A real-time image-guided radiotherapy device

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention relates to the technical field of radiotherapy equipment, and discloses a real-time image-guided radiotherapy device, including: a main robot, at the end of which a treatment component and an image generation component are loaded, the treatment component is aligned with the lesion area, and the image generation component is installed in a direction forming a first angle with the center line of the treatment beam generated by the treatment component; during radiotherapy, the main robot drives the treatment component and the image generation component to rotate synchronously, so as to continuously perform image scanning on the lesion area while emitting a treatment beam to the lesion area; a sub-robot, at the end of which an image receiving component is loaded, during radiotherapy, the sub-robot drives the image receiving component to rotate synchronously with the image generation component to receive the image data obtained by the image scanning, and during the rotation process, the image receiving component is located outside the range of the treatment beam and is orthogonal to the direction of the image beam generated by the image generation component. It solves the problem of real-time image acquisition during radiotherapy in the image-guided radiotherapy system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present invention relate to the technical field of radiotherapy equipment, and in particular, to a real-time image-guided radiotherapy device. Background Art

[0002] The technical solutions with real-time image-guided functions in radiotherapy equipment mainly include: Electronic Portal Imaging Device (EPID), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)-guided radiotherapy, and CyberKnife image-guided system. The image spatial resolution of EPID is relatively low, and it can only provide two-dimensional information. The cost of MRI equipment is high, and the magnetic field environment may affect the normal operation of some radiotherapy equipment. The CyberKnife image-guided system uses a pair of X-ray sources to irradiate the patient from different angles, and the position of its convergence point is fixed, which causes the accelerator treatment ray to only treat the tumor site near the convergence point, while tumors far from this convergence point need to reposition the patient because they cannot be tracked in real time, and move the position to be treated near the convergence point. Related technologies also provide a multi-robot image-guided radiotherapy system, which solves the problem of protecting the imaging detector by making the treatment beam and the imaging detector face away from each other to ensure the image quality detected by it, but it cannot perform real-time image-guided treatment, that is: the treatment beam and the image detection cannot work synchronously. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide at least one real-time image-guided radiotherapy device, which can at least solve the problem of real-time image acquisition in the radiotherapy process of the image-guided radiotherapy system, so as to improve the accuracy of radiotherapy operations.

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a real-time image-guided radiotherapy device, including:

[0005] A main robot, at the end of which a treatment component and an image generation component are loaded. The treatment component is aligned with the lesion area, and the image generation component is installed in a direction forming a first angle with the center line of the treatment beam generated by the treatment component; during radiotherapy, the main robot drives the treatment component and the image generation component to rotate synchronously, so as to continuously perform image scanning on the lesion area while emitting a treatment beam to the lesion area;

[0006] A sub-robot, at the end of which an image receiving component is loaded. During radiotherapy, the sub-robot drives the image receiving component to rotate synchronously with the image generation component to receive the image data obtained by image scanning. During the rotation process, the image receiving component is outside the range of the treatment beam and is orthogonal to the direction of the image beam generated by the image generation component.

[0007] In some alternative embodiments, the master robot loads a treatment component and an image generation component through a first connector at its end. The treatment component is installed on the central axis of the first connector, and the central line of the treatment beam generated by the treatment component is collinear with the central axis. The slave robot loads an image receiving component through a second connector at its end.

[0008] In some alternative embodiments, the first connector and the second connector include flanges.

[0009] In some alternative embodiments, the treatment component includes a treatment beam generation component and a treatment beam shaping component. The treatment beam generation component is used to generate a treatment beam, and the treatment beam shaping component is used to control the shape of the treatment beam to generate a specific shape required for each specific irradiation field.

[0010] In some alternative embodiments, while the master robot drives the treatment beam generation component and the image generation component to rotate synchronously in the same direction, the treatment shaping component rotates synchronously in the opposite direction.

[0011] In some alternative embodiments, the treatment beam shaping component includes a multi-leaf collimator.

[0012] In some alternative embodiments, the real-time image-guided radiotherapy device further includes a control system for adjusting the postures of the master robot and the slave robot according to the image data obtained by image scanning during radiotherapy, so that the treatment component is always aligned with the current lesion area.

[0013] In some alternative embodiments, the control system is configured with:

[0014] A lesion recognition module for recognizing the lesion area and the non-lesion area based on the image data obtained by image scanning;

[0015] A region registration module for adjusting the posture of the master robot based on the difference between the recognized lesion area and the original lesion area, so that the treatment component is always aligned with the current lesion area.

[0016] In some alternative embodiments, the lesion recognition module is used to filter, denoise, and perform gray correction on the two-dimensional image data obtained by image scanning and then convert it into a three-dimensional image, and use a preset gray threshold to recognize the lesion area and the non-lesion area.

[0017] In some alternative embodiments, the region registration module is configured to calculate the target spatial transformation parameter values of the treatment component based on the difference between the identified lesion region and the original lesion region, and adjust the posture of the master robot based on the target spatial transformation parameters. The target spatial transformation parameters include translation parameter values and / or rotation parameter values.

[0018] The real-time image-guided radiotherapy device provided by the present invention drives the treatment component and the image generating component to rotate synchronously during radiotherapy, so as to continuously perform image scanning on the lesion region while emitting a treatment beam towards the lesion region; the slave robot drives the image receiving component to rotate synchronously with the image generating component to receive the image data obtained by the image scanning. During the rotation process, the image receiving component is located outside the range of the treatment beam and is orthogonal to the direction of the image beam generated by the image generating component, solving the problem of real-time image acquisition in the image-guided radiotherapy system during radiotherapy, so as to improve the accuracy of radiotherapy operations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, and these illustrative descriptions do not limit the embodiments.

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the real-time image-guided radiotherapy device provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the installation positions of the components of the real-time image-guided radiotherapy device provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the rotation principle of the treatment beam generating component and the treatment beam shaping component provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 is a top view schematic diagram of the projection relationship between the image beam and the treatment beam before and after rotation provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 5 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the projection relationship between the image beam and the treatment beam before and after rotation provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0025] In the figure, 101 - master robot, 102 - slave robot, 103a - treatment beam generating component, 103b - treatment beam shaping component, 104 - image receiving component, 105 - image generating component, 101a - first flange, 102a - second flange, 106 - treatment beam, 107 - image beam, 107a - rotated image beam, 108 - lesion center. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0026] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the following will elaborate on each embodiment of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that in each embodiment of this application, many technical details are provided to help readers better understand this application. However, even without these technical details and various changes and modifications based on the following embodiments, the technical solutions claimed in this application can still be implemented. The following division of each embodiment is for convenience of description and should not impose any limitation on the specific implementation manner of this application. Each embodiment can be combined and cross-referenced with each other on the premise of not being contradictory.

[0027] In related technologies, the technical solutions with real-time image guidance functions in radiotherapy equipment mainly include:

[0028] 1) Electronic Portal Imaging Device (EPID): The radiation source is the same as the treatment beam. During the patient's treatment, two-dimensional planar images can be obtained in real time to monitor the patient's body position and the position of the irradiation field. By analyzing these images, it is possible to quickly determine whether the patient's position is accurate, so as to adjust the treatment parameters in a timely manner. For example, before each treatment or during the treatment, the EPID can take the anterior and lateral images of the patient and compare them with the Digitally Reconstructed Radiograph (DRR) in the treatment plan to ensure the accuracy of the treatment. However, the image spatial resolution of the EPID is relatively low, and only two-dimensional information can be provided.

[0029] 2) MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)-guided radiotherapy: MRI has good soft tissue contrast and multi-parameter imaging capabilities, and can clearly show the structures of tumor tissues and surrounding normal tissues, having unique advantages for the localization and delineation of some soft tissue tumors. In MRI-guided radiotherapy, doctors can adjust the treatment plan according to real-time MRI images to achieve more precise radiotherapy. In addition, MRI can also provide functional information, such as the blood perfusion and metabolic conditions of tumors, which helps to evaluate the treatment effect. However, the cost of MRI equipment is relatively high, and the magnetic field environment may affect the normal operation of some radiotherapy equipment.

[0030] 3) CyberKnife Image-Guided System: It includes an X-ray source installed on the ceiling of the treatment room, which is responsible for emitting X-rays and providing the radiation source required for imaging, similar to the X-ray emission device in a conventional X-ray machine. During the CyberKnife treatment process, the X-ray source irradiates the patient from different angles to obtain image information of the patient's body. Digital Image Detector: It is located on both sides of the treatment bed, cross-opposite, and is used to receive X-rays and convert them into digital signals to form images. The performance of the detector directly affects the quality and resolution of the acquired images. A high-resolution detector can more clearly display the anatomical structure and tumor location in the patient's body, providing accurate image information for subsequent treatment. Its advantage is that it can synchronously track the tumor with breathing, ensuring that the accelerator is always aligned with the tumor during irradiation, minimizing damage to normal tissues. Its disadvantage is that a pair of X-ray sources irradiate the patient from different angles, and the position of their convergence point is fixed, resulting in the treatment beam of the accelerator can only treat the tumor site near it. Tumors far from this convergence point need to reposition the patient because they cannot be tracked in real time, moving the position to be treated near the convergence point.

[0031] 4) In related technologies, a multi-robot image-guided radiotherapy system and its imaging method are provided, which relate to the field of radiotherapy technology. The multi-robot image-guided radiotherapy system includes a treatment device, a main robot, an auxiliary robot, and an imaging device. One or both of the radiation blocker and the imaging detector can move, so that when the imaging beam is emitted, the imaging detector can face the X-ray source while the radiation blocker faces away from the X-ray source, then the radiation blocker will not interfere with the detection of the imaging detector; and when the treatment beam is emitted, the radiation blocker can face the treatment device while the imaging detector faces away from the treatment device, so that the treatment beam will not directly irradiate the imaging detector, thus achieving the purpose of protecting the imaging detector to ensure the quality of the detected images. This solution solves the problem of protecting the imaging detector by having the treatment beam and the imaging detector face away from each other to ensure the quality of the detected images, but it cannot perform real-time image-guided treatment, that is: the treatment beam and the image detection cannot work synchronously.

[0032] To solve the problem of real-time image acquisition in the above image-guided radiotherapy system during radiotherapy, the present invention proposes a real-time image-guided radiotherapy device. The following specifically describes the implementation details of a real-time image-guided radiotherapy device in this embodiment. The following content is only for facilitating understanding of the implementation details and is not necessary for implementing this solution.

[0033] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the real-time image-guided radiotherapy device in this embodiment includes:

[0034] The main robot 101 has a treatment component and an image generating component 105 mounted at its end. The treatment component 103 is aligned with the lesion area, and the image generating component 105 is installed in a direction forming a first angle α with the center line of the treatment beam 106 generated by the treatment component 103. During radiotherapy, the main robot 101 drives the treatment component 103 and the image generating component 105 to rotate synchronously, so as to continuously perform image scanning on the lesion area while emitting the treatment beam 106 towards the lesion area.

[0035] The auxiliary robot 102 has an image receiving component 104 mounted at its end. During radiotherapy, the auxiliary robot 102 drives the image receiving component 104 to rotate synchronously with the image generating component 105 to receive the image data obtained from the image scanning. During the rotation process, the image receiving component 104 is located outside the range of the treatment beam 106 and is orthogonal to the direction of the image beam 107 generated by the image generating component 105.

[0036] In one example, the main robot 101 and the auxiliary robot 102 can be multi-axis robots, also known as multi-axis robotic arms. The radiotherapy device can be a linear accelerator device. The first angle α < 30°, to ensure that the image beam can capture the lesion area. The image receiving component 104 can be a flat panel detector.

[0037] In a specific implementation, connectors are provided at the ends of both the main robot 101 and the auxiliary robot 102. The main robot 101 loads the treatment component 103 and the image generating component 105 through the first connector at its end. The treatment component 103 is installed on the central axis of the first connector, and the center line of the treatment beam 106 generated by the treatment component 103 is collinear with the central axis. The auxiliary robot 102 loads the image receiving component 104 through the second connector at its end.

[0038] In one example, the first connector and the second connector include flanges. The first connector is the first flange 101a, and the second connector is the second flange 102a.

[0039] In the above structure, on the one hand, the image generating component 105 is installed in a direction forming a first angle α with the center line of the treatment beam 106 generated by the treatment component 103, and continuously performs image scanning on the lesion area during radiotherapy. On the other hand, the image receiving component 104 is located outside the range of the treatment beam 106 and is orthogonal to the direction of the image beam 107 generated by the image generating component 105. The lesion center 108 is located in the overlapping area of the treatment beam 106 and the image beam 107, so that during radiotherapy for the lesion area, image scanning can be performed in real time, and then the main robot 101 can be guided to adjust its posture according to the image scanning result, so that the treatment beam generated by the treatment component 103 always aligns with the lesion area, and the image generating component 105 and the image receiving component 104 are also adjusted accordingly, realizing real-time image-guided radiotherapy.

[0040] In some embodiments, the treatment component 103 includes a treatment beam generation component 103a and a treatment beam shaping component 103b. The treatment beam generation component 103a is used to generate a treatment beam 106, and the treatment beam shaping component 103b is used to control the shape of the treatment beam 106 to generate a specific shape required for each specific irradiation field.

[0041] In one example, the treatment beam generation component 103a includes a linear accelerator core component composed of a magnetron, a waveguide, and an accelerating tube. The treatment beam shaping component 103b includes a multi-leaf collimator. The multi-leaf collimator is a device for controlling the shape of the treatment beam composed of multiple lead sheets. Each leaf can move independently, so as to combine into a specific shape and can be used in a linear accelerator. The treatment beam generation component 103 generates a conical treatment beam, and after the shape control by the treatment beam shaping component 103b, a specific shape for clinically treating each specific irradiation field can be generated. The treatment beam shaping component 103b is driven by a turntable to rotate along the center of the treatment beam 106.

[0042] During radiotherapy, while the main robot 101 drives the treatment beam generation component 103a and the image generation component 105 to rotate synchronously in the same direction, the treatment shaping component 103b rotates synchronously in the opposite direction.

[0043] As Figure 3 shown, driven by the main robot 101, the treatment beam generation component 103a and the image generation component 105 rotate synchronously in the same direction by a second angle β. The treatment shaping component 103b rotates synchronously in the opposite direction by the second angle β. The setting of the second angle β is for taking multi-angle photographs around the central axis of the end (flange) of the main robot 101, and modeling the 2D images taken at multiple angles into 3D images through an image processing algorithm. The required β angle may be different according to different image processing algorithms.

[0044] During real-time image-guided treatment, after the main robot 101 adjusts the positions and postures of each joint, the central axis of the flange at the end of the main robot 101 is aligned with the lesion area. While the treatment component 103 generates a treatment beam, the flange at the end of the main robot 101 drives the image generation component 105 to rotate around the central axis of the end flange and generates an image beam 107 while moving. While the flange rotates, the treatment shaping component 103b rotates synchronously in the opposite direction to keep the specific shape of the treatment beam unchanged, and the treatment beam does not rotate along the central axis, and the relative movement angle of the treatment beam is 0. The auxiliary robot 102 drives the image receiving component 104 to move in a direction orthogonal to the image beam 107 to ensure its correct posture for receiving the image. The image receiving component 104 is outside the irradiation range of the treatment beam to avoid being damaged by the treatment beam 106 irradiation.

[0045] Figure 4 A top view schematic diagram showing the projection relationship between the image beam and the treatment beam before and after rotation Figure 5 A three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the projection relationship between the image beam and the treatment beam before and after rotation. It can be seen that the projection ranges of the image beam 107 before rotation and the image beam 107a after rotation are both outside the projection range of the treatment beam. Therefore, it can avoid being damaged by the irradiation of the treatment beam 106.

[0046] In some embodiments, the real-time image-guided radiotherapy device further includes a control system. The control system is used to adjust the postures of the main robot 101 and the auxiliary robot 102 according to the image data obtained by image scanning during radiotherapy, so that the treatment component 103 is always aligned with the current lesion area.

[0047] During radiotherapy, the main robot 101 drives the treatment component 103 and the image generation component 105 to rotate synchronously, so as to continuously perform image scanning on the lesion area while emitting the treatment beam 106 to the lesion area; the auxiliary robot 102 drives the image receiving component 104 to rotate synchronously with the image generation component 105 to receive the image data obtained by image scanning, and the control system adjusts the postures of the main robot 101 and the auxiliary robot 102 according to the image data obtained by image scanning, so that the treatment component 103 is always aligned with the current lesion area.

[0048] Specifically, the control system is configured with:

[0049] A lesion recognition module, which is used to recognize the lesion area and the non-lesion area based on the image data obtained by image scanning;

[0050] A region registration module, which is used to adjust the posture of the main robot based on the difference between the recognized lesion area and the original lesion area, so that the treatment component is always aligned with the current lesion area.

[0051] Furthermore, the lesion recognition module is used to perform filtering, denoising and gray level correction on the two-dimensional image data obtained by image scanning and then convert it into a three-dimensional image, and use a preset gray level threshold to recognize the lesion area and the non-lesion area.

[0052] In one example, an image generation component 105 and a corresponding image reception component 104 are used to perform image scanning on a target lesion area through rotational motion to obtain a series of two-dimensional slice image data, which is stored in DICOM format. The two-dimensional slice image data contains attenuation information of X-rays (image beams) at different angles inside the object; a filtering algorithm is used to denoise the image data to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the image. The filtering algorithm can be, but is not limited to, Gaussian filtering, median filtering, etc. For example, through the Gaussian filtering algorithm, the gray values of each pixel point and its neighboring pixel points in the image data are weighted and averaged to reduce the influence of noise; the gray level of the image data is corrected so that the gray value of the image can accurately reflect the density information of the object. The gray level correction method can be, but is not limited to, histogram equalization, gray level stretching, etc. The two-dimensional slice image data is converted into a three-dimensional image, and the internal structure of the object is presented by assigning colors and transparencies to each voxel (pixel in three-dimensional space) in the three-dimensional image data. According to the difference in gray values between the lesion and the surrounding normal tissues, a suitable gray level threshold is set to classify the pixels in the image data into two categories: lesions and non-lesions, so as to identify the lesion area and the non-lesion area.

[0053] Furthermore, the region registration module is used to calculate the target space transformation parameter values of the treatment component based on the difference between the identified lesion area and the original lesion area, and adjust the posture of the master robot based on the target space transformation parameters to achieve 3D registration. The target space transformation parameters include translation parameter values and / or rotation parameter values.

[0054] During the treatment process, the image generation component 105 and the image reception component 104 form an image guidance system, continuously scan and obtain the three-dimensional image of the patient, and perform comparative analysis with the original lesion area image data in the treatment plan, so as to timely discover the difference between the lesion position and the treatment plan. Once a difference is found, the control system will calculate the direction and displacement amount that the master robot 101 needs to adjust according to the real-time three-dimensional image (including information such as the lesion position and the change of the patient's body position). The control system drives the treatment component 103 to perform real-time dynamic adjustment through the position and posture adjustment system of the master robot 101, so that the treatment component 103 always aims at the lesion area. During the adjustment process, the image guidance system continues to monitor the image information of the patient to ensure the accuracy of the adjustment and the effectiveness of the treatment.

[0055] In some examples, 3D registration is performed on the DRR (Digitally Reconstructed Radiograph) generated by the aforementioned image scanning and the DRR generated by the pre-radiotherapy CT examination. The purpose is to accurately align two images from different sources but both related to the patient's anatomical structure in three-dimensional space, so as to better formulate, evaluate and implement radiotherapy plans, etc.

[0056] Adopt a 3D registration method based on feature points:

[0057] a) Feature point extraction:

[0058] Extract feature points from the DRR generated by current image scanning (the 3D image converted by the lesion recognition module) and the DRR generated by pre-radiotherapy CT examination respectively. These feature points refer to the points with obvious anatomical features in the image, such as the joint points of bones, specific bony landmark points, etc. For the DRR generated by image scanning, the relatively high spatial resolution and clear display of local anatomical structures can be utilized to extract accurate feature points; while for the DRR generated by pre-radiotherapy CT examination, feature points are also selected based on obvious structures such as bones. The method of extracting feature points can adopt automatic algorithms such as edge detection-based and corner detection-based algorithms to identify possible feature points.

[0059] b) Feature point matching:

[0060] Achieve feature point matching based on the geometric relationship and similarity between feature points. For example, the geometric parameters such as the distance and angle between feature points can be calculated to find the point pairs with similar geometric relationships in the two groups of feature points and match them. Some similarity metric-based methods, such as mutual information and normalized cross-correlation, can also be adopted to evaluate the similarity degree between the two groups of feature points, so as to determine the optimal matching point pairs. Taking mutual information as an example, it is a metric method that judges the similarity by calculating the information sharing degree between two groups of data. When the mutual information value is the largest, the corresponding feature point matching scheme may be the optimal one.

[0061] c) Calculate the spatial transformation parameters, including translation parameter values and / or rotation parameter values:

[0062] After completing the feature point matching, calculate the spatial transformation parameters required to transform the DRR generated by current image scanning to align with the DRR generated by pre-radiotherapy CT examination in the three-dimensional space according to the matched feature point pairs.

[0063] The translation parameter value can refer to a translation vector, and the rotation parameter value can refer to a rotation angle. Taking the rigid body transformation model (assuming that the patient's body mainly undergoes overall translation and rotation movements between two imaging sessions) as an example, parameters such as the translation vector (translation amounts in the X, Y, and Z directions) and the rotation angle (rotation angles around the X, Y, and Z axes) are calculated. Mathematical methods such as the least squares method can be used. For example, for rigid body transformation, assuming the coordinates of the matched feature point pairs in the DRR generated by image scanning are (x1, y1, z1), and the coordinates in the DRR generated by pre-radiotherapy CT examination are (x2, y2, z2), the translation vector and rotation angle and other parameters that minimize the sum of the squared distances of the two sets of feature point pairs after transformation can be solved through the least squares method.

[0064] d) Apply spatial transformation:

[0065] Apply the calculated spatial transformation parameters (translation vector and rotation angle) to the currently generated DRR to achieve 3D registration of its DRR image with the DRR image generated by pre-radiotherapy CT examination.

[0066] The control system drives the treatment component to perform real-time dynamic adjustment through the robot position and attitude adjustment system, so that the treatment component is always aligned with the lesion area. By translating each voxel in the generated DRR according to the calculated translation vector and rotating it according to the rotation angle, it is accurately aligned with the DRR image generated by pre-radiotherapy CT examination in three-dimensional space.

[0067] Some embodiments of the present invention also provide a control method for a real-time image-guided radiotherapy device, including: adjusting the postures of the main robot 101 and the auxiliary robot 102 according to the image data obtained by image scanning during radiotherapy, so that the treatment component 103 is always aligned with the current lesion area.

[0068] Specifically, the control method includes:

[0069] Step 101, identify the lesion area and the non-lesion area based on the image data obtained by image scanning;

[0070] Step 102, adjust the posture of the main robot based on the difference between the identified lesion area and the original lesion area, so that the treatment component is always aligned with the current lesion area.

[0071] In specific implementation, identifying the lesion area and the non-lesion area based on the image data obtained by image scanning includes: performing filtering and denoising and gray level correction on the two-dimensional image data obtained by image scanning and then converting it into a three-dimensional image, and using a preset gray level threshold to identify the lesion area and the non-lesion area.

[0072] In one example, an image generation component 105 and a corresponding image receiving component 104 are used to perform image scanning on a target lesion area through rotational motion to obtain a series of two-dimensional slice image data, which is stored in DICOM format. The two-dimensional slice image data contains attenuation information of X-rays (image beams) at different angles inside the object; a filtering algorithm is used to denoise the image data to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the image. The filtering algorithm can be, but is not limited to, Gaussian filtering, median filtering, etc. For example, through the Gaussian filtering algorithm, the gray values of each pixel point and its neighboring pixel points in the image data are weighted and averaged to reduce the influence of noise; the gray level of the image data is corrected so that the gray value of the image can accurately reflect the density information of the object. The gray level correction method can be, but is not limited to, histogram equalization, gray level stretching, etc. The two-dimensional slice image data is converted into a three-dimensional image, and the internal structure of the object is presented by assigning colors and transparencies to each voxel (pixel in three-dimensional space) in the three-dimensional image data. According to the difference in gray values between the lesion and the surrounding normal tissues, a suitable gray threshold is set to classify the pixels in the image data into two categories: lesion and non-lesion, so as to identify the lesion area and the non-lesion area.

[0073] In a specific implementation, based on the difference between the identified lesion area and the original lesion area, the posture of the master robot is adjusted so that the treatment component is always aligned with the current lesion area, including: based on the difference between the identified lesion area and the original lesion area, calculating the target space transformation parameter values of the treatment component, and adjusting the posture of the master robot based on the target space transformation parameters. The target space transformation parameters include translation parameter values and / or rotation parameter values.

[0074] In some examples, the three-dimensional image generated by image scanning refers to a DRR (Digitally Reconstructed Radiograph), and 3D registration is performed between it and the DRR generated by preoperative CT examination for radiotherapy. The purpose is to accurately align two images from different sources but both related to the patient's anatomical structure in three-dimensional space, so as to better formulate, evaluate, and implement radiotherapy plans, etc. A feature point-based 3D registration method can be used. For the specific 3D registration method, reference can be made to the foregoing content, which will not be elaborated here.

[0075] Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that the above embodiments are specific embodiments for implementing the present application, and in practical applications, various changes can be made to them in form and details without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A real-time image-guided radiotherapy device, comprising: A main robot, a treatment component and an image generating component are mounted on the end thereof, the treatment component is aimed at the lesion area, and the image generating component is installed in a direction forming a first angle with a center line of a treatment beam generated by the treatment component; A secondary robot, the end of which is equipped with an image receiving component; It is characterized in that the treatment component includes a treatment beam generating component and a treatment beam shaping component, the treatment beam generating component is used to generate a treatment beam, and the treatment beam shaping component is used to control the shape of the treatment beam to generate a specific shape required for each specific irradiation field; during radiotherapy, the main robot drives the treatment beam generating component and the image generating component to synchronously rotate in the same direction around the central axis of the main robot's end by a second angle, while the treatment beam shaping component synchronously rotates in the opposite direction by a second angle, so as to continuously perform multi-angle image scanning of the lesion area while emitting a treatment beam to the lesion area; during radiotherapy, the sub-robot drives the image receiving component to rotate synchronously with the image generating component to receive image data obtained by image scanning, and during the rotation, the image receiving component is located outside the range of the treatment beam and is orthogonal to the direction of the image beam generated by the image generating component.

2. The real-time image-guided radiotherapy device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main robot is loaded with a treatment component and an image generating component through a first connecting piece at the end, the treatment component is mounted on the central axis of the first connecting piece, and the center line of the treatment beam generated by the treatment component is colinear with the central axis; the sub-robot is loaded with an image receiving component through a second connecting piece at the end.

3. The real-time image-guided radiotherapy device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first connection member and the second connection member include flanges.

4. The real-time image-guided radiotherapy device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The treatment beam shaping component includes a multi-leaf collimator.

5. The real-time image-guided radiotherapy device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a control system for adjusting the postures of the main robot and the auxiliary robot according to image data obtained by image scanning during radiotherapy, so that the treatment component is always aligned with the current lesion area.

6. The real-time image-guided radiotherapy device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The control system is configured with: A lesion recognition module, used to identify lesion areas and non-lesion areas based on image data obtained by image scanning; The regional registration module is used to adjust the posture of the main robot based on the difference between the identified lesion area and the original lesion area, so that the treatment component is always aligned with the current lesion area.

7. The real-time image-guided radiotherapy device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The lesion recognition module is used to convert the two-dimensional image data obtained by image scanning into a three-dimensional image after filtering, denoising and grayscale correction, and to identify the lesion area and the non-lesion area using a preset grayscale threshold.

8. The real-time image-guided radiotherapy device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The regional registration module is used to calculate the target space transformation parameter value of the treatment component based on the difference between the identified lesion area and the original lesion area, and adjust the posture of the main robot based on the target space transformation parameter value, and the target space transformation parameter value includes a translation parameter value and / or a rotation parameter value.

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