A variable energy device, a variable energy accelerator treatment device and a control method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses a variable energy device, a variable energy accelerator treatment device and a control method thereof, including a KV digital detection flat panel assembly and a KV-level accelerator. The KV-level digital detection flat panel assembly includes a KV digital detection flat panel and a driving component. After adopting the technical solution of the present invention, a relatively small one can be used to move back and forth, so as to scan the signals of all fields of view once to obtain complete image information, which can greatly reduce the volume of the KV digital detection flat panel; when we adopt a KV-level accelerator system whose ray axis can be deflected, there is a straight line where the ray axis passes through the isocenter, and the angle of this straight line is set to zero. There is an angle between the straight line where the ray axis is deflected. This angle is within a positive and negative angle range. At this time, in cooperation with the back-and-forth movement of the KV digital detection flat panel, imaging with a larger FOV field of view range is obtained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an accelerator treatment device, and particularly to a variable energy device, a variable energy accelerator treatment device and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the development of tumor radiology and materials science, as an important means of treating cancer, radiotherapy has gradually entered the "three-precision" era of precise positioning, precise planning, and precise treatment. In the prior art, it is necessary to first perform a CT imaging on a patient, formulate a treatment plan, then perform positioning and radiotherapy on an accelerator treatment instrument, and finally verify the treatment dose and effect. Previously, these three processes were respectively completed on KV-level devices and MV-level devices. In order to improve work efficiency, it is desired to integrate the imaging function of the KV level and the treatment function of the MV level on one device. One solution is to modify the structure of the MV-level accelerator so that it can generate rays of two or more energy levels. The low-energy rays are used for imaging and dose verification, and the high-energy rays are used for treatment. However, its structure is complex, and currently there is no device actually applied to clinical practice. Another is to directly install a KV-level tube and a KV-level digital detection flat panel on the gantry of the MV-level accelerator, generally arranged at 90° with the MV-level accelerator main unit, and both rotate simultaneously with the main gantry. However, in this way, during treatment and imaging, the main gantry needs to rotate significantly so that both can obtain the positions to be irradiated or imaged, which affects work efficiency. The inventor of the present invention previously proposed a new solution, that is, installing a KV-level tube and a KV-level digital detection flat panel on an independent slip ring so that they can rotate independently along the slip ring independent of the MV-level accelerator. In this way, the relative positions of the two can be independently controlled, reducing the rotation amplitude of the main gantry when switching between treatment and imaging verification, and improving work efficiency. However, since the FOV (field of view) of the KV-level tube is a fixed value, and the distance between it and the KV-level digital detection flat panel is also generally fixed, its imaging range is limited (i.e., the FOV is not adjustable), and it is necessary to irradiate and image the KV-level from many angles to complete a relatively complete image data, and its efficiency still needs to be improved. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To solve the above problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a dual-energy accelerator treatment device with a simple, reliable structure and effectively improving work efficiency.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is:

[0005] A variable energy device for being installed in an accelerator treatment device and located between the accelerator and the treatment couch, and the beam emitted by the accelerator passes through the variable energy device and its energy level is maintained or changed by it.

[0006] The present invention provides a physical variable device between an accelerator and a treatment couch (substantially between the accelerator and the patient), which changes the ray energy level when reaching the patient's body by using a variable energy device, so as to achieve the purpose of making the accelerator multifunctional and bring a convenient solution for improving the application efficiency of the accelerator treatment equipment.

[0007] Furthermore, the variable energy device includes at least one stage of variable energy units, and each stage of variable energy unit includes:

[0008] A shielding component for blocking a part of the beam from passing through;

[0009] A reflection component for reflecting a part of the other part of the rays, so that the reflected part of the rays is combined with the part of the rays passing through the gap between the shielding component and the reflection component to form a new beam.

[0010] The present invention creatively adopts a very simple and reliable technical solution to realize the change of the ray energy reaching the patient's body. By using a shielding component (such as a tungsten metal plate and any other component that can block the passage of rays) to block part of the rays, the energy of this part of the rays is blocked and discarded, and then the reflection component is used to re - emit and direct the unblocked rays to form a new ray beam. Since the rays at the edge part of the original ray beam can be utilized, and their energy level is lower than that of the rays in the central region of the original beam, the purpose of adjusting the ray energy level reaching the patient's body can be achieved.

[0011] Furthermore, the shielding component is at least one layer of shielding plates arranged horizontally or substantially horizontally for blocking the passage of the beam.

[0012] Furthermore, the shielding plate is provided with a shielding plate driving device for driving the shielding plate to approach or move away from the reflection component.

[0013] Furthermore, the shielding plate is composed of a plurality of shielding strips arranged in parallel that can approach or move away from the reflection component independently.

[0014] Furthermore, the reflection working surface of the reflection component is an inward - concave cylindrical surface.

[0015] Furthermore, the reflection component is provided with a reflection angle adjustment device for driving the reflection component to rotate around a horizontal axis, and / or is also provided with a lifting device for driving the reflection component to rise or fall in the vertical direction.

[0016] Furthermore, the reflection component is composed of a plurality of reflection strips arranged in parallel that can approach or move away from the shielding component independently.

[0017] Furthermore, the thickness of the reflection component is greater than the thickness of the shielding component.

[0018] The present invention also provides a method for changing the energy of an accelerator treatment device, including the following steps:

[0019] A step of blocking a part of the rays by a shielding component capable of blocking the rays of the accelerator;

[0020] A step of reflecting a part of the rays in another part of the rays by a reflecting component, so that the reflected part of the rays and the part of the rays passing through the gap between the shielding component and the reflecting component are combined into a new beam.

[0021] The present invention also provides a variable-energy accelerator treatment device, including the variable-energy device described in any one of the above claims, and the variable-energy device is arranged between the accelerator and the treatment couch. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of the present invention.

[0025] The corresponding component names represented by the numbers and letters in the figure:

[0026] 1. primary accelerator; 11. the ray beam emitted from the accelerator; 121 / 122. the boundary of the ray beam emitted from the accelerator; 123. the ray that the ray beam emitted from the accelerator passes through the edge of the shielding component; 21. shielding component; 22. reflecting component; 12. the ray beam reaching the patient's body; 1211. the boundary of the ray beam reflected by the reflecting component; 211. the edge formed at one end of the shielding component close to the reflecting component; 221. the edge formed at one end of the reflecting component close to the shielding component; 3. treatment couch. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0028] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, a variable-energy device is installed in an accelerator treatment device and is located between the accelerator 1 and the treatment couch 3. The beam 11 (the ray beam emitted from the accelerator) emitted from the accelerator 1 passes through the variable-energy device and its energy level is maintained or changed by it.

[0029] The present invention provides a variable device between the accelerator 1 and the treatment couch 3 (substantially between the accelerator and the patient), and uses the variable-energy device to change the ray energy level when reaching the patient's body, so as to achieve the purpose of making the accelerator multi-functional, and bring a convenient solution for improving the application efficiency of the accelerator treatment device.

[0030] In practical applications, a feasible solution is that the energy conversion device includes at least one stage of energy conversion unit ( Figure 1 in which an example of using a single-stage energy conversion unit is shown), and each stage of energy conversion unit includes:

[0031] A shielding component 21 for blocking a part of the beam from passing through;

[0032] A reflection component 22 reflects a part of the rays in another part of the rays, so that the reflected part of the rays is combined with the part of the rays passing through the gap between the shielding component 21 and the reflection component 22 to form a new beam 12 (the beam of rays reaching the patient's body).

[0033] The present invention creatively adopts a very simple and reliable technical solution to achieve the change of the ray energy reaching the patient's body. By using a shielding component (such as a tungsten metal plate and any other component that can block the passage of rays) to block part of the rays, the energy of this part of the rays is blocked and discarded, and then the reflection component is used to re-emit and direct the unblocked rays to form a brand-new beam of rays. Since the rays at the edge part of the original beam of rays can be utilized, and their energy level is lower than that of the rays in the central region of the original beam, the purpose of adjusting the energy level of the rays reaching the patient's body can be achieved.

[0034] As Figure 2 shown, in practical applications, the shielding component may adopt at least one layer of shielding plates arranged horizontally or substantially horizontally to block the passage of the beam. Figure 2 In the figure is a scheme of using a single layer of shielding plate. In practical applications, according to the requirements of the beam of rays reaching the patient's body, the end of the shielding plate close to the reflection component can be made into a circular arc edge, as Figure 2 shown by the part numbered 211 in the figure (the edge formed at the end of the shielding component close to the reflection component can be made into a circular arc according to needs), Figure 2 which is shown as an inward concave circular arc in the figure, or it can also be an outward convex circular arc, or other shapes, depending on the required beam shape.

[0035] In practical applications, in order to convert energy and normally use the original accelerator beam for treatment, the shielding plate is provided with a shielding plate driving device for driving the shielding plate to approach or move away from the reflection component.

[0036] As Figure 3 shown, in order to more conveniently adjust the shape of the edge formed at the end of the shielding component close to the reflection component, thereby adjusting the shape of the edge of the ray, the shielding plate is composed of a plurality of shielding strips arranged in parallel that can approach or move away from the reflection component independently. This is similar to using a single-sided multi-leaf collimator as the shielding component. Then, in practical applications, one side of the leaves in the multi-leaf collimator on the original accelerator treatment device can be used as the shielding component, achieving the purpose of saving space and cost.

[0037] In practical applications, in order to control the boundary shape of the beam reaching the patient's body, the reflective working surface of the reflection component can be designed as a concave cylindrical surface.

[0038] In practical applications, the reflection component is provided with a reflection angle adjustment device for driving the reflection component to rotate around a horizontal axis, and / or is further provided with a lifting device for driving the reflection component to rise or fall in the vertical direction. This can bring more convenience to the control.

[0039] In some embodiments, in order to more precisely control the boundary shape of the beam reaching the patient's body, the reflection component can be composed of a plurality of reflection strips arranged in parallel that can approach or move away from the shielding component individually.

[0040] Generally speaking, the thickness of the reflection component should be greater than the thickness of the shielding component.

[0041] The present invention also provides a method for varying the energy of an accelerator treatment device, including the following steps:

[0042] The step of using a shielding component that can block the accelerator rays to block a part of the rays;

[0043] The step of using the reflection component to reflect a part of the rays in the other part of the rays, so that the reflected part of the rays and the part of the rays passing through the gap between the shielding component and the reflection component are combined into a new beam.

[0044] The present invention also provides a variable-energy accelerator treatment device, including the variable-energy device described in any one of the above claims, and the variable-energy device is arranged between the accelerator and the treatment bed.

[0045] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the creative concept of the present invention, several modifications and improvements can still be made, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A variable energy device, characterized in that, it is used to be installed in an accelerator treatment device and is located between the accelerator and the treatment couch. The beam emitted by the accelerator passes through the variable energy device and its energy level is maintained or reduced by it; the variable energy device includes at least one stage of variable energy unit, and each stage of variable energy unit includes: a shielding component for blocking part of the beam from passing through; a reflection component for reflecting part of the other part of the rays, so that the reflected part of the rays and the part of the rays passing through the gap between the shielding component and the reflection component are combined into a new beam.

2. The variable energy device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the shielding component is at least one layer of horizontally arranged shielding plates for blocking the passage of the beam.

3. The variable energy device according to claim 2, characterized in that, the shielding plate is provided with a shielding plate driving device for driving the shielding plate to approach or move away from the reflection component.

4. The variable energy device according to claim 2, characterized in that, the shielding plate is composed of a plurality of individual shielding strips arranged in parallel and approaching or moving away from the reflection component.

5. The variable energy device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the reflection working surface of the reflection component is a concave cylindrical surface.

6. The variable energy device according to claim 5, characterized in that, the reflection component is provided with a reflection angle adjustment device for driving the reflection component to rotate around a horizontal axis, and / or is further provided with a lifting device for driving the reflection component to rise or fall in the vertical direction.

7. The variable energy device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the reflection component is composed of a plurality of individual reflection strips arranged in parallel and approaching or moving away from the shielding component.

8. The variable energy device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the thickness of the reflection component is greater than the thickness of the shielding component.

9. A method for varying the energy of an accelerator treatment device, comprising the following steps: a step of using a shielding component capable of blocking the accelerator rays to block part of the rays; a step of using a reflection component to reflect part of the other part of the rays, so that the reflected part of the rays and the part of the rays passing through the gap between the shielding component and the reflection component are combined into a new beam.

10. A variable energy accelerator treatment device, characterized in that, it includes the variable energy device according to any one of claims 1-8.

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