A trocar needle for internal irradiation radiotherapy and electron beam energy monitoring method

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of internal irradiation radiotherapy, and discloses a trocar for internal irradiation radiotherapy and an electron beam energy monitoring method, wherein the trocar comprises a needle tube, the needle tube is provided with a beam needle installation through hole along its length direction, one end of the needle tube is provided with a transparent or translucent crystal on a preset electron beam transmission path, a photon collector is installed on the outer wall of the crystal, a photon counter is installed on the outer wall of the end of the needle tube away from the crystal, and the photon collector and the photon counter are connected by an optical fiber. By arranging a transparent or translucent crystal on the electron beam transmission path, the energy of the electron beam currently injected into the human body can be accurately obtained by collecting the number of emitted photons, thereby achieving a better radiotherapy effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of internal irradiation radiotherapy, and in particular to a trocar used for internal irradiation radiotherapy and an electron beam energy monitoring method. Background Art

[0002] Radiation therapy works by using high-energy radiation, such as X-rays or electrons, to kill cancer cells by damaging their DNA. Because radiation therapy can damage normal cells as well as cancer cells, treatment must be carefully planned to minimize this side effect. Radiation used to treat cancer can come from a device outside the body, called external-beam radiation therapy, or from radioactive material implanted in the body near cancer cells, called internal-beam radiation therapy or brachytherapy.

[0003] The Chinese patent with application number "CN201810907457.9" and name "Tumor treatment equipment and its use method" discloses a tumor treatment equipment and its use method, which belongs to an internal irradiation radiotherapy method, specifically: connecting the beam needle with the electron beam emission device, and shooting the electron beam emitted by the electron beam emission device through the beam needle at the tumor lesion site in the human body to ablate the tumor. Since the penetration ability of the electron beam is weak, it will not deposit high energy on the normal tissues before and after the tumor lesion site, which can avoid the electron beam from causing damage to normal tissues when ablating the tumor, thereby reducing the damage to the human body and reducing the pain of the human body during treatment.

[0004] Although electron beams do not deposit higher energy on human tissues than X-rays, if the energy of the electron beam cannot be precisely controlled, either an electron beam with sufficient energy cannot be provided to ablate the tumor during treatment, or normal tissues other than the tumor lesion are damaged during treatment. In the process of the electron beam being emitted from the electron beam emitting device and introduced into the human body through the beam needle, there is a certain amount of energy loss, and this energy loss is not fixed. Therefore, in this field, how to precisely control the energy of the electron beam emitted from the beam needle has become a technical problem that needs to be overcome in internal irradiation radiotherapy. Summary of the invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a trocar for internal irradiation radiotherapy and an electron beam energy monitoring method to solve the above technical problems.

[0006] To achieve this object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a trocar for internal irradiation radiotherapy, comprising a needle tube, wherein the needle tube is provided with a beam needle mounting through hole along its length direction, and a transparent or translucent crystal is provided at one end of the needle tube on a preset electron beam transmission path; a photon collector is installed on the outer side wall of the crystal;

[0008] A photon counter is installed on the outer wall of one end of the needle tube away from the crystal, and the photon collector and the photon counter are connected via an optical fiber.

[0009] Optionally, a needle head is integrally formed at one end of the needle tube, and the crystal is fixedly arranged at the end of the needle head away from the needle tube; the needle head is provided with a cavity along the electron beam transmission path, which is connected with the beam needle mounting through hole and extends to the surface of the crystal;

[0010] The crystal is in the shape of a cone; the tip of the cone is arranged away from the cavity and is located on the electron beam transmission path.

[0011] Optionally, the crystal is a quartz crystal or a sapphire crystal.

[0012] Optionally, the shape of the crystal is a cone, and the shape of the needle head is a frustum; the center lines of the frustum and the cone coincide;

[0013] The bottom diameter of the cone is equal to the bottom diameter of the side of the frustum facing the cone.

[0014] Optionally, a portion of the electrons in the electron beam bombarding the crystal are emitted from the tip of the crystal, and another portion of the electrons in the electron beam bombarding the crystal can generate photons in the crystal and are emitted from the outer side wall of the crystal along a specific photon transmission direction; the angle between the photon transmission direction and the center line of the cone is 57 degrees;

[0015] The photon collector is located in the photon transmission direction.

[0016] Optionally, the needle tube and the needle are both made of stainless steel or silicon carbide.

[0017] Optionally, the photon collector is a fiber optic coupler; and the photon counter is a photomultiplier tube or a photodiode.

[0018] Optionally, the optical fiber is welded to the outer wall of the trocar.

[0019] In a second aspect, the present invention further provides a method for monitoring electron beam energy for internal irradiation radiotherapy, comprising:

[0020] predetermining a corresponding relationship between the energy of the electron beam emitted from the crystal along the electron beam transmission path and the number of collected photons;

[0021] The trocar is inserted into the predetermined radiotherapy site in the human body in advance, and the beam needle is inserted into the needle tube of the trocar; wherein the trocar is the trocar used for internal irradiation radiotherapy mentioned above;

[0022] During internal irradiation radiotherapy, photons emitted from the crystal are collected in real time;

[0023] The energy of the electron beam currently injected into the radiotherapy site is determined according to the number of collected photons.

[0024] Optionally, a predetermined gap is provided between the electron beam emitting end of the beam needle and the crystal;

[0025] The number of collected photons is positively correlated with the energy of the electron beam currently injected into the radiotherapy site.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0027] By setting a transparent or translucent crystal on the electron beam transmission path, when the electron beam enters the crystal, Cherenkov radiation will occur, photons will be generated in the crystal and emitted from the outer wall of the crystal along a specific photon transmission direction, and only a part of the electron beam will continue to be emitted into the predetermined radiotherapy site in the human body along the electron beam transmission path. However, the number of photons emitted from the crystal and the energy of the electron beam emitted into the human body are positively correlated. Therefore, by collecting the number of emitted photons, the energy of the electron beam currently emitted into the human body can be accurately known, thereby achieving a better radiotherapy effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a trocar for internal irradiation radiotherapy provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 A flow chart of a method for monitoring electron beam energy for internal irradiation radiotherapy provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] In the figure:

[0032] 10. Trocar; 11. Needle tube; 12. Needle; 121. Cavity; 13. Crystal; 14. Photon collector; 15. Optical fiber; 16. Photon counter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] In order to make the purpose, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described below are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0034] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a trocar 10 for internal irradiation radiotherapy provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] The trocar 10 includes a needle tube 11, and the needle tube 11 is provided with a beam needle installation through hole along its length direction. Figure 1 A needle 12 is integrally formed at the bottom end of the middle needle tube 11, and a cavity 121 connected to the beam needle mounting through hole is opened along the preset electron beam transmission path of the needle 12; a transparent or translucent crystal 13 is fixedly provided at one end of the needle 12 away from the needle tube 11; the crystal 13 is arranged on the electron beam transmission path; in this embodiment, the cavity 121 is a cavity with top and bottom ends penetrating therethrough.

[0036] Specifically, the crystal 13 is in the shape of a cone, and a tip is formed at the end away from the needle 12 so as to be better inserted into the human body, and preferably, the tip is located on the electron beam transmission path.

[0037] A photon collector 14 is installed on the outer wall of the crystal 13 ; a photon counter 16 is installed on the outer wall of one end of the needle tube 11 away from the crystal 13 , and the photon collector 14 and the photon counter 16 are connected via an optical fiber 15 .

[0038] In this embodiment, as a preferred implementation, the crystal 13 is a quartz crystal or a sapphire crystal; the shape of the crystal 13 is a cone, and the shape of the needle 12 is a frustum; the center lines of the frustum and the cone coincide; the bottom diameter of the cone is equal to the bottom diameter of the side of the frustum facing the cone.

[0039] After the electron beam is emitted through the beam needle, a part of the electrons in the electron beam bombarding the crystal 13 are emitted from the tip of the crystal 13, and another part of the electrons in the electron beam bombarding the crystal 13 can generate photons in the crystal 13 and are emitted from the outer wall of the crystal 13 along a specific photon transmission direction; according to the Cherenkov radiation principle, the angle between the photon transmission direction and the center line of the cone is 57 degrees; and in this embodiment, the photon collector 14 is arranged in the photon transmission direction.

[0040] As a more specific implementation of this embodiment, the photon collector 14 is a fiber coupler; the photon counter 16 is a photomultiplier tube or a photodiode. The number of photons sensed by the fiber coupler can be converted by detecting the voltage or current of the photomultiplier tube or the photodiode, which is very convenient.

[0041] Specifically, in this embodiment, the needle tube 11 and the needle head 12 are both made of stainless steel or silicon carbide.

[0042] Specifically, the optical fiber 15 is welded or pasted on the outer wall of the trocar 10. However, it is understandable that the optical fiber 15 can also be integrally formed with the trocar 10, or buried in the wall of the trocar 10, which should not be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0043] Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 A flow chart of an electron beam energy monitoring method for internal irradiation radiotherapy provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The electron beam energy monitoring method for internal irradiation radiotherapy specifically includes:

[0044] Presetting step 100, predetermining the corresponding relationship between the energy of the electron beam emitted from the crystal 13 along the electron beam transmission path and the number of collected photons.

[0045] In a laboratory environment, by simulating the application scenario of internal irradiation radiotherapy, multiple sets of corresponding data between electron beam energy and the number of photons were obtained, and the corresponding relationship between the electron beam energy and the number of photons was obtained through calculation.

[0046] It should be understood that the number of collected photons is positively correlated with the energy of the electron beam currently injected into the radiotherapy site. After obtaining several sets of corresponding data through multiple simulations, a relatively accurate corresponding relationship can be calculated. This corresponding relationship may have some errors, but the error can be minimized through repeated simulation experiments. Moreover, it will not affect the monitoring and control of the electron beam energy during internal irradiation radiotherapy.

[0047] Presetting step 101 , inserting the trocar 10 into a predetermined radiotherapy site in the human body in advance, and inserting the beam needle into the needle tube 11 of the trocar 10 .

[0048] Step 110: During the internal irradiation radiotherapy, photons emitted from the crystal 13 are collected in real time.

[0049] Specifically, the photons emitted from the crystal 13 are collected in real time by the photon collector 14 disposed on the outer wall of the crystal 13 .

[0050] Step 120: Determine the energy of the electron beam currently injected into the radiotherapy site according to the number of collected photons.

[0051] By collecting the number of photons and based on the predetermined correspondence between the electron beam energy and the number of photons, we can accurately know the energy of the electron beam currently entering the human body, and then more accurately control the radiotherapy equipment to achieve better radiotherapy effects.

[0052] In this embodiment, a predetermined gap is left between the electron beam emitting end of the beam needle and the crystal.

[0053] A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that all or part of the steps to implement the above embodiments may be accomplished by hardware, or may be accomplished by controlling the relevant hardware through a program or instruction, and the program or instruction may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, which may include a memory, a disk, or an optical disk, etc.

[0054] As described above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features thereof may be replaced by equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A trocar for internal irradiation radiotherapy, comprising a needle tube (11), wherein the needle tube (11) is provided with a beam needle mounting through hole extending through the length direction thereof, wherein: One end of the needle tube (11) is provided with a transparent or translucent crystal (13) on a preset electron beam transmission path; a photon collector (14) is installed on the outer side wall of the crystal (13); A photon counter (16) is installed on the outer wall of one end of the needle tube (11) away from the crystal (13), and the photon collector (14) and the photon counter (16) are connected via an optical fiber (15); The crystal (13) is in the shape of a cone, a portion of the electrons in the electron beam bombarding the crystal (13) are ejected from the tip of the crystal (13), and another portion of the electrons in the electron beam bombarding the crystal (13) can generate photons in the crystal (13) and are ejected from the outer wall of the crystal (13) along a specific photon transmission direction; the photon collector (14) is located in the photon transmission direction; The optical fiber (15) is welded or adhered to the outer side wall of the trocar (10).

2. A trocar for internal irradiation therapy according to claim 1, characterized in that: A needle head (12) is integrally formed at one end of the needle tube (11), and the crystal (13) is fixedly arranged at an end of the needle head (12) away from the needle tube (11); the needle head (12) is provided with a cavity (121) along the electron beam transmission path, which is connected to the beam needle mounting through hole and extends to the surface of the crystal (13); The crystal (13) is in the shape of a cone; the tip of the cone is arranged away from the cavity (121) and is located on the electron beam transmission path.

3. A trocar for internal irradiation therapy according to claim 2, characterized in that: The crystal (13) is a quartz crystal or a sapphire crystal.

4. A trocar for internal irradiation therapy according to claim 2, characterized in that: The needle head (12) is in the shape of a truncated cone; the center lines of the truncated cone and the cone coincide with each other; The bottom diameter of the cone is equal to the bottom diameter of the side of the frustum facing the cone.

5. A trocar for internal radiation therapy according to claim 4, characterized in that: The angle between the photon transmission direction and the center line of the cone is 57 degrees.

6. A trocar for internal radiation therapy according to claim 2, characterized in that: The needle tube (11) and the needle head (12) are both made of stainless steel or silicon carbide.

7. A trocar for internal irradiation therapy according to claim 1, characterized in that: The photon collector (14) is a fiber optic coupler; the photon counter (16) is a photomultiplier tube or a photodiode.

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