Radiation treatment planning method and apparatus

Abstract

The invention relates to a radiation treatment planning method and apparatus. The control circuit may be configured to generate a virtual target volume from the target volume of the particular patient and then generate a virtual bolus from the virtual target volume. The control circuit may then determine a corresponding radiation dose using the target volume and the virtual bolus, thereby optimizing a radiation treatment plan for a particular patient.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for facilitating optimization of a radiation treatment plan for a target volume of a specific patient. BACKGROUND

[0002] The use of energy to treat disease is a known area of endeavor in the art. For example, radiation therapy is an important component of many treatment plans for reducing or eliminating unwanted tumors. Unfortunately, the energy applied does not inherently distinguish between unwanted matter and adjacent tissue, organs or the like that are necessary or even vital to the continued survival of the patient. Thus, energy such as radiation is typically applied in a carefully administered manner to at least attempt to limit the energy to a given target volume. So-called radiation treatment planning often facilitates the above.

[0003] A radiation treatment plan typically includes specified values for each of various treatment platform parameters during each of a plurality of successive fields. Treatment plans for a radiation treatment session are typically automatically generated by a so-called optimization process. As used herein, "optimization" is to be understood as improving a candidate treatment plan, without necessarily ensuring that the result of the optimization is in fact the only best solution. Such optimization typically includes automatically adjusting one or more physical treatment parameters (typically while observing one or more corresponding limits in these regards) and mathematically computing a possible corresponding treatment result (e.g. a dose level) to identify a given set of treatment parameters that represents a good trade-off between desired therapy results and avoidance of undesirable side effects.

[0004] There are potential sources of error in preparing a radiation treatment plan. Some examples include patient setup errors, patient tissue swelling, and patient movement during radiation delivery (e.g. due to breathing). These situations can be of concern, for example, when planning radiation treatment for a patient target volume that is close to the surface of the body (as is often the case when treating breast cancer).

[0005] Skin flash refers to the intentional extension of a radiation field beyond the surface of the patient's skin to ensure that the patient's treatment volume receives the full dose of radiation. The flash helps to ensure that a portion of the patient's treatment volume that is located within the skin is covered with the therapy dose throughout the course of treatment, which can have moved slightly or deformed during breathing or patient movement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0006] The above needs are at least partially met by the radiation treatment planning methods and apparatuses described below, which provide, among other things, a radiation treatment planning method and apparatus that, when studied in light of the following detailed description, will be better understood.

[0007] Figure 1 A block diagram illustrating various embodiments configured in accordance with these teachings is shown;

[0008] Figure 2 a flowchart configured in accordance with various embodiments of the teachings is shown;

[0009] Figure 3 a flowchart configured in accordance with various embodiments of the teachings is shown;

[0010] Figure 4 a schematic diagram configured in accordance with various embodiments of the teachings is shown;

[0011] Figure 5 a schematic diagram configured in accordance with various embodiments of the teachings is shown;

[0012] Figure 6 a schematic diagram configured in accordance with various embodiments of the teachings is shown;

[0013] Figure 7 a schematic diagram configured in accordance with various embodiments of the teachings is shown;

[0014] Figure 8 a schematic diagram configured in accordance with various embodiments of the teachings is shown; and

[0015] Figure 9 a schematic diagram configured in accordance with various embodiments of the teachings is shown.

[0016] The elements in the figures are illustrative of the various embodiments and do not necessarily appear as depicted in the figures, for simplicity and clarity. For example, the dimensions and / or relative positioning of certain of the elements in the figures can be exaggerated relative to other elements, for purposes of illustration, to help the reader understand various embodiments of the present teachings. Furthermore, the specific numeric values and configurations shown in these figures are intended to be illustrative only and are non-limiting. Conventional and easily understood elements of various embodiments of the present teachings are often not depicted in order to facilitate visualization and understanding of various embodiments of the present teachings. Certain actions and / or steps can be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence, but those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity is not necessary and that the various embodiments of the present teachings can be practiced in other orders of occurrence. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above unless otherwise specifically defined by a context. Any use of "or" herein is intended to be interpreted as having an inclusive disjunctive meaning unless otherwise specifically indicated to the contrary. The use of "and" herein is intended to be interpreted as having an inclusive conjunctive meaning unless otherwise specifically indicated to the contrary. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Generally, in accordance with these various embodiments, the control circuit can be configured to generate a virtual target volume from the target volume for a particular patient and then generate a virtual bolus from the virtual target volume. The control circuit can then use the target volume and the virtual bolus to determine a corresponding radiation dose, thereby optimizing a radiation treatment plan for the particular patient.

[0018] By one approach, generating the virtual target volume can include generating a first intermediate virtual target volume that is disposed at least partially outside the body structure contour of the particular patient. By one approach, generating the virtual target volume described above can include optionally providing the user with an opportunity to set different user-provided expansion values for each of six orthogonal directions (e.g., for each of the X, Y, and Z axes in the positive and negative directions). Such expansion values (or other selected expansion values) can then be used to expand the target volume to provide an expanded target volume.

[0019] The control circuit can then subtract the body structure contour of the particular patient from the expanded target volume to produce a first intermediate virtual target volume. Subsequently, the teachings will accommodate filling a gap between the target volume and the first intermediate virtual target volume to provide a second intermediate virtual target volume. By one approach, the virtual target volume can be generated by separating the second intermediate virtual target volume from the previously generated target voxels that are separated from the target volume to provide the virtual target volume.

[0020] When generating the virtual bolus described above, the teachings will accommodate determining a density of the virtual bolus.

[0021] The teachings are highly flexible in practice and can accommodate a variety of application settings. By one approach, for example, the virtual target volume described above can include a virtual skin flash target.

[0022] The optimized radiation therapy plan developed by the teachings can be used, for example, to implement therapy radiation on the particular patient.

[0023] By so configuring, the teachings can save planning time, for example, as compared to manual skin flash techniques. It will be appreciated that the teachings can facilitate varying the density of the virtual bolus described above depending on the direction of the beam. The latter capability, in turn, can result in improved quality and efficiency of the final plan.

[0024] These advantages and other advantages can become apparent from a thorough review of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings. Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein: Figure 1 An illustrative device 100 compatible with many of the teachings will first be introduced.

[0025] In this particular example, enabling device 100 includes control circuitry 101. Thus, as a “circuit,” control circuitry 101 includes a structure comprising at least one (and typically multiple) conductive paths (e.g., paths composed of conductive metals such as copper or silver) that deliver power in an ordered manner. These paths typically also include corresponding electrical components (depending on the case, passive components (e.g., resistors and capacitors) and active components (e.g., any of various semiconductor-based devices)) to allow the circuitry to implement the control aspects of these teachings.

[0026] This control circuit 101 may include a fixed-purpose hardwired hardware platform (including, but not limited to, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) (which are custom integrated circuits designed for a specific purpose rather than general-purpose integrated circuits), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.) or may include a partially or fully programmable hardware platform (including, but not limited to, microcontrollers, microprocessors, etc.). These architectural options for this configuration are well known and understood in the art and therefore do not need to be described further herein. The control circuit 101 is configured (e.g., by using corresponding programming known to those skilled in the art) to perform one or more steps, actions, and / or functions described herein.

[0027] It should be recognized that the control circuit 101 may include a single integrated platform or may include multiple such circuits that cooperate with each other.

[0028] Control circuitry 101 is operatively coupled to memory 102. Memory 102 may be integrated into control circuitry 101 or physically separated from control circuitry 101 (wholly or partially) as desired. Memory 102 may also be located locally relative to control circuitry 101 (where, for example, both share a common circuit board, frame, power supply, and / or housing) or may be located partially or entirely remotely relative to control circuitry 101 (for example, memory 102 is physically located in another facility, metropolitan area, or even country compared to control circuitry 101). Like control circuitry 101, memory 102 may comprise a single structure or may comprise multiple memory platforms that collectively constitute the “memory” of device 100.

[0029] In addition to information such as patient-specific optimization information and information about specific radiation therapy platforms as described herein, memory 102 can also be used, for example, to non-transitory store computer instructions that, when executed by control circuitry 101, cause control circuitry 101 to operate as described herein. (As used herein, "non-transitory" should be understood as the non-transitory state of the stored content (and therefore excludes the case where the stored content constitutes only a signal or wave) rather than the volatile nature of the storage medium itself and therefore includes both non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM)) and volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM)).

[0030] Alternatively, the control circuitry 101 may also be operatively coupled to the user interface 103. The user interface 103 may include any of a variety of user input mechanisms (e.g., but not limited to keyboards and keypads, cursor control devices, touch-sensitive displays, voice recognition interfaces, gesture recognition interfaces, etc.) and / or user output mechanisms (e.g., but not limited to visual displays, audio converters, printers, etc.) to facilitate receiving information and / or instructions from the user and / or providing information to the user.

[0031] If needed, the control circuitry 101 can also be operatively coupled to a network interface (not shown). With this configuration, the control circuitry 101 can communicate with other components (located inside and outside the device 100) via the network interface. Network interfaces (including wireless and non-wireless platforms) are understood in the art and therefore do not need to be specifically described herein.

[0032] By means of a method, computed tomography device 106 and / or other imaging device 107 known in the art can acquire some or all of any desired patient-related imaging information.

[0033] In this illustrative example, control circuitry 101 is configured to ultimately output an optimized energy-based treatment plan (e.g., an optimized radiation therapy plan 113). This energy-based treatment plan typically includes specified values ​​for each of various treatment platform parameters during each of multiple consecutive exposure fields. In this case, the energy-based treatment plan is generated through an optimization process, an example of which will be further provided herein.

[0034] In one method, control circuitry 101 can be operatively coupled to an energy-based treatment platform 114 (a device comprising multiple component devices) configured to deliver therapeutic energy 112 to a corresponding patient 104 according to an optimized energy-based treatment plan 113, the patient having at least one treatment volume 105 and one or more organs at risk (in... Figure 1(The organs at risk are represented by 108 and 109 from the first to the Nth). These teachings are generally applicable to any of a variety of energy-based therapeutic platforms / devices. In a typical application setting, the energy-based therapeutic platform 114 would include an energy source, such as a radiation source 115 of ionizing radiation 116.

[0035] A method allows a radiation source 115 to be selectively moved along an arc-shaped path via a gantry (wherein, during treatment, the path at least partially includes the patient). The arc-shaped path may, as desired, comprise a complete or near-complete circle. A method allows control circuitry 101 to control the movement of the radiation source 115 along the arc-shaped path, and can accordingly control when the radiation source 115 begins to move, stops moving, accelerates, decelerates, and / or the speed at which the radiation source 115 travels along the arc-shaped path.

[0036] As an illustrative example, radiation source 115 may include, for example, an X-ray source based on a radio frequency (RF) linear particle accelerator (a linear accelerator). A linear accelerator is a particle accelerator that greatly increases the kinetic energy of charged subatomic particles or ions by subjecting charged particles to a series of oscillating potentials along a linear beamline, which can be used to generate ionizing radiation (e.g., X-rays) 116 and high-energy electrons.

[0037] A typical energy-based therapy platform 114 may also include one or more support devices 110 (e.g., a sofa) for supporting the patient 104 during the therapy session, one or more patient fixation devices 111, a gantry or other movable mechanism to allow selective movement of the radiation source 115, and one or more energy shaping devices (e.g., beam shaping devices 117, such as a beam limiter, multi-leaf collimator, etc.) to provide selective energy shaping and / or energy modulation as desired.

[0038] In a typical application setting, this document assumes that the patient support device 110 can be selectively controlled by control circuitry 101 during an energy-based therapeutic session to move in any direction (i.e., any X, Y, or Z direction). Since the aforementioned components and systems are readily understood in the art, no further elaboration on these aspects is provided herein unless relevant to the description.

[0039] Now for reference Figure 2 The process 200 is described as being executed, for example, in conjunction with the application settings described above (and more specifically via the control circuit 101 described above). Generally, process 200 is used to facilitate the generation of an optimized radiation therapy plan 113, thereby facilitating therapeutic radiation therapy on a specific patient using a specific radiation therapy platform according to the optimized radiation therapy plan.

[0040] At box 201, process 200 is used to generate a virtual target volume based on the target volume in a specific patient body (e.g., a tumor; for illustrative purposes, this specification generally assumes that the tumor is located in the breast of a specific patient, but it should be understood that these teachings are not limited to this application setting).

[0041] These instructions will be applicable to any of the various methods used to generate virtual target volumes. (For now, please refer to the original text.) Figure 3 This describes various specific methods for addressing these aspects. It should also be understood that these teachings are not limited to the methods described.

[0042] Furthermore, for the sake of this illustrative example, Figure 4 The diagram shows a patient volume 400 having an outer surface 401 (i.e., skin) and a target volume 402 adjacent to that outer surface 401.

[0043] As described below, the process of generating a virtual target volume can utilize extended values ​​provided by the user.

[0044] Through a method, and as illustrated in box 301, the process may include (e.g., via the aforementioned user interface 103) providing the user with the opportunity to set different (or the same) user-provided extended values ​​for each of the six orthogonal directions. In general, these six directions may include positive and negative directions in the X direction, positive and negative directions in the Y direction, and positive and negative directions in the Z direction. From the context of the relevant application settings, these six directions may include the patient's front, back, left, right, head-to-toe, and foot-to-foot directions.

[0045] At block 302, control circuit 101 expands target volume 402 by at least one user-provided expansion value (e.g., user-provided expansion value for each of the six orthogonal directions described above) to provide, as in Figure 5 The enlarged target volume 501 is shown. In particular, the control circuit 101 enlarges the target volume 402 by a user-defined radius according to one or more of the six main directions described above (i.e., the front, back, left, right, head, and foot directions in this illustrative example).

[0046] At box 303, control circuitry 101 subtracts the body structure contour of a specific patient (e.g., defined by the outer surface 401 of a specific patient) from the enlarged target volume 501 to produce, as shown in Figure 6 The first intermediate virtual target volume 601 is shown. The latter (if present) is used to test whether the enlarged target volume 501 actually extends to any point outside the patient's body. If this is not the case, the procedure can draw a conclusion from this (or, where applicable, the procedure can be performed for other target volumes in a similar manner).

[0047] Assuming the first intermediate virtual target volume 601 extends beyond the patient's body, at box 304, the process will optionally adapt to fill the gap between the target volume 402 and the first intermediate virtual target volume 601 to provide, as in Figure 7 The second intermediate virtual target volume 701 is shown. One method may include taking the union of the first intermediate virtual target volume 601 and the target volume 402 and then expanding it in all directions with a fixed extension radius, followed by erosion with the same extension radius to connect the structure in three dimensions, and then subtracting the target volume 402.

[0048] At box 305, the process can then separate the second intermediate virtual target volume 701 from the previously generated target voxel separated from the target volume 402, to provide as in Figure 8 The resulting virtual target volume 801 is shown. In practice, this activity can be used to clean up the resulting virtual target volume 801. One method for this is to include morphologically opening a second intermediate virtual target volume 701 to remove any individual voxel clusters that may have remained from the previous operation. Removing these voxels helps ensure that unwanted radiation does not enter the patient's body.

[0049] For example, the process can generate a virtual, automatically generated skin glitter target, which can be used for optimization in addition to the original structure.

[0050] Refer again Figure 2 And also refer to Figure 9 At box 202, process 200 can generate a virtual bolus 901 based on the virtual target volume 801. (One method is to use a virtual bolus to modify a patient's computed tomography image such that dose calculations produce a dose for a virtual target portion that may be located outside the original patient body contour.) One method is to include expanding the virtual target volume 801 by a predetermined bolus thickness (e.g., 3 mm, which may be an automatically applied default value or a value selected by the user as desired), and then subtracting the patient's outer surface 401 from the expanded structure.

[0051] A virtual bolus 901 can have an automatically determined density (e.g., based on a patient image) through a method. For example, the density value of the virtual bolus 901 can be automatically estimated from one or more computed tomography images by obtaining the Huntsfield unit (HU) value of the original target volume 402 and calculating the trimmed median. Alternatively, or in combination with the above, the virtual bolus 901 can have a density specified by the user (e.g., through the user interface 103 described above). The virtual bolus density can be added to one or more corresponding computed tomography images generated from other structures and density assignments to suit application settings.

[0052] At block 203, control circuitry 101 uses target volume 402 and virtual bolus 901 to optimize a radiation therapy plan to determine at least one corresponding radiation dose, thereby providing an optimized radiation therapy plan 113. Specifically, the dose to virtual target volume 801 can be generated by referencing virtual bolus 901 during optimization. For many application settings, optimization may include using the original target volume, virtual target volume, virtual bolus, and organs at risk to optimize the radiation therapy plan to provide an optimized radiation therapy plan (such that the original target volume and the new virtual target volume are used during optimization). In particular, all organ at risk structures with user-defined targets can be used when optimizing the radiation therapy plan. By one method, the radiation density of each sub-beam can be further scaled during dose calculation by a factor that is a function of the angle between the sub-beam and the average of the surface normal directions of the k (>0) nearest points on the patient's body hit by the sub-beam.

[0053] One method involves using both the original target volume and the virtual target volume as optimization targets during the optimization process. In this respect, the optimization target of the original target volume can be copied to the virtual target.

[0054] At optional block 204, control circuitry 101 can then use optimized radiation therapy plan 113 to deliver therapeutic radiation 112 to a specific patient 104.

[0055] More details on conformity with these teachings will now be presented. It should be understood that the specific details of these examples are intended for illustrative purposes and are not intended to imply any particular limitation regarding these teachings.

[0056] The dose estimation during optimization can be corrected for inhomogeneities using electron density (e.g., derived from computed tomography images). Virtual bolus density can be added to the computed tomography image of each dose calculation field (e.g., the treatment field of intensity-modulated radiation therapy or a subgroup of control points along each arc field for volume-modulated arc therapy), such that the density in each voxel p is a function of the angle θ between the beam and the average of the surface normal directions of the k (>0) nearest points on the body to the voxel.

[0057] ρ=f(θ)

[0058] The possible forms of this function can be, but are not limited to:

[0059]

[0060] Where cosθ0 is the cosine of the (user-defined) reference angle value θ0 and ρ0 is the (user-defined) default electron density value of the virtual cluster.

[0061] The function described above can rise from zero at the limiting angle value to ρ0 at the tangent position (where the body surface is perpendicular to the beam direction):

[0062] ρ = ρ0H(cosθ0 - ||cos(θ)||) where H is the Heaviside step function (value 0 when the independent variable is negative and value 1 when the independent variable is positive). This function can produce sharp edges in the density without any slope.

[0063] These teachings will apply to automatically determining virtual swarm HU values ​​as the trimmed median of the HU values ​​of the original target in computed tomography images. As used herein, the term "trimmed median" means considering only HU values ​​within a predetermined range to obtain a suitable value representing the organ tissue and thus removing values ​​corresponding to air and / or extremely dense volumes.

[0064] It should be understood that by creating the aforementioned virtual swarms based on virtual targets rather than the original targets, these teachings tend to avoid creating excessively large virtual swarms. A method is employed where, when scaling the virtual swarm density using a scaling factor that depends on the sub-beam's orientation relative to the virtual swarm, it is not necessary to create a copy of the computed tomography image for each calculation direction. Instead, during dose calculation, the radiation path length of each sub-beam can be scaled according to this factor.

[0065] It should also be understood that these teachings allow for the use of intermediate dose calculations and the aforementioned automatic skin flash adjustment during optimization. Since the intermediate dose calculation is performed during optimization, this calculation can also utilize a virtual structure created for skin flash.

[0066] Other aspects of the invention are provided by the subject matter of the following provisions:

[0067] Clause 1. A method for facilitating the optimization of a radiation therapy plan for a specific patient's target volume, the method comprising: via control circuitry: generating a virtual target volume based on the target volume; generating a virtual bolus based on the virtual target volume; and using the target volume, the virtual target volume, and the virtual bolus to optimize the radiation therapy plan to determine a radiation dose, thereby providing an optimized radiation therapy plan.

[0068] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein generating virtual clusters includes determining the density of the virtual clusters.

[0069] Clause 3. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 or 2, wherein generating the virtual target volume includes generating a first intermediate virtual target volume, the first intermediate virtual target volume being at least partially positioned outside the body structure contour of the particular patient.

[0070] Clause 4. The method according to Clause 3, wherein generating the first intermediate virtual target volume includes expanding the target volume by at least one expansion value provided by the user to provide an expanded target volume.

[0071] Clause 5. The method described in Clause 4 further includes: providing the user with the opportunity to set different user-provided extension values ​​for each of the six orthogonal directions.

[0072] Clause 6. The method described in Clause 4 further includes: subtracting the body structure contour of a specific patient from the enlarged target volume to generate a first intermediate virtual target volume.

[0073] Clause 7. The method described in Clause 6 further includes: filling the gap between the target volume and the first intermediate virtual target volume to provide a second intermediate virtual target volume.

[0074] Clause 8. The method according to Clause 7 further includes: separating the second intermediate virtual target volume from the previously generated target voxel separated from the target volume to provide a virtual target volume.

[0075] Clause 9. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 8, wherein the virtual target volume includes a virtual skin flash target.

[0076] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9 includes: administering therapeutic radiation to a specific patient using an optimized radiation therapy plan.

[0077] Clause 11. An apparatus for facilitating the optimization of a radiation therapy plan for a specific patient's target volume, the apparatus comprising: control circuitry configured to: generate a virtual target volume based on the target volume; generate a virtual bolus based on the virtual target volume; and optimize the radiation therapy plan using the target volume and the virtual bolus to determine a radiation dose, thereby providing an optimized radiation therapy plan.

[0078] Clause 12. The device according to Clause 11, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to generate virtual swarms by determining the density of the virtual swarms.

[0079] Clause 13. The device according to any one of Clauses 11 or 12, wherein the control circuitry is configured to generate a virtual target volume by generating a first intermediate virtual target volume, the first intermediate virtual target volume being at least partially disposed outside the body structure contour of a particular patient.

[0080] Clause 14. The device according to Clause 13, wherein the control circuitry is configured to expand the target volume by at least one expansion value provided by the user to generate a first intermediate virtual target volume by providing the expanded target volume.

[0081] Clause 15. The device according to Clause 14, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to provide the user with the opportunity to set different user-provided extended values ​​for each of the six orthogonal directions.

[0082] Clause 16. The device according to Clause 14, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to subtract the body structure contour of a particular patient from the enlarged target volume to produce a first intermediate virtual target volume.

[0083] Clause 17. The device according to Clause 16, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to fill the gap between the target volume and the first intermediate virtual target volume to provide a second intermediate virtual target volume.

[0084] Clause 18. The device according to Clause 17, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: separate the second intermediate virtual target volume from the previously generated target voxel separated from the target volume to provide a virtual target volume.

[0085] Clause 19. The device according to any one of Clauses 11 to 18, wherein the virtual target volume includes a virtual skin flash target.

[0086] Clause 20. The device according to any one of Clauses 11 to 19, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: deliver therapeutic radiation to a specific patient using an optimized radiation therapy plan.

[0087] Those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications, alterations, and combinations can be made with respect to the above embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, and such modifications, alterations, and combinations should be considered to fall within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating the optimization of radiation therapy planning for a target volume specific to a patient, the method comprising: By controlling the circuit: A virtual target volume is generated based on the target volume; A virtual cluster injection is generated based on the virtual target volume; and The radiation therapy plan is optimized using the target volume and the virtual sac to determine the radiation dose, thereby providing an optimized radiation therapy plan.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Generating virtual clusters includes determining the density of the virtual clusters.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Generating the virtual target volume includes generating a first intermediate virtual target volume, which is at least partially located outside the body structure contour of the particular patient.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, Generating the first intermediate virtual target volume includes expanding the target volume by at least one expansion value provided by the user to provide an expanded target volume.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: It provides users with the opportunity to set different user-provided extension values ​​for each of the six orthogonal directions.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: The body structure contour of the specific patient is subtracted from the enlarged target volume to generate the first intermediate virtual target volume.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: Fill the gap between the target volume and the first intermediate virtual target volume to provide a second intermediate virtual target volume.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: The second intermediate virtual target volume is separated from the previously generated target voxel that is separated from the target volume to provide the virtual target volume.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The virtual target volume includes a virtual skin flash target.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Therapeutic radiation was administered to the specific patient using the optimized radiation therapy plan.

11. An apparatus for facilitating optimized radiation therapy planning for a specific patient's target volume, the apparatus comprising: Control circuit, the control circuit being configured to: A virtual target volume is generated based on the target volume; A virtual cluster injection is generated based on the virtual target volume; as well as The radiation therapy plan is optimized using the target volume and the virtual sac to determine the radiation dose, thereby providing an optimized radiation therapy plan.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein, The control circuit is also configured to generate the virtual swarm by determining the density of the virtual swarm.

13. The device according to claim 11, wherein, The control circuit is configured to generate the virtual target volume by generating a first intermediate virtual target volume, the first intermediate virtual target volume being at least partially located outside the body structure contour of the particular patient.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein, The control circuit is configured to generate the first intermediate virtual target volume by expanding the target volume with at least one user-provided expansion value to provide an expanded target volume.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein, The control circuit is also configured to: It provides users with the opportunity to set different user-provided extension values ​​for each of the six orthogonal directions.

16. The device according to claim 14, wherein, The control circuit is also configured to: The body structure contour of the specific patient is subtracted from the enlarged target volume to generate the first intermediate virtual target volume.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein, The control circuit is also configured to: Fill the gap between the target volume and the first intermediate virtual target volume to provide a second intermediate virtual target volume.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein, The control circuit is further configured to separate the second intermediate virtual target volume from the previously generated target voxel that is separated from the target volume, in order to provide the virtual target volume.

19. The device according to claim 11, wherein, The virtual target volume includes a virtual skin flash target.

20. The device according to claim 11, wherein, The control circuit is also configured to: Therapeutic radiation was administered to the specific patient using the optimized radiation therapy plan.

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