Dedicated breast radiation imaging/therapy system

Abstract

System, apparatus and methods specialized for breast and related tissue radiation therapy and imaging of a prone patient but also usable for supine patient if desired or needed. A special treatment radiation source such as a LINAC unit generates radiation of types and energy ranges specifically matched to breast tissue. Any one or more of several imaging technologies may be used to localize the tissue to be irradiated and to generate information for therapy planning, adjustment, and verification.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]This application is related to International application No. PCT / US07 / 017470 filed Aug. 3, 2007, claiming the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60 / 835,803 filed Aug. 3, 2006. This patent specification incorporates by reference the content of each of said earlier-filed applications.FIELD [0002]This patent specification is in the field of radiation therapy and associated imaging and therapy planning / adjustment / verification, and specifically pertains to dedicated, specialized radiation therapy of a patient's breast and associated imaging and planning procedures.BACKGROUND [0003]Radiation therapy has long been used in medicine. Typically, high energy radiation from sources such as linear accelerators and radioisotopes is used, especially in whole-body, external beam systems where the radiation may need to penetrate a significant amount of tissue in order to reach the target volume and attain within the target volume the prescribed therap...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]In a treatment planning / adjustment / verification mode, the system uses information obtained from other imaging modalities and / or information from the imaging mode of the system disclosed in this patent specification to plan treatment or at least to verify / adjust treatment plans and / or verify the position of the lesion or other target volume and / or of other body parts relative to system and patient geometry. In a radiation therapy mode of the system disclosed in this patent specification, a therapy radiation source below the patient table or couch moves about the downwardly extending breast of a patient in the prone position and emits radiation in energy ranges that are uniquely suited to breast-related radiation treatment. Importantly, the therapy radiation source can move not only in a horizontal plane (e.g., about a vertical axis) but also in other planes (e.g., about a non-vertical axis) to irradiate breast-related tissue such as the patient's axilla, target volumes that are very close to the chest wall, and other lymph nodes away from the breast. Also importantly, the therapy radiation source can rotate or otherwise move about the lesion or other target volume or about other loci to direct radiation along paths that maintain a low skin dose. The system directs and otherwise controls the radiation, preferably in accordance with current or updated treatment plans.

Problems solved by technology

The irradiation of normal tissue is a necessary physical consequence of all modes of radiotherapy and typically becomes the limiting factor in any given patient's therapy regimen.

In procedures that use radiation sources inside the patient's body, a similar challenge is the undesirable but unavoidable exposure of normal tissue.

Conventional, whole-body, external beam systems can be used for breast therapy as well but their large, whole body geometry tends to lead to undesirable irradiation of significant amounts of healthy tissue.

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