Cabin type radiation irradiation device and method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cabin-type radiation irradiation device and method. According to a specific embodiment, the radiation irradiation device includes: a frame having a hollow frame structure, the hollow portion of the frame structure forming a treatment cabin; a first guide rail fixedly disposed on the frame; a radiation treatment head slidably disposed on the first guide rail; and a cabin door that can be opened and closed on the frame. The radiation irradiation device of the present invention can perform radiation therapy on patients in a standing or sitting posture, using image guidance technology to ensure the accuracy of the treatment position, and using (non-) coplanar radiotherapy technology to achieve highly focused radiation irradiation. At the same time, it has a self-shielding function, which can reduce the difficulty and cost of building a radiation room.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the field of radiotherapy equipment, and in particular, to a cabin-type radiation irradiation device and method. Background Art

[0002] As one of the important means of tumor treatment, radiotherapy plays an important role in the field of tumor treatment. It is estimated that 60-70% of malignant tumors require radiotherapy. During radiotherapy, the patient needs to be accurately positioned to ensure that the body part to be irradiated, especially the tumor target area, receives a sufficiently high radiation dose while minimizing damage to the patient's healthy tissues.

[0003] More than 90% of the existing radiotherapy is carried out based on C-arm radiotherapy machines, that is, the C-shaped frame drives the treatment head to rotate 360° around the lying patient to achieve dose delivery. During conventional coplanar irradiation, the angle of the treatment bed is zero degrees, and the central axes of all radiation fields are located in the same plane. The field layout is relatively simple, but the range of field layout angle selection is limited, which is not conducive to the protection of organs at risk. Ideally, non-coplanar irradiation can expand the range of field angle selection to the entire three-dimensional space, which is more conducive to the protection of organs at risk and the improvement of prescription doses, thereby further improving the local control rate of tumors. However, non-coplanar irradiation based on C-arm radiotherapy machines needs to be realized in conjunction with a rotating bed. Due to the collision problem between the frame and the treatment bed or the patient's body, most non-coplanar angles cannot be achieved. During treatment, each non-coplanar radiation field requires a technician to enter the machine room and manually rotate the bed to the corresponding angle, which will introduce positioning errors and greatly increase the treatment time. Therefore, non-coplanar radiotherapy technology based on C-arm radiotherapy machines is less clinically used.

[0004] Researchers have designed a variety of non-coplanar radiotherapy devices. For example, the Chinese patent (application number 201110447735.5) discloses a 4D stereotaxic radiotherapy device, which allows the radiation therapy head to follow the frame to nod and tilt its head, thereby achieving the adjustment of the radiation angle in three-dimensional space, providing greater support for accurate detection and non-coplanar treatment. The Chinese patent (application number 201410558872.X) discloses a five-degree-of-freedom O-arm radiotherapy system, which realizes the five-degree-of-freedom control of the radiotherapy process, with high control accuracy and stability, and improves the feasibility of non-coplanar radiotherapy. The Chinese patent (application number 201810078431.8) discloses a cage-type radiotherapy device, which can achieve fast and accurate non-coplanar treatment in a large stereoscopic angle range without moving the patient through the multi-degree-of-freedom movement of the radiation generating mechanism. However, the radiotherapy devices disclosed in the above patents have complex structures, which are not conducive to engineering implementation, have large main beam areas, and have high requirements for machine room protection, which increases the difficulty of machine room design and construction. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, one aspect of the present invention proposes a cabin-type radiation irradiation device, which can realize non-coplanar radiation therapy. By combining the movement of the treatment head and the movement of the patient's body, non-coplanar radiation therapy with a large angle range can be achieved, and the range of the main beam area of ​​the treatment head is greatly reduced, which makes it easy to reduce the difficulty of building a radiation therapy machine room through self-shielding design.

[0006] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a cabin-type radiation irradiation device is provided, comprising: a frame having a hollow frame structure, the hollow portion of the frame structure forming a treatment cabin; a first guide rail fixedly disposed on the frame; a radiation treatment head slidably disposed on the first guide rail; and a cabin door openably disposed on the frame.

[0007] In some embodiments, a rotating shaft is installed at one end of the door, and a mounting hole is formed on the upper part of the frame, and the rotating shaft and the mounting hole form a rotating pair, so that the door can be opened and closed relative to the bracket. In a specific embodiment, a rotating shaft can be provided on both sides of one end of the door, and correspondingly, two corresponding mounting holes are opened on the upper part of the bracket, so that the stability of the door can be improved.

[0008] In some embodiments, a skylight is installed on the top of the frame, and lead glass and ventilation windows are arranged around the skylight for lighting. In a specific embodiment, the skylight structure is a hollow structure and is arranged on the top of the frame, so that when the human body support device is raised and lowered, the patient's head will not collide with the frame.

[0009] In some embodiments, the radiotherapy device further includes: a second guide rail fixedly disposed on the cabin door and arranged opposite to the first guide rail; and a radiation detector slidably disposed on the second guide rail and always facing the radiation therapy head.

[0010] In some embodiments, the radiotherapy apparatus further comprises: an imaging assembly fixedly disposed on the hollow frame structure of the gantry.

[0011] In some embodiments, the imaging assembly includes one or more cone beam imaging units; in another embodiment, the imaging assembly includes one or more fan beam imaging units or magnetic resonance imaging units. In a specific embodiment, the imaging assembly may include two facing magnets or two facing coils for generating a magnetic field.

[0012] In some embodiments, the radiotherapy device further comprises: a shielding plate, which is arranged on the frame or the cabin door, so as to block or significantly reduce the leakage of radiation and reduce the radiation dose outside the treatment cabin. In a specific embodiment, the shielding plate may include a side shielding plate and / or a main shielding plate and / or a rear shielding plate, wherein the side shielding plate is installed on the side of the bracket, the main shielding plate is installed on the outer surface of the cabin door, and the rear shielding plate is installed behind the frame directly opposite to the main shielding plate.

[0013] In some embodiments, the first guide rail is an arc-shaped guide rail, and the radiation therapy head includes a radiation source, a collimator, and a treatment head frame, wherein the collimator is fixedly installed below the radiation source, the radiation source is fixedly installed on the treatment head frame, and arc-shaped sliding grooves that can slide on the first guide rail are opened on both sides of the treatment head frame.

[0014] In other embodiments, the first guide rail is a linear guide rail, and the radiation therapy head includes a radiation source, a collimator, a treatment head frame and a sliding frame, wherein the collimator is fixedly installed below the radiation source, the radiation source is fixedly installed on the treatment head frame, the treatment head frame is rotatably installed on the sliding frame, and sliding grooves that can slide on the first guide rail are opened on both sides of the sliding frame.

[0015] In some embodiments, the radiotherapy device further comprises: a base on which the support is fixedly mounted; a third guide rail disposed on the base and extending into the hollow portion of the support; and a human body support structure slidably disposed on the third guide rail. In a specific embodiment, the third guide rail is a linear guide rail, which is used to guide the human body support structure to move from an initial positioning position to a treatment position, and to guide the human body support structure to return to the initial positioning position after the treatment is completed.

[0016] In some embodiments, the human body support structure includes a support seat and a support frame, wherein the support seat is slidably disposed on the third guide rail, the support frame is disposed on the support seat, and the support seat can drive the support frame to perform multi-degree-of-freedom movement.

[0017] In some embodiments, the radiotherapy device further comprises: a stopper, which is arranged on the base. The stopper comprises a first stopper and a second stopper, wherein the first stopper is installed at one end of the base to limit the initial position of the human body support structure, and the second stopper is installed at the other end of the base to limit the treatment position of the human body support structure.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, a radiation irradiation method for radiotherapy is provided, comprising: (1) using a positioning body cover to fix a standing or sitting patient on a human body support structure of a radiotherapy device for initial positioning; (2) opening a cabin door of the radiotherapy device and guiding the human body support structure to an imaging position, wherein the imaging position is located in a closed space of the radiotherapy device; (3) closing the cabin door and using an imaging component of the radiotherapy device to image a target area of ​​the patient, obtain a positioning error, and perform a positioning error correction, or evaluate the positioning error and the anatomical structure changes obtained through the imaging, and modify the irradiation plan online; and (4) irradiating the patient according to the treatment plan, wherein during the irradiation process, the imaging component performs real-time imaging of the target area, monitors the position and morphology of the target area, and realizes gated or real-time tracking irradiation.

[0019] In some embodiments, the positioning body cover in step (1) is made of thermoplastic film, vacuum pad, strap or foam for a standing or sitting human body. When applied to imaging positioning, the positioning body cover is provided with marking points, and three mutually orthogonal positioning laser lights are used to assist in achieving relative fixation of the patient and the human body support structure, and the marking points on the positioning body cover are respectively overlapped with the marking lines of the three positioning laser lights through the movement of the human body support structure to complete the initial positioning.

[0020] In some embodiments, in step (2), the human body support structure slides along a guide rail to the imaging position, and at the imaging position, the base of the human body support structure is in close contact with a limiter.

[0021] In some embodiments, in step (3), the imaging component uses cone beam imaging or fan beam imaging or magnetic resonance imaging. In a specific embodiment, when cone beam imaging is used, the human body support structure drives the patient to rotate while the cone beam imaging component is used to collect perspective images of the patient from multiple angles and reconstruct a three-dimensional image. When fan beam imaging is used, the human body support structure drives the patient to rise and fall and rotate while the fan beam imaging component is used to perform axial scanning or spiral scanning imaging. When magnetic resonance imaging is used, the patient remains fixed.

[0022] In some embodiments, in step (4), when the target area is monitored by real-time imaging through an imaging component, when a set of cone beam imaging is used, the position and shape of the target area can be monitored in conjunction with the orthogonal perspective images obtained by the radiation detector; when two sets of orthogonal cone beam or fan beam imaging components are used, the position and shape of the target area can be monitored by the orthogonal perspective images of the target area obtained in real time by the two sets of imaging components; when magnetic resonance imaging is used, the position and shape of the target area can be monitored by obtaining a tomographic image of the target area in real time.

[0023] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the radiotherapy device of the present invention can be used to perform radiation therapy on patients in a standing or sitting posture. The device has a simple structure and has an image guidance function. It can realize various radiotherapy techniques such as high-precision coplanar or non-coplanar radiotherapy. At the same time, non-coplanar radiotherapy has higher safety, and there is no risk of collision between the treatment head and the patient, which facilitates the realization of highly automated and efficient non-coplanar radiotherapy. In addition, the radiotherapy device of the present invention has a self-shielding function, which can reduce the difficulty and cost of building a radiation room.

[0024] Some aspects, advantages and novel features of the present invention have been described above for the purpose of summarizing the present application. It should be understood that, according to any specific embodiment of the present invention, it is not necessary to realize all these advantages. Therefore, the present invention can be realized or implemented in a manner that realizes or optimizes one advantage or a group of advantages taught herein, without realizing other advantages taught or illustrated herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Various aspects of at least one example are discussed below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are not intended to be drawn to scale. The drawings are included to provide illustration and further understanding of the various aspects and examples, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, but are not intended as a definition of limitations of the present application. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component shown in various figures is represented by the same number. For clarity, not every component is labeled in every figure. In the drawings:

[0026] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional perspective view of a radiation irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 is a front view of a radiation irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 is a three-dimensional perspective view of a radiation irradiation device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the positioning state of a radiation irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing a treatment state of a radiation irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 is a three-dimensional perspective view of a radiation irradiation device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 7 is a front view of a radiation irradiation device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 8A schematic diagram showing the positioning state of a radiation irradiation device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram showing a treatment state of a radiation irradiation device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Fig.10 A schematic diagram showing a treatment state of a radiotherapy device based on MRI imaging according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Fig.11 The present invention is a flowchart of a positioning method and a radiation irradiation method for radiotherapy according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] The corresponding component names indicated by the reference numerals in the figure are:

[0038] 100-base, 110-third guide rail, 120-first stopper, 130-second stopper, 200-rack, 210-treatment center, 220-side shielding plate, 230-skylight, 240-first rear shielding plate, 250-ventilation window, 260-lead glass, 270-second rear shielding plate, 300-first guide rail, 310-arc guide rail, 320-linear guide rail, 400-radiotherapy head, 41 0-ray source, 420-evener, 430-treatment head frame, 440-sliding frame, 500-cabin door, 510-second guide rail, 520-ray detector, 530-main shielding plate, 600-imaging assembly, 610-ball tube, 620-detection plate, 630-magnet, 640-support arm, 700-human body support structure, 710-support seat, 720-support frame, 730-body cover, 740-human body. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] In order to make the technical means, creative features, objectives and effects of the present invention easy to understand, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the precise forms of these exemplary embodiments.

[0040] Figure 1 FIG. 2 shows a three-dimensional structural diagram of a cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1As shown, the cabin-type radiation irradiation device of the embodiment of the present invention includes: a base 100, which is used to support other components of the treatment device; a frame 200, which is fixed on the base 100 and has a hollow frame structure, and the hollow part of the frame structure forms a treatment cabin; a first guide rail 300, which is fixedly arranged on the frame 200; a radiation treatment head 400, which is slidably arranged on the first guide rail 300; and a cabin door 500, which is openably arranged on the frame 200. It can be understood that the radiation irradiation device may not include the base 100, in which case the frame is directly arranged on the floor of the machine room.

[0041] like Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the rack 200 is generally a cylindrical cabin structure, and its two ends are supported and fixed by brackets, and the patient can enter the cabin through the cabin door to receive radiotherapy. The first guide rail 300 and the cabin door 500 are relatively arranged on both sides of the rack 200. The first guide rail 300 is suitable for adjusting the position of the radiotherapy head, and has a contour line substantially the same as the side of the rack, for example, an arc-shaped structure. The first guide rail can be fastened to the rack by bolts or the like. In some embodiments, the first guide rail can also be directly processed and formed on the rack. In order to stably support the radiotherapy head 400, the first guide rail 300 may include a pair of guide rails respectively located on both sides of the radiotherapy head 400. Accordingly, corresponding slide grooves can be set on both sides of the treatment head 400 so that the position and angle of the radiation beam can be adjusted by sliding on the guide rail according to clinical needs, so that the central axis of the radiation beam is aligned with the treatment center 210.

[0042] The door 500 may also have a substantially similar profile to the side of the rack 200, such as an arc-shaped structure. When the door is in a closed state, it can fit closely with the bracket 200 to close the treatment cabin. In order to enable the door 500 to be opened and closed, a rotating shaft (not shown) may be installed at one end of the door 500, and a mounting hole is formed at the upper part of the rack 200, and the rotating shaft and the mounting hole form a rotating pair. In a specific scheme, a pair of mounting holes for mounting the door are opened on both sides of the top of the rack 200, and a rotating shaft is installed on both sides of the upper end of the door, thereby forming a rotating pair with the mounting hole on the upper part of the bracket, so that the door can be opened and closed relative to the rack. The door 500 can be opened manually; at the same time, by setting the rotating shaft to be connected to an electromechanical device such as a motor and an actuator, it can also be electrically controlled to open and close. The door is opened upward to facilitate the patient to enter the treatment cabin. After the door is closed downward, it can fit closely with the frame of the rack to close the treatment cabin.

[0043] In one embodiment, if Figure 1As shown, a skylight 230 is provided on the top of the rack 200. The skylight 230 can be formed directly above the treatment center 210. The skylight 230 has a hollow structure and communicates with the hollow part of the rack 200, so that the patient's head will not collide with the rack when the human body is lifted or lowered. In a specific solution, lead glass 260 is provided on at least one side of the skylight 230, which can be used for lighting and shielding radiation. At the same time, a ventilation window 250 is provided on at least another side of the skylight to improve the air circulation of the treatment cabin. In a specific embodiment, two oppositely arranged lead glasses 260 and two oppositely arranged ventilation windows 250 can be provided on the four sides of the skylight 230.

[0044] like Figure 1 As shown, the radiotherapy apparatus may further include an imaging assembly 600 and a human body support structure 700, the specific structures of which will be described in detail below.

[0045] Figure 2 FIG. 5 shows a front view of a radiation irradiation device according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the hatch 500 is in a closed state. Figure 2 As shown, the cross section of the gantry 200 is generally circular, and the first guide rail is an arc-shaped guide rail 310, which is installed on the gantry 200. The radiation therapy head 400 can slide up and down along the first guide rail 310 at a certain angle, and the central axis of the generated radiation beam can pass through the treatment center 210. During radiotherapy, the treatment center 210 generally coincides with the isocenter of the patient's tumor target area.

[0046] like Figure 2 As shown, the cabin-type radiation irradiation device further includes a second guide rail 510 and a radiation detector 520. The second guide rail 510 is fixedly arranged on the cabin door 500 and arranged opposite to the first guide rail 300. The radiation detector 520 is slidably arranged on the second guide rail 510, and is always facing the radiation beam treatment head 400 during the treatment process. Similar to the first guide rail 300, the second guide rail 510 also has a contour line substantially the same as the side of the rack, for example, an arc-shaped structure. The radiation detector 520 can slide on the second guide rail 510 to adjust its own position, and through the automatic control device, the radiation treatment head and the radiation detector move synchronously during radiotherapy, and ensure that the central axis of the radiation beam of the treatment head can always vertically pass through the center of the radiation detector 520. The radiation detector 520 can be an MV-level detector, a KV-level detector, or a radiation blocker, etc.

[0047] The cabin-type radiation irradiation device may further include an imaging component 600 for imaging a target area of ​​a patient, which may be fixedly disposed on the hollow frame structure of the rack 200 .

[0048] In one embodiment, the imaging assembly 100 may be configured as an X-ray imaging device, which includes at least one X-ray imaging unit, each of which may include a radiation source and a corresponding detector. For example, fan beam or cone beam X-ray imaging may be used to implement computed tomography (CT), or may be used to implement four-dimensional CT imaging by real-time tracking of the patient's target area position, so as to achieve simulated positioning, position verification or real-time monitoring of the patient's target area to assist radiation irradiation.

[0049] In a specific embodiment, the imaging assembly may adopt cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), including one or more cone beam imaging units, each of which may include a cone beam tube 610 and a cone beam detection plate 620, and the cone beam tube 610 and the cone beam detection plate 620 are mounted opposite each other in the middle of the frame 200 through a support arm 640, for example, at the same height as the treatment center 210. If two imaging units are used, such as Figure 1-2 As shown, two cone beam ray tubes can be installed in the middle of the frame 200 and located on both sides of the first guide rail 300, and two cone beam detection plates are installed on the opposite sides of the two cone beam ray tubes in the middle of the frame. The two groups of imaging units are arranged orthogonally, that is, the central axes of the two cone beam ray tubes are vertically orthogonal in the middle plane of the frame, and the two groups of imaging units can be used for CBCT imaging and orthogonal perspective imaging.

[0050] In another specific embodiment, the imaging assembly may also use fan beam imaging (CT), including one or more fan beam imaging units, each fan beam imaging unit may include a fan beam tube and a fan beam detection plate, and the fan beam tube and the fan beam detection plate are installed in the middle of the frame. If two groups of imaging units are used, the two fan beam tubes are installed in the middle of the frame and located on both sides of the first guide rail 300, and the two fan beam detection plates are installed on the opposite sides of the two fan beam tubes in the middle of the frame 200. The two groups of imaging units are arranged orthogonally, that is, the central axes of the two fan beam ray tubes are vertically orthogonal in the middle plane of the frame. When performing fan beam imaging, while the fan beam tube emits beams, the human body support mechanism drives the human body to perform lifting and rotating movements at the same time, so as to obtain a spiral tomographic image.

[0051] In order to realize imaging of different parts of the patient, the imaging component in the present invention may also adopt a magnetic resonance imaging unit to perform magnetic resonance imaging on the patient, so as to realize simulated positioning, position verification or real-time monitoring of the patient's target area. Figure 3As shown, the imaging assembly 600 includes two magnets 630 facing each other. The two magnets 630 can be arranged in parallel, respectively, in the mounting holes on both sides of the frame 200. The magnet can be a permanent magnet, such as a permanent magnet disk, or a magnetic resonance coil, and the distance between the two magnets can accommodate the passage of a human body support structure. When using magnetic resonance imaging to position and image a patient, it is also necessary to install the excitation coil on the human body support structure and align it with the tumor target area. The magnetic field coil receives the signal to perform MRI imaging.

[0052] like Figure 2 As shown, the radiation irradiation device may further include a shielding plate, which can prevent radiation exposure and leakage, thereby improving the safety of the radiotherapy device. In one embodiment, the shielding plate may include a side shielding plate 220, a main shielding plate 530 and / or a rear shielding plate 240. Among them, the side shielding plates 220 are installed on the two side surfaces of the frame 200. They are heavy metal plates with a certain thickness, which can achieve side sealing of the frame 200 and block or significantly reduce lateral leakage of radiation. The main shielding plate 530 is installed on the outer surface side of the cabin door 500. It is also a heavy metal plate with a certain thickness. After the cabin door is closed, the main shielding plate 530 can block the leakage of the treatment head beam from the front. The rear shielding plate 240 is also made of metal. It is installed on the side of the frame 200 opposite to the main shielding plate 530, and may have a contour line substantially the same as the side of the frame, so that it fits tightly with the frame when closed. Refer to Figure 1 Similar to the cabin door 500, the rear shielding plate 240 can be opened and closed on the frame 200, and a rotating shaft is installed at one end of the rear shielding plate 240, and a rotating pair is formed with the mounting hole on the upper part of the frame. At the same time, the rear shielding plate 240 can also be formed with an arched inner cavity so that it will not collide with the treatment head 400 when closed. Through the self-shielding design of the present invention, the radiation can be limited to the interior of the radiotherapy device to the greatest extent, greatly reducing the radiation dose outside the treatment cabin, thereby reducing the protection requirements when designing the radiation room and saving the construction cost of the room. At the same time, if Figure 2 As shown, when the hatch is closed, the other end of the hatch 500 may not contact the base 100 but be separated from the base by a certain distance to prevent the hatch from being worn, or it may be designed to have a specific groove structure to fit closely with the guide rail to further prevent radiation leakage.

[0053] In order to achieve precise positioning of the patient, Figure 1-2 As shown, the radiation irradiation device of the present invention preferably includes a base 100, and a frame 200 can be fixedly mounted on the base 100. The width of the base 100 can be smaller than the overall width of the frame 200, but should be larger than the width of the cabin door 500. At the same time, a third guide rail 110 and a human body support structure 700 are also provided on the base 100. The horizontal axis of the third guide rail 110 can, for example, coincide with the radiation beam emitted by the radiation therapy head in the horizontal plane, thereby improving the positioning accuracy and further improving the implementation efficiency of non-coplanar radiotherapy.

[0054] like Figure 1-2 As shown, the third guide rail 110 is arranged on the base 100 and extends into the hollow part of the rack 200. It can be a set of linear guide rails for guiding the human body support structure 700 to move from the initial positioning position to the treatment position. The human body support structure 700 can be slidably arranged on the third guide rail 110. At the initial position, the patient stands on the human body support structure 700 and completes the initial positioning. When preparing for radiotherapy, the cabin door 500 is opened, and the human body support structure 700 is guided by the third guide rail 110 to the treatment position in the rack 200. By setting up the human body support structure, on the one hand, the standing or sitting human body can be fixed, and on the other hand, the human body can be driven to achieve multi-degree-of-freedom movement, such as lifting, translation, pitch, roll, yaw, etc. Through lifting and lowering movements, the radiation therapy head can be aimed at the patient's target area. Through translation, pitch, roll, yaw and other movements, the positioning error can be corrected. Through yaw movement (rotation around the plumb axis of the support seat of the human body support device), the human body can be rotated to achieve multi-angle fixed-field radiotherapy, or continuously rotating volumetric rotation intensity modulated radiotherapy (VMAT).

[0055] The human body support structure 700 may include a support seat 710 and a support frame 720, wherein the support seat 710 may be slidably disposed on the third guide rail 110, and the support frame 720 may be fixedly mounted on the support seat 710. At the same time, the support seat 710 may drive the support frame 720 to perform multi-degree-of-freedom motion, such as translation and rotation in three axes, so as to realize imaging of the target area and position adjustment so that the treatment head is aligned with the treatment target area during treatment. The support seat 710 may slide along the third guide rail 110, and a power drive member is disposed inside the support seat 710 so that the support seat 710 has multiple degrees of freedom of motion, thereby driving the support frame 720 to perform lifting, translation, rotation and other movements to realize patient positioning and correction of positioning errors. For example, the support seat may be designed as a multi-layer structure such as a three-layer structure, wherein the lower structural platform enables the support seat to drive the support frame to perform lifting and lowering motion and to drive the support frame to perform horizontal movement on the third guide rail, the middle structural platform enables the support seat to drive the support frame to perform rotational motion, and the upper structural platform enables the support seat to drive the support frame to perform vertical movement. The support frame 720 can be a body plate erected on a support seat, such as Figure 1-2 As shown, it can be a generally L-shaped plate, the lower end of which is mounted on the support seat by bolt connection, etc., and the upper end is equipped with an armrest for the standing patient to grasp. The armrest shape can be T-shaped or other shapes, and the position can be adjusted according to the height of the patient. The lower back of the body plate can be provided with reinforcing members such as ribs and ribs to improve the stability of the structure. A plurality of groups of locking mesh holes can also be provided on the upper part of the body plate to facilitate fixing the thermoplastic mesh on the body plate, which can be used to cover the treatment area of ​​the patient during radiotherapy for patients with head and neck tumors. During treatment, the body of a standing or sitting patient can be firmly fixed on the support frame using accessories such as a thermoplastic film body cover, a vacuum pad, a strap, and a foam glue.

[0056] In order to ensure the stability of the start and stop of the human body support structure, prevent the human body from shaking, and facilitate accurate positioning of the patient, the radiation irradiation device may also include a limiter arranged on the base. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the limiter may be arranged at both ends of the third guide rail 110, wherein the first limiter 120 is installed at one end of the base 100, and is used to limit the initial position of the human body support structure and prevent the human body support structure from shaking when it reaches the initial position. The second limiter 130 is installed at the other end of the base 100, and is used to limit the treatment position of the human body support structure 700 and prevent the human body support structure from shaking when it reaches the treatment position. The position of the first limiter 120 should be such that the cabin door 500 does not collide with the support frame 720 during the opening process, and the end thereof in contact with the support seat 710 has an arc shape to match the outer shape of the support seat 710 (such as Figure 3 One end of the second stopper 130 can be against the lower part of the frame 200, and the other end has an arc shape to match the shape of the support seat 710, and the position and size of the second stopper are preferably designed so that when the support seat 710 contacts the second stopper 130, the patient's target area coincides with the treatment center or is located near the treatment center.

[0057] like Figure 1-3 As shown in FIG. 1 , in one embodiment of the present invention, the first guide rail 300 that supports the radiation therapy head 400 and guides it to move is an arc-shaped guide rail, and the radiation therapy head can slide along the guide rail at a certain angle up and down in the vertical plane. When the treatment head slides along the guide rail, the central axis of the radiation beam always passes through the treatment center 210. In this embodiment, Figure 2 As shown, the radiation therapy head includes a radiation source 410, a collimator 420 and a treatment head frame 430, wherein the radiation source 410 may be an x-ray source (e.g., MV level) or an electron beam radiation source generated by linear radiation, or a gamma ray source generated by radioactive substances. The collimator 420 is fixedly mounted below the radiation source 410, and the radiation source 410 is fixedly mounted on the treatment head frame 430. Both sides of the treatment head frame 430 are provided with arc-shaped slide grooves that can slide on the first guide rail 300.

[0058] Figure 4-5 The figure shows the state of positioning and radiotherapy of a patient using the radiation irradiation device of this embodiment. Figure 4As shown, when the patient is positioned, the support seat 710 of the human body support structure 700 is attached to the first limiter 120, and the patient 740 stands or sits on the support seat 710. Then, the patient is firmly fixed to the support frame 720 using pre-made thermoplastic film cover 730, vacuum pad, straps or foam glue and other accessories. The support seat 710 is then controlled to move, and the initial positioning is completed by adjusting the marking points on the patient's body to align with the positions set by external positioning devices such as external laser lights. Afterwards, the cabin door is opened, and the patient is transported to the treatment position along the third guide rail 110 by the human body support device 700. At this time, the support seat 710 is in close contact with the second limiter 130. When preparing to adjust the patient's position, as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown, the cabin door 500 is closed, and the imaging assembly 600 starts to work, and the patient can be imaged by orthogonal perspective, or CBCT imaging or magnetic resonance imaging can be performed on the patient with the help of the rotational movement of the support seat 710, so as to obtain the position error of the tumor target area, and the positioning error is corrected by the movement of the support seat 710 to complete the patient treatment positioning. Afterwards, according to the pre-set radiotherapy plan, the human body support device and the radiation therapy head 400 cooperate to realize coplanar or non-coplanar 3DCRT, IMRT, VMAT, 4π and other radiotherapy technologies. During the treatment process, the imaging assembly 600 can also be used to perform real-time imaging of the target area, monitor the movement of the target area, and realize adaptive radiotherapy.

[0059] In another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6-7 As shown, the first guide rail 300 supporting the radiotherapy head 400 and guiding it to move can be a linear guide rail, which is vertically installed on the frame 200. The radiotherapy head 400 can slide vertically up and down along the first guide rail 300 for a certain distance, and can swing at a certain angle, so that the central axis of the radiation beam generated at any position can pass through the treatment center 210. In this embodiment, Figure 7 As shown, the radiation therapy head 400 includes a radiation source 410, a collimator 420, a treatment head frame 430 and a sliding frame 440, wherein the radiation source 410 can be x-rays, electrons or other particles generated by an accelerator, or gamma rays generated by radioactive substances. The collimator 420 is fixedly mounted below the radiation source 410, and the radiation source 410 is fixedly mounted on the treatment head frame 430. The treatment head frame 430 is rotatably mounted on the sliding frame 440, and the two sides of the sliding frame 440 are provided with sliding grooves that can slide on the first guide rail 300. That is, Figure 1 Compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the radiation therapy head of this embodiment is further provided with a sliding frame. The treatment head frame is mounted on the sliding frame through rotating shafts on both sides. Slide grooves are provided on both sides of the sliding frame. The sliding frame can be lifted and lowered on the first guide rail. Thus, the sliding frame can drive the radiation source to move up and down, and the radiation source can swing relative to the sliding frame. At the same time, in this embodiment, the rear shielding plate 270 is linear as a whole and has The cross section of the housing 200 can be tightly attached to the side of the frame 200 and will not collide with the treatment head 400 when closed.

[0060] Figure 8-10 The figure shows the state of positioning and radiotherapy of a patient using the radiation irradiation device of this embodiment. Figure 8 As shown, in this embodiment, the patient's positioning state can be Figure 4 The same as the embodiment shown, the patient's positioning error can be obtained by the kV-level cone beam imaging assembly or the fan beam imaging assembly 600 (such as Fig. 9 ), or the magnetic resonance imaging component MRI 630 can be used to obtain (as shown in Fig.10 As shown), no further description is given here.

[0061] In this embodiment, the patient's treatment status is then Figure 5 The embodiment shown is slightly different, such as Figure 9-10 As shown, when coplanar radiotherapy is performed, the patient's body height can be adjusted by the support seat 710 so that the central axis of the radiation beam of the treatment head is aligned with the patient's target area, and the central axis of the radiation beam can be aligned with the target area by the lifting and lowering movement of the treatment head along the first guide rail 300. When non-coplanar radiotherapy is performed, the radiation treatment head needs to be lifted and lowered first and then swung to align the target area at a non-coplanar angle. Using this embodiment for radiotherapy can not only realize coplanar or non-coplanar 3DCRT, IMRT, VMAT, 4π and other radiotherapy technologies, but also realize spiral radiotherapy by coordinating the lifting and lowering movement of the treatment head with the rotational movement of the support seat.

[0062] The radiation irradiation device according to the embodiment disclosed in the present invention can provide coplanar or non-coplanar radiation therapy for patients in standing or sitting postures, and has functions such as image guidance and positioning correction, and can realize various high-precision radiotherapy techniques. At the same time, through the self-shielding design, the radiation beam is confined to the interior of the cabin-type radiotherapy device, thereby reducing the protection design requirements of the machine room, reducing the construction cost and manufacturing difficulty of the machine room.

[0063] Fig.11 FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a positioning method and a radiation irradiation method for radiotherapy according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.11As shown, the method according to the embodiment of the present invention may include: step S810, using a positioning body cover to fix a standing or sitting patient on the human body support structure of the radiation irradiation device for initial positioning; step S820, opening the cabin door of the radiation irradiation device, and guiding the human body support structure to the imaging position, and the imaging position is located in the closed space of the radiation irradiation device; step S830, closing the cabin door, using the imaging component of the radiotherapy device to image the patient's target area, obtain the positioning error, and perform positioning error correction, or evaluate the positioning error and the anatomical structure changes obtained through the imaging, and modify the irradiation plan online; and step S840, irradiating the patient according to the treatment plan, wherein during the irradiation process, the imaging component performs real-time imaging of the target area, monitors the position and morphology of the target area, and realizes gated or real-time tracking irradiation. The positioning and radiation irradiation methods of the embodiments of the present invention can be used either Figure 1-3 The radiation irradiation device shown in the embodiment can also be used Figure 6-7 Another radiation irradiation device is shown.

[0064] In step S810, unlike the existing lying human body cover, the present invention needs to make a positioning body cover for standing or sitting patients, and the body cover can be made of thermoplastic film, vacuum pad, strap or foam. For example, marking points can be set on the positioning body cover, and three groups of mutually orthogonal positioning laser lights can be used to assist in the relative fixation of the patient and the human body support structure, and the marking points on the positioning body cover are made to coincide with the marking lines of the three groups of positioning laser lights through the movement of the human body support structure, thereby completing the initial positioning. If magnetic resonance imaging is used for positioning verification, the excitation coil also needs to be installed on the human body support structure and aligned with the tumor target area.

[0065] In step S820, first, the door can be opened upwards manually or electrically, and the human body support structure is located at the initial position to prevent the door from touching the support frame during the door opening process. After the door is opened, the human body support structure can be electrically or manually controlled to move along a guide rail to the imaging position of the hollow part of the radiation irradiation device, and at the imaging position, the base of the human body support structure is close to a limiter to prevent the human body from shaking and facilitate accurate positioning of the patient, so that the position can be adjusted to obtain the radiotherapy position.

[0066] In step S830, the imaging component may use cone beam imaging, fan beam imaging or magnetic resonance imaging to obtain the positioning error through imaging. After that, the operator reviews and gives control instructions, and corrects the positioning error, for example, by the movement of the human body support structure. Alternatively, the treatment plan may be modified online to correct the influence of the positioning error. Specifically, by evaluating the positioning error and the anatomical structure changes including the target area obtained by the cross-sectional image of the human body obtained by the imaging component, the irradiation plan may be modified online to adjust the beam direction and intensity of the treatment head. By correcting the positioning error or modifying the irradiation plan online, the patient's target area can be located at the treatment center, that is, the radiation beam will be aligned with the quasi-center of the patient's target area, thereby facilitating the implementation of a predetermined irradiation plan.

[0067] Among them, when one or two sets of cone beam imaging are used, the human body support structure can drive the patient to rotate, and the cone beam imaging component can be used to collect multi-angle perspective images of the patient and reconstruct a three-dimensional image. When fan beam imaging is used, the human body support structure can drive the patient to lift and rotate, and one or two sets of fan beam imaging components can be used to perform axial scanning or spiral scanning imaging. When magnetic resonance imaging is used, the patient remains fixed, the excitation coil installed on the human body support structure sends out radio frequency signals, and the magnet on the frame receives the signals to perform MRI imaging.

[0068] In step 840, during the irradiation process, the patient's target area may be shifted due to the patient's breathing, etc., and the target area position and shape can be monitored by real-time imaging of the target area by the imaging component. When the target area position and shape exceed the set threshold, the ray beam can be controlled in real time or the field shape can be adjusted to conform to the changed target area.

[0069] In one embodiment, if the target area position exceeds the limit range due to respiratory movement, etc., the radiation therapy head can be controlled to automatically stop emitting beams through gate control and other methods, and continue to emit beams after the target area position is restored to within the safety limit. In another embodiment, if the target area position exceeds the limit range due to respiratory movement, etc., the treatment head does not stop emitting beams, but adjusts the radiation source position parameters by moving along the guide rail according to the change of the target area position and shape, or changes the shape of the multi-leaf collimator to adjust the distribution of the radiation, etc.

[0070] Imaging monitoring can adopt cone beam imaging, fan beam imaging or magnetic resonance imaging. Accordingly, if a set of cone beam imaging is adopted, the position and morphology of the target area can be monitored in combination with the orthogonal perspective images obtained by the ray detector. If two sets of orthogonal cone beam imaging components or fan beam imaging components are used for imaging, the position and morphology of the target area can be monitored by the orthogonal perspective images of the target area obtained in real time by the two sets of imaging components. If magnetic resonance imaging is adopted, the position and morphology of the target area can be monitored by obtaining the tomographic images of the target area in real time.

[0071] The radiotherapy process of the present invention is described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Figure 1-3 The treatment device shown can also be used Figure 6-7 Specifically, the radiotherapy method of the present invention can be implemented according to the following steps: (1) simulate positioning of the patient, make a positioning body cover, and obtain a simulated positioning image of the tumor target area; (2) outline the target area and organs at risk according to the simulated positioning image of the patient, and design a radiotherapy plan; (3) perform initial positioning of the patient and perform positioning error correction; (4) perform radiotherapy on the patient according to the radiotherapy plan; (5) after the radiotherapy is completed, open the cabin door, return the human body support device to the initial positioning position, remove the positioning body cover, and guide the patient to leave the human body support device.

[0072] In step (1), as mentioned above, unlike the existing method of making a body cover for a lying human body, the present invention needs to make a positioning body cover for a standing or sitting patient. Conventional CT can be used to obtain a simulated image of a human body in a lying state, and then an image registration algorithm can be used to obtain a simulated positioning image of the patient in a standing or sitting state, or a standing CT can be directly used to obtain a simulated positioning image of the patient in a standing or sitting state.

[0073] In step (2), the radiation plan designer can analyze the range of the beam passing through the target area and the surrounding organs at risk based on the positioning image. Generally, the radiotherapy plan needs to ensure that the radiation dose to the target area meets the prescription requirements, and at the same time, it is preferred to ensure that the radiation dose to the organs at risk around the target area is within a predetermined range, for example, minimizing the radiation dose to the organs at risk around the target area.

[0074] In step (3), you can refer to the previous reference Fig.10 The described positioning and positioning correction methods control the positioning of the patient so that the target area of ​​the patient coincides with the treatment center of the radiotherapy device after the positioning adjustment, which will not be described in detail here.

[0075] In step (4), the imaging component can be used to monitor the target area position in real time during radiotherapy. If the target area position exceeds the limit due to respiratory movement, the radiation therapy head can be controlled to automatically stop emitting beams, and continue to emit beams after the target area position returns to within the safety limit. When executing a non-coplanar radiotherapy plan, the treatment head and the human body support device can automatically cooperate with each other. Figure 6-7 When the radiotherapy device performs spiral tomographic radiotherapy, the human body rotates driven by the support seat of the support device, and the radiation therapy head can be stepped up and down accordingly.

[0076] In step (5), the controller stops the radiation therapy head from emitting beams, opens the cabin door upwards manually or electrically, and moves the human body support structure electrically or manually along the guide rail to the initial position and close to the stopper. After that, the control cabin door can be closed, and the patient's positioning body cover can be removed to guide the patient away from the human body support structure, thereby ending the radiation therapy.

[0077] The principle of the present invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but many modifications and changes in details and forms may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A cabin-type radiation irradiation device, comprising: A frame having a hollow frame structure, wherein the hollow portion of the frame structure is formed as a treatment cabin; A first guide rail, which is fixedly arranged on the frame; A radiation therapy head, which is slidably disposed on the first guide rail; a cabin door, which is openably arranged on the frame, wherein when the cabin door is in an open state, a standing or sitting patient enters the treatment cabin through the cabin door, and when the cabin door is in a closed state, the cabin door is tightly fitted with the frame to close the treatment cabin, wherein the first guide rail and the cabin door are relatively arranged on two sides of the frame, A base, on which the frame is fixedly mounted; a third guide rail disposed on the base and extending from the outside of the rack through the cabin door into the hollow portion of the rack; and A human body support structure is slidably arranged on the third guide rail and is used to fix the standing or sitting patient, wherein when the cabin door is in an open state, the human body support structure is configured to move horizontally on the third guide rail from the external space of the treatment cabin to the enclosed space of the treatment cabin.

2. The cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to claim 1, wherein: A rotating shaft is installed at one end of the cabin door, and a mounting hole is formed on the upper part of the frame, and the rotating shaft and the mounting hole form a rotating pair.

3. The cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to claim 1, wherein: A skylight is installed on the top of the frame, and lead glass for lighting and ventilation windows are arranged around the skylight.

4. The cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a second guide rail, which is fixedly arranged on the cabin door and arranged opposite to the first guide rail; as well as The radiation detector is slidably arranged on the second guide rail and always faces the radiation therapy head.

5. The cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: The imaging component is fixedly arranged on the hollow frame structure.

6. The cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to claim 5, wherein: The imaging assembly includes one or more groups of cone beam imaging units or fan beam imaging units or magnetic resonance imaging units.

7. The cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: A shielding plate, the shielding plate includes a side shielding plate and / or a main shielding plate and / or a rear shielding plate, wherein the side shielding plate is installed on the side of the rack, the main shielding plate is installed on the outer surface of the cabin door, and the rear shielding plate is installed on the side of the rack opposite to the main shielding plate.

8. The cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The first guide rail is an arc-shaped guide rail, and the radiation therapy head includes a radiation source, a collimator and a treatment head frame, wherein the collimator is fixedly installed below the radiation source, the radiation source is fixedly installed on the treatment head frame, and arc-shaped sliding grooves that can slide on the first guide rail are opened on both sides of the treatment head frame.

9. The cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The first guide rail is a linear guide rail, and the radiation therapy head includes a radiation source, a collimator, a treatment head frame and a sliding frame, wherein the collimator is fixedly installed below the radiation source, the radiation source is fixedly installed on the treatment head frame, the treatment head frame is rotatably installed on the sliding frame, and sliding grooves that can slide on the first guide rail are opened on both sides of the sliding frame.

10. The cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to claim 1, wherein: The human body support structure includes a support seat and a support frame, wherein the support seat is slidably disposed on the third guide rail, the support frame is disposed on the support seat, and the support seat can drive the support frame to perform multi-degree-of-freedom movement.

11. The cabin-type radiation irradiation device according to claim 1, further comprising: The limiter includes a first limiter and a second limiter, wherein the first limiter is installed at one end of the base to limit the initial position of the human body support structure, and the second limiter is installed at the other end of the base to limit the treatment position of the human body support structure.

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