually these are independent systems, occupying a large area, which is still relatively large for the overall treatment investment of the entire hospital. The use time of each is not long, resulting in a certain degree of investment waste.

[0005] Synchrotron-based proton therapy systems generally use a linear accelerator consisting of an RFQ and a DTL as an injector. The former accelerates the proton beam to 2.5-3.5 MeV, and the latter further accelerates the proton beam to 7 MeV, which basically coincides with the proton energy requirements of BNCT and radionuclide production. Figure 4 As shown in the timing, the proton beam used for BNCT or nuclide production requires direct current, while the proton therapy system only requires a linear accelerator beam for a total of 2 minutes, and only about 40 microseconds are required every few seconds, with a duty cycle of less than 1%. If BNCT or nuclide production is used together with the linear accelerator of the proton therapy system, it will be almost completely unaffected. Summary of the invention

[0006] In order to improve the problem that the equipment required for various treatments and the production of nuclear medicines is huge, resulting in a large footprint, and cannot be used for multiple purposes, and the treatment method is single, and at the same time improve the efficiency of equipment utilization, the present application provides a multi-purpose tumor treatment system.

[0007] The present application provides a multi-purpose tumor treatment system that adopts the following technical solutions: A multi-purpose tumor treatment system comprises: an ion source for generating a low-energy proton flow for treating tumors; a proton flow acceleration unit, whose input end is connected to the output end of the ion source and is used to accelerate the low-energy proton flow and draw out medium-energy proton flows of different values; a switching deflection unit, connected to the output end of the proton flow acceleration unit, to realize switching control of transmission of different paths; wherein the output end of the proton flow acceleration unit has three transmission paths, including a first transmission path, a second transmission path and a third transmission path; in the first transmission path, the output end of the proton flow acceleration unit with a higher energy is connected to the input end of a synchrotron accelerator and is transmitted to at least one proton treatment room after being accelerated by the synchrotron accelerator; in the second transmission path, the output end of the proton flow acceleration unit with a higher energy is transmitted to a terminal for producing radioactive drugs via the switching deflection unit; in the third transmission path, the output end of the proton flow acceleration unit with a lower energy is transmitted to a BNCT treatment room via the switching deflection unit.

[0008] By adopting the above technical scheme, the ion source generates and draws out a low-energy proton flow, which is focused and accelerated by the proton flow acceleration unit to stably form a medium-energy proton flow. The switching deflection unit controls the medium-energy proton flow to achieve transmission and deflection along different paths. According to treatment needs, the medium-energy proton flow transmission is switched to different treatment paths, thereby realizing the use of one device for multiple treatment methods, reducing the floor space occupied, and improving equipment utilization efficiency.

[0009] Optionally, the proton flow acceleration unit includes a first linear accelerator and a second linear accelerator; the first linear accelerator, whose input end is connected to the output end of the ion source, is used to pre-accelerate the low-energy proton flow to an energy level of 2.5-3MeV; the second linear accelerator, whose input end is connected to the output end of the first linear accelerator, is used to re-accelerate the medium-energy proton flow transmitted by the first linear accelerator to an energy level of 7MeV.

[0010] By adopting the above technical solution, the first linear accelerator can adopt a radio frequency quadrupole field RFQ accelerator, and the second linear accelerator can adopt a drift tube DTL accelerator.

[0011] Optionally, the proton flux acceleration unit is also connected to a backup beam unit for backing up and realizing seamless switching and transmission of the proton flux.

[0012] By adopting the above technical solution, when a beam acceleration unit fails, the backup beam unit is switched to switch the accelerated proton flow as a whole, thereby achieving seamless switching.

[0013] Optionally, the switching deflection unit includes a switching magnet and a deflection magnet, the switching magnet is arranged on the vacuum pipe output by the first linear accelerator and / or the second linear accelerator, and is used to switch the direction of the proton flow transmitted by the first linear accelerator and / or the second linear accelerator along different paths; the deflection magnet is located at the output end of the first linear accelerator and / or the second linear accelerator and is arranged along the deflection direction of the vacuum pipe.

[0014] By adopting the above technical solution, the switching magnet realizes the control over the transmission path, and the magnetic field deflects and guides the proton flow to be transmitted in a certain direction, thereby realizing different treatment methods. The deflection magnet is used to deflect the direction of the proton flow in the vacuum pipe, and plays a guiding role in the transmission beam pipe, so as to facilitate the proton flow to be guided to different required treatment methods.

[0015] Optionally, a matching section is further provided between the first linear accelerator and the second linear accelerator, for matching conditions satisfying phase and optical parameters of the second linear accelerator, thereby improving the acceleration efficiency of the second linear accelerator.

[0016] By adopting the above technical solution, it is possible to deliver the proton beam to the synchrotron when the proton therapy system needs to supply proton flow, and to BNCT or nuclear medicine production when it is not needed. The proton therapy system requires a short beam supply time from the linear accelerator, while BNCT or nuclides require a long beam supply time, so that the energy and path of the proton beam can be switched as needed, thereby improving the efficiency of equipment use and reducing the area occupied by the device.

[0017] In summary, the present application includes at least one of the following beneficial technical effects: 1. The present application generates ions for treating tumors from an ion source, and obtains a medium-energy proton flow through a first linear accelerator and / or a second linear accelerator, leading to three transmission paths. First, a 2.5-3MeV proton flow is convenient for BNCT treatment; second, a 7MeV medium-energy proton flow is convenient for proton therapy; third, a 7MeV medium-energy proton flow can be used for a radioactive drug production terminal, thereby realizing the use of multiple functions of one device and improving resource utilization; 2. The optional backup beam unit in this application has the same function and structure as the proton flow acceleration unit. When the system is in failure or maintenance, it can realize the replacement switch of the system and generate the same backup proton flow for transmission in three paths, so as to achieve uninterrupted operation of the whole system and improve the economic benefits of the equipment; 3. One device can realize the output of multiple functions, which reduces the floor space and capital investment compared with setting up a site for each separate treatment method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of proton therapy and BNCT therapy shown in this application.

[0020] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the proton therapy and radiopharmaceutical production terminal of the present application.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the backup beam unit for three transmission paths in this application.

[0022] Figure 4 This application shows a timing diagram of BNCT and proton therapy systems.

[0023] Figure numerals: 1. ion source; 2. proton flow acceleration unit; 3. switching deflection unit; 41. first transmission path; 42. second transmission path; 43. third transmission path; 21. first linear accelerator; 22. second linear accelerator; 23. matching section; 51. BNCT treatment room; 52. proton therapy room; 53. radioactive drug production terminal; 6. synchrotron; 7. backup beam unit; 31. switching magnet; 32. deflection magnet. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following is combined with Figure 1 To Attachment Figure 4 This application is described in further detail.

[0025] Reference Figure 3 As shown, the embodiment of the present application discloses a multi-purpose tumor treatment system, comprising: an ion source 1, used to generate a low-energy proton flow for treating tumors; a proton flow acceleration unit 2, whose input end is connected to the output end of the ion source 1, used to accelerate the low-energy proton flow and lead out medium-energy proton flows of different values; a switching deflection unit 3, connected to the output end of the proton flow acceleration unit 2, to realize switching control of transmission of different paths; The output end of the proton flux acceleration unit 2 has three transmission paths, including a first transmission path 41, a second transmission path 42 and a third transmission path 43, and the three transmission paths are controlled according to treatment requirements; In the first transmission path 41, the output end of the proton flow acceleration unit 2 is connected to the input end of the synchrotron 6, and the proton flow is accelerated by the synchrotron 6 and transmitted to at least one proton therapy room 52. The proton flow transmitted by the synchrotron 6 is deflected and controlled by multiple deflection magnets 32. The proton flow matched by the transmission in different proton therapy rooms 52 can be supplied to multiple proton therapy rooms 52 synchronously, and the proton flow supply in a single proton therapy room 52 can also be adjusted according to the treatment time period and arrangement order arranged in the hospital. Proton therapy has the ability to accurately and selectively target and kill tumors, and is recognized as a global accurate radiotherapy technology. Its unique Bragg peak enables it to irradiate cancer lesions and can avoid damage to the patient's normal tissues to a great extent.

[0026] The synchrotron 6 in the embodiment keeps the particle cyclotron frequency and the high-frequency acceleration electric field synchronized. The magnetic field strength in the synchrotron 6 increases with the increase of the energy of the accelerated particles, thereby keeping the particle cyclotron frequency synchronized with the high-frequency acceleration electric field. The working state of the synchrotron 6 is pulsed. When the proton energy reaches the energy required for treatment, the acceleration process ends, and then the proton beam is led to the treatment room to complete the treatment of the current treatment layer. Then the orbital magnetic induction intensity decreases and returns to the initial value, and then the next acceleration pulse is performed. Therefore, the ray output and the demand for the proton beam output by the linear accelerator are also pulsed. The repetition frequency is determined by the beam time required for treatment, and the general cycle is 3-10 seconds or even longer.

[0027] In the second transmission path 42, the output end of the proton flux acceleration unit 2 is transmitted to the terminal 53 for radioactive drug production via the switching deflection unit 3. The produced radioactive drug is a nuclear medicine. The production of radioactive drugs takes a long time, which may take several hours depending on different needs.

[0028] The third transmission path 43, the output end of the proton flux acceleration unit 2 is transmitted to the BNCT treatment through the switching deflection unit 3; boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a newer cancer radiotherapy method than proton therapy, which consists of two steps. First, in the first step of its treatment, the boron-containing drug enters the human body in the form of infusion and is enriched and absorbed by the tumor cells that need to be treated; secondly, in the second step, a proton beam of appropriate energy bombards a pre-designed target material and generates neutrons of appropriate energy and shape after shaping and adjustment, reaching the tumor area and reacting with the boron enriched in the tumor cells to generate alpha particles. The range of the particles is only at the micron level, so that radiation energy is generated at the cellular scale to destroy tumor cells. BNCT has a more accurate treatment of tumors and a smaller negative impact, and its treatment time is also from tens of minutes to 1 hour.

[0029] The ion source 1 generates and draws out a low-energy proton flow, which is focused and accelerated by the proton flow acceleration unit 2 to stably form a medium-energy proton flow. The switching deflection unit 3 controls the medium-energy proton flow to achieve transmission and deflection along different paths. According to treatment needs, the medium-energy proton flow transmission is switched to different treatment paths, thereby realizing the use of multiple treatment methods with one device, reducing the floor space occupied, and improving equipment utilization efficiency.

[0030] The proton flow acceleration unit 2 includes a first linear accelerator 21 and a second linear accelerator 22; the first linear accelerator 21, whose input end is connected to the output end of the ion source 1, is used to pre-accelerate the low-energy proton flow to an energy level of 2.5-3MeV; the second linear accelerator 22, whose input end is connected to the output end of the first linear accelerator 21, is used to re-accelerate the medium-energy proton flow transmitted by the first linear accelerator 21 to an energy level of 7MeV; a matching section 23 is also provided between the first linear accelerator 21 and the second accelerator, which is used to match the energy, phase and optical parameters and other conditions of the second linear accelerator 6.

[0031] The first linear accelerator 21 can adopt a radio frequency quadrupole field RFQ accelerator, which integrates the acceleration, focusing, matching and clustering of ion beams, and maintains stability, high efficiency and reliability when accelerating low-energy and high-current ion beams. The second linear accelerator 22 adopts a drift tube DTL accelerator, and the acceleration gradient is increased by 2 to 3 times, which shortens the overall system length and facilitates beam acceleration.

[0032] The proton flow acceleration unit 2 is also connected to a backup beam unit 7 for backing up and realizing seamless switching and transmission of proton flow. The backup proton flow unit includes an ion source 1, a first linear accelerator 21, a second linear accelerator 22, a switching magnet 31 and a deflection magnet 32. The backup beam unit 7 and the proton flow acceleration unit 2 have exactly the same functions and structures. When a proton flow transmission failure or equipment maintenance occurs in the proton flow acceleration unit 2, the backup beam unit 7 can be enabled for switching, so as to realize timely switching and continuation of operation of the overall equipment.

[0033] The switching deflection unit 3 includes a switching magnet 31 and a deflection magnet 32. The switching magnet 31 is arranged on the vacuum pipe output by the first linear accelerator 21 and / or the second linear accelerator 22, and is used to switch the direction of the proton flow transmitted by the first linear accelerator 21 and / or the second linear accelerator 22 along different paths; the deflection magnet 32 ​​is located at the output end of the first linear accelerator 21 and / or the second linear accelerator 22 and is arranged along the deflection direction of the vacuum pipe. The switching magnet 31 controls the path transmission of its internal device by a corresponding control program, and its priority authority is arranged in sequence, with proton therapy being the first priority, followed by BNCT therapy, and finally the radioactive drug production terminal 53; the time required for proton therapy is shorter, and the time required for the radioactive drug production terminal 53 is longer. Therefore, after the proton therapy and BNCT therapy are completed, when the equipment does not need to supply other treatment methods, the radioactive drug production terminal 53 can be continuously supplied, thereby improving the utilization rate of the proton flow generated by the equipment.

[0034] See also Figure 4 The figure shows the time structure of the proton beam output by the acceleration section 2. The proton therapy requires a pulsed proton beam only once every few seconds, and each beam requires about 40 microseconds. When BNCT and proton therapy are performed simultaneously, most of the beam is provided to BNCT, and only about 40 microseconds are provided to proton therapy every few seconds for about 2 minutes. The beam required by BNCT and the beam required by proton therapy are misaligned, and switching to BNCT and proton therapy in different treatment rooms improves the utilization rate of the equipment for the beam.

[0035] Embodiment 1 See also Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, the ions generated by the ion source 1 are accelerated from the first linear accelerator 21 to an energy level of 2.5-3MeV, and the switching magnet 31 at the end of the first accelerator leads to two transmission paths, and the switching magnet 31 is controlled to transmit the proton flow to the vacuum pipe matching section 23, so as to adapt to the low-energy proton flow output by the first linear accelerator 21, improve the stability of the proton flow output by the first linear accelerator 21 in the vacuum pipe, and further accelerate the proton flow through the second linear accelerator 22 to output an energy level of 7MeV. The deflected beam is deflected by multiple deflection magnets 32, and then accelerated by the synchrotron 6 and transported to the proton therapy room 52; the proton flow controlled by the switching magnet 31 on the other path is transmitted to BNCT treatment. The energy level required for BNCT treatment is only 2.5-3MeV, which is provided to BNCT treatment when the proton therapy system does not need to use a linear accelerator, thereby realizing the supply of different treatment methods by the same equipment and improving equipment utilization.

[0036] Embodiment 2 See also Figure 2As shown, in this embodiment, the ion source 1 generates and extracts ions, and the low-energy proton flow is accelerated by the first linear accelerator 21 to transmit a proton flow of 2.5-3MeV. The second linear accelerator 22 is connected in series to the end of the first linear accelerator 21, and the low-energy proton flow is further accelerated by the second linear accelerator 22. The proton flow in the beam pipeline output by the second linear accelerator 22 reaches 7MeV. The transmission of the two transmission paths of the proton flow is controlled by the action of the switching magnet 31. When the patient needs to be treated with proton therapy in the treatment room, the switching magnet 31 preferentially opens the channel of the transmission path, and the 7MeV proton flow is deflected and transmitted by the deflection magnet 32, and then accelerated and extracted by the synchrotron 6, and transmitted horizontally to the proton treatment room 52; when the proton therapy system does not need the linear accelerator to provide a beam, the switching magnet 31 transmits the proton flow to the radioactive drug production terminal 53, which is a large-scale equipment located in the underground of the hospital, effectively improving the utilization rate of the equipment and improving the economic conversion efficiency.

[0037] In summary, the medical integrated device generates a low-energy proton flow for treating tumors by the ion source 1, which can be transmitted to three transmission paths. After passing through the first linear accelerator 21, the output 3MeV proton flow realizes BNCT treatment, and on the original basis, the proton flow continues to be transmitted to the second linear accelerator 22 for acceleration, and a 7MeV proton flow is transmitted, which can be provided to the radioactive drug production terminal 53; the transmitted 7MeV proton flow can be transmitted to multiple proton treatment rooms 52 after being accelerated by the synchrotron 6, thereby realizing tumor treatment with multiple purposes of one device. Since the working time of the linear accelerator required for different methods is different, the proton flow is switched according to the different working requirements of the linear accelerator, thereby improving the overall equipment utilization rate, and at the same time reducing the economic cost and site area for the construction of independent systems for different treatment methods; The system is also equipped with a backup beam unit 7 with the same function and structure as the proton flux acceleration unit 2. In the event of an emergency failure or equipment maintenance, the backup plan can be activated to continuously use the proton flux generated by its equipment to protect the transmission paths of different tumor treatments, achieve seamless switching and connection, ensure operating costs and economic benefits, and contribute to the development of tumor treatment technology.

[0038] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in this application should be understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which this application belongs. The words "first", "second", "third" and similar words used in the specification and claims of this application do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. "One" or "one" and similar words do not indicate a quantitative limit, but indicate that there is at least one. "Include" or "comprise" and similar words mean that the elements or objects appearing before "include" or "comprise" include the elements or objects listed after "include" or "comprise" and their equivalents, and do not exclude other elements or objects. "Up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used to indicate relative positional relationships. When the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0039] The above are all preferred embodiments of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Therefore, any equivalent changes made according to the structure, shape, and principle of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A multi-purpose tumor treatment system, characterized in that: include: An ion source (1) for generating a low-energy proton flux for treating tumors; A proton flow acceleration unit (2), the input end of which is connected to the output end of the ion source (1), and is used to accelerate the low-energy proton flow and draw out medium-energy beam flows of different energies; A switching deflection unit (3) is connected to the output end of the proton flow acceleration unit (2) to realize switching control of transmission of different paths; The output end of the proton flux acceleration unit (2) is provided with three transmission paths, including a first transmission path (41), a second transmission path (42) and a third transmission path (43); A first transmission path (41), wherein the output end of the proton flux acceleration unit (2) is connected to the input end of the synchrotron (6), and the proton flux is accelerated by the synchrotron (6) and transmitted to at least one proton therapy room (52); A second transmission path (42), the output end of the proton flux acceleration unit (2) is transmitted to a terminal (53) for producing radioactive drugs via a switching deflection unit (3); In a third transmission path (43), the output end of the proton flux acceleration unit (2) is transmitted to the BNCT treatment room (51) via the switching deflection unit (3).

2. A multi-purpose tumor treatment system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The proton flow acceleration unit (2) comprises a first linear accelerator (21) and a second linear accelerator (22); A first linear accelerator (21), whose input end is connected to the output end of the ion source (1) and is used to pre-accelerate the low-energy proton flow to an energy level of 2.5-3 MeV; The second linear accelerator (22) has an input end connected to the output end of the first linear accelerator (21) and is used to re-accelerate the medium-energy proton flow transmitted by the first linear accelerator (21) to accelerate the proton flow energy to an energy level of 7MeV.

3. A multi-purpose tumor treatment system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The switching deflection unit (3) comprises a switching magnet (31) and a deflection magnet (32); the switching magnet (31) is arranged on a vacuum pipeline outputted by the first linear accelerator (21) and / or the second linear accelerator (22) and is used to switch the direction in which the proton flow transmitted by the first linear accelerator (21) and / or the second linear accelerator (22) is transmitted along different paths; and the deflection magnet (32) is arranged at the output end of the first linear accelerator (21) and / or the second linear accelerator (22) along the deflection direction of the vacuum pipeline.

4. The multi-purpose tumor treatment system according to claim 2, characterized in that: A matching section (23) is also provided between the first linear accelerator (21) and the second linear accelerator, for matching conditions that satisfy the phase and optical parameters of the second linear accelerator (6), thereby improving the acceleration efficiency of the second linear accelerator.

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