Diagnosis and treatment system based on high-energy photons

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a diagnosis and treatment system based on high-energy photons. The diagnosis and treatment system may comprise: a photon beam generation device configured to generate a high-energy photon beam, the energy of photons in the high-energy photon beam being adjustable within a predetermined photon energy range; the photon energy selection device is configured to select first photon energy from a preset photon energy range based on depth information of the treatment part in the body of the diagnosis and treatment object; and the photon beam control device is configured to control the photon beam generation device to generate a treatment photon beam, photons in the treatment photon beam have first photon energy, and the treatment photon beam is emitted towards a treatment part in the diagnosis and treatment object. The photons act on the treatment part at the position corresponding to the depth information based on the first photon energy, and the depth information comprises relative position information of the treatment part in the body of the diagnosis and treatment object in the emission direction of the treatment photon beam. According to the invention, accurate directional projection of the treatment part at any depth in the diagnosis and treatment object is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the fields of physics and medical imaging technology, and more particularly, to a diagnosis and treatment system based on high-energy photons. Background Art

[0002] In the current field of medical imaging and radiotherapy, application technologies related to high-energy photons such as X-rays or gamma rays occupy a vital position. The unique penetrating properties of high-energy photon rays make them play an irreplaceable role in the medical field. However, in actual application, how to accurately adjust the operating parameters of the high-energy photon ray emission device to achieve low-dose and high-radiation-efficiency diagnosis and treatment effects remains a challenge facing the industry. In addition, given the health and safety issues of professionals and patients exposed to long-term radiation, the development of more efficient and lower-radiation-dose high-energy photon-based diagnosis and treatment technologies is an urgent problem to be solved in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In order to at least partially solve the above-mentioned and other possible problems, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a diagnosis and treatment system based on high-energy photons.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a diagnosis and treatment system based on high-energy photons is provided. The diagnosis and treatment system may include: a photon beam generating device, configured to generate a high-energy photon beam, wherein the energy of the photons in the high-energy photon beam can be adjusted within a predetermined photon energy range; a photon energy selecting device, configured to select a first photon energy from the predetermined photon energy range based on the depth information of the treatment site in the diagnosis and treatment object within the body of the diagnosis and treatment object; and a photon beam controlling device, configured to control the photon beam generating device to generate a treatment photon beam, wherein the photons in the treatment photon beam have the first photon energy, and the treatment photon beam is emitted toward the treatment site in the diagnosis and treatment object. Specifically, the photons in the treatment photon beam act on the treatment site at a position corresponding to the depth information based on the first photon energy, and the depth information includes the relative position information of the treatment site in the body of the diagnosis and treatment object along the emission direction of the treatment photon beam.

[0005] The present disclosure achieves precise directional projection of the photon beam to the treatment site at a predetermined depth in the body of the subject by selecting the photon energy in the generated high-energy photon beam, so that the energy of the photon beam can be more concentrated on the treatment site of the subject, thereby improving the therapeutic effect of the photon beam on the treatment site and the utilization efficiency of the photon beam. At the same time, it also reduces the damage of the photon beam to normal tissues in non-treatment sites, reduces the side effects of radiotherapy on the subject, and alleviates the health impact of radiotherapy on professionals engaged in radiotherapy.

[0006] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the diagnosis and treatment system may further include: an imaging device configured to generate an image of the imaging part of the diagnosis and treatment object; and a position information determination device configured to determine at least the depth information of the treatment part in the imaging part within the body of the diagnosis and treatment object based on the image of the imaging part.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the position information determining device is further configured to determine the size and / or shape of the treatment site based on the image of the imaging site.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the photon beam control device is further configured to control the photon beam generating device so that the generated therapeutic photon beam has a photon beam cross-sectional size and / or photon beam cross-sectional shape corresponding to the size and / or shape of the treatment site.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the photon beam control device is also configured to control the photon beam generating device so that the cross-sectional size of the generated therapeutic photon beam is smaller than the size of the treatment site, and the photon beam control device is further configured to control the photon beam generating device so that the generated therapeutic photon beam moves in a plane perpendicular to the emission direction of the therapeutic photon beam to cover the treatment site.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the position information determination device is also configured to determine the planar position information of the treatment site based on the image of the imaging site, wherein the planar position information is the relative position information of the treatment site within the body of the diagnostic and treatment object in a plane perpendicular to the emission direction of the therapeutic photon beam; and the photon beam control device is also configured to control the photon beam generating device based on the planar position information of the treatment site so that the generated therapeutic photon beam is emitted toward the treatment site in the diagnostic and treatment object.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the selected first photon energy is the energy of a photon corresponding to a peak energy spectrum in an energy spectrum distribution of photons in the therapeutic photon beam.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a deviation between the photon energy at half-maximum half-width of the energy spectrum distribution of the photons in the therapeutic photon beam and the first photon energy is less than or equal to 10% of the first photon energy.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the depth information includes first boundary position information and second boundary position information of the treatment site within the body of the diagnostic and treatment object along the emission direction of the treatment photon beam, and the photon energy selection device is also configured to select the second photon energy from the predetermined photon energy range based on the first boundary position information and / or the second boundary position information; and the photon beam control device is further configured to control the photon beam generating device so that the photons in the generated treatment photon beam gradually change from having the first photon energy to having the second photon energy, wherein the photons in the treatment photon beam act on the treatment site at a position corresponding to the first boundary position information based on the first photon energy, and the photons in the treatment photon beam act on the treatment site at a position corresponding to the second boundary position information based on the second photon energy.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the photon energy selection device is further configured to select the first photon energy based on the depth information and the characteristics of one or more tissues in the subject's body that the therapeutic photon beam passes through before reaching the active part in the treatment site.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the photon beam generating device is an inverse Compton scattering source, comprising: an electron beam generating device, configured to generate an electron beam; a pre-acceleration section, configured to fix the beam length and emittance of the electron beam; an acceleration section, configured to accelerate the pre-accelerated electron beam; a scattered laser generating device, configured to generate scattered laser; and an action chamber, configured to perform inverse Compton scattering on the accelerated electron beam and the scattered laser to generate the therapeutic photon beam.

[0016] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the photon beam generating device further includes: a collimating device configured to limit the photon beam cross-sectional size and / or photon beam cross-sectional shape of the therapeutic photon beam from the action chamber in a plane perpendicular to the emission direction of the therapeutic photon beam.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the predetermined photon energy range is between 5 keV and 15 meV.

[0018] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the photon beam control device is also configured to control the photon beam generating device to generate a diagnostic photon beam; and the imaging device is further configured to receive the diagnostic photon beam from the photon beam generating device and passing through the imaging part of the diagnosis and treatment object, and generate an image of the imaging part based on the received diagnostic photon beam.

[0019] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent through a more detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals generally represent like components throughout the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of a high-energy photon-based diagnosis and treatment system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic block diagram of a high-energy photon-based diagnosis and treatment system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C A schematic diagram shows the specific location of a treatment site where a photon beam generated by a photon beam generating device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure acts.

[0024] Figure 4 A schematic block diagram of a photon beam generating device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to make the present disclosure more thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. Those skilled in the art can derive alternative technical solutions from the following description without departing from the spirit and scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0026] As used herein, the term "including" and its variations mean open inclusion, i.e., "including but not limited to." Unless otherwise stated, the term "or" means "and / or." The term "based on" means "based, at least in part, on." The terms "one example embodiment" and "an embodiment" mean "at least one example embodiment." Other explicit and implicit definitions may be included below.

[0027] Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a high-energy photon-based diagnosis and treatment system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1As shown, the diagnosis and treatment system 10 at least includes a photon beam generating device 200 , a photon energy selecting device 300 and a photon beam controlling device 400 .

[0028] The photon beam generating device 200 can generate a high-energy photon beam (e.g., X-rays or gamma rays), and the energy of the photons in the high-energy photon beam generated by the photon beam generating device 200 can be changed within a predetermined photon energy range by adjusting the operating parameters of the photon beam generating device 200. In certain embodiments, the predetermined photon energy range can be set between 5 keV and 15 meV, or between 10 keV and 10 meV, or between 10 keV and 5 meV, or between 20 keV and 10 meV, or between 15 keV and 8 meV. Preferably, the predetermined photon energy range can be set between 20 keV and 5 meV.

[0029] The photon beam generating device 200 can be provided by using various known or future developed devices, so that it can stably generate a photon beam with the aforementioned photon energy and can adjust the energy of the photons in the photon beam within a predetermined photon energy range. As an example, the photon beam generating device 200 can be a photon beam generating device based on an inverse Compton scattering source. Figure 4 A specific embodiment of the photon beam generating device 200 based on an inverse Compton scattering source is described in detail.

[0030] The photon energy selection device 300 can select a first photon energy from a predetermined photon energy range based on the depth information of the treatment site 1011 in the diagnosis and treatment object 101 within the diagnosis and treatment object 101. It should be understood that the "diagnosis and treatment object" mentioned in the present disclosure can be understood as an object to be treated, such as a patient, and the "treatment site" can be understood as a specific location of the lesion to be treated within the diagnosis and treatment object, such as a tumor area. It should also be understood that the "depth information" mentioned in the present disclosure can represent the relative position information of the treatment site 1011 within the diagnosis and treatment object 101 along the emission direction of the treatment photon beam.

[0031] As an example, the treatment site 1011 and its surrounding tissues can be imaged (especially three-dimensional imaging) by imaging techniques such as CT and MRI, and the relative position of the treatment site 1011 in the body of the diagnosis and treatment subject 101 can be determined based on the imaging, thereby determining the depth information of the treatment site 1011 in the body of the diagnosis and treatment subject 101. For another example, the depth position of the treatment site 1011 in the body of the diagnosis and treatment subject 101 can be determined by puncture technology, thereby obtaining the depth information of the treatment site 1011. It is understood that the depth information of the treatment site 1011 in the body of the diagnosis and treatment subject 101 can be determined by other known or future technical means.

[0032] Due to the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter, the ability of a photon beam to penetrate matter is closely related to the energy of the photons contained within it. The greater the energy of the photons in the beam, the greater its ability to penetrate matter. In diagnostic and therapeutic systems, high-energy photon beams, such as X-rays, possess strong penetrating power. The energy of a photon is related to its wavelength. High-energy photons with shorter wavelengths penetrate human tissue more easily without being absorbed, allowing them to reach deeper layers of tissue. Therefore, the deeper the therapeutic area to be treated, the higher the energy of the photons required. Based on the above principles, the photon energy selection device 300 can select and determine the energy of the photons in the appropriate treatment photon beam according to the depth information of the treatment site 1011 in the body of the diagnostic and treatment object 101, so that the photons in the treatment photon beam have sufficient energy so that they can reach the treatment site 1011 after penetrating the body tissue of the diagnostic and treatment object 101. At the same time, the energy of the photons therein is not too large, thereby avoiding the photons penetrating too deeply into the body tissue of the diagnostic and treatment object 101 and exceeding the depth of the treatment site 101, thereby causing irradiation of other body parts that do not need to be treated and causing damage.

[0033] High-energy photons undergo a process of attenuation after entering the body of the patient 101. For example, after entering the body and reaching a certain depth, a high-energy photon may have a certain photon energy. As the high-energy photon continues to travel to a deeper depth, its photon energy decays. As described above, the energy of a high-energy photon determines its ability to penetrate matter. Therefore, as a high-energy photon undergoes a series of scattering and absorption processes during its passage through the body, its energy continuously decays. When the photon energy decays to a certain level, its penetrating power is weakened, and it is more easily absorbed by tissues in the body. Photons that reach the vicinity of the treatment site typically still have some energy available for radiotherapy of the lesion. Therefore, when determining the energy of the photons in the treatment photon beam, the photon energy selection device 300 not only considers the depth of the treatment site 1011 within the patient 101, but also the energy required for radiotherapy after the treatment photon beam reaches the treatment site 1011.

[0034] Furthermore, in order to determine the appropriate photon energy for photons reaching the position corresponding to the depth information of different treatment sites 1011, a correlation can be established between the depth information of different treatment sites 1011 and the appropriate photon energy for photons reaching the position corresponding to the depth information. Based on this correlation, the corresponding photon energy can be selected based on the required depth information. The appropriate photon energy for photons reaching the treatment sites 1011 at different depths within the patient 101 can be determined through experiments, historical experience, or theoretical calculations, thereby establishing a correlation between the depth information and the photon energy.

[0035] In addition, the ability of a substance to absorb high-energy photons mainly depends on the atomic number and tissue density of the substance. The higher the atomic number (i.e., the more protons in the nucleus) of the tissue, the stronger its ability to absorb high-energy photons. For example, bones contain a large amount of calcium and phosphorus, and the atomic numbers of these two elements are relatively high, so the bone has a great ability to absorb high-energy photons. In addition, the greater the tissue density, the more atoms there are per unit volume, and the more opportunities for high-energy photons to be scattered and absorbed when passing through such tissues. For example, the density of bone is greater than that of fat and muscle, so the absorption capacity of bone to high-energy photons is greater than that of fat and muscle. Since the characteristics of each diagnostic and treatment object, each part of the diagnostic and treatment object, and each treatment site, such as atomic number, tissue density, etc., may be different from each other, in the process of establishing the correlation between depth information and photon energy, the characteristics of the tissue in the diagnostic and treatment object that the therapeutic photon beam passes through before reaching the active part in the treatment site can also be considered. Therefore, it is also possible to determine the appropriate photon energy for photons to pass through tissues with various characteristics within the subject 101 and reach the treatment site 1011 at various depths within the subject 101 through experiments, historical experience, or theoretical calculations, thereby establishing a correlation between depth information, tissue characteristics, and photon energy. The photon energy selection device 300 can utilize this correlation to determine the photon energy by obtaining information about the depth of the treatment site 1011 within the subject 101 and the characteristics of the relevant tissues within the subject 101 that the therapeutic photon beam passes through before reaching the active portion of the treatment site 1011.

[0036] In certain embodiments, the established correlation between depth information and photon energy (which may also include the above-mentioned tissue characteristics) can be stored in the photon energy selection device 300 or in a storage device within the high-energy photon-based diagnosis and treatment system 10 in the form of a mapping table or function. The photon energy selection device 300 can automatically select the corresponding photon energy based on the correlation and the specific depth information of the treatment site 1011 to be treated within the body of the diagnosis and treatment subject 101 determined during operation. Alternatively or additionally, the correlation between depth information and photon energy can also be implemented as a lookup table, and the operator of the diagnosis and treatment system 10 can manually select the photon energy corresponding to the specific depth information of the current treatment site 1011 based on the correlation between depth information and photon energy in the lookup table, and input the parameters corresponding to the selected photon energy into the photon energy selection device 300 through the human-machine interface.

[0037] like Figure 1As shown, after the photon energy selection device 300 selects and determines the photon energy to be used, the photon beam control device 400 can timely adjust the working parameters of the photon beam generating device 200 based on the specific photon energy selected by the photon energy selection device 300 to generate a therapeutic photon beam, so that the photons in the therapeutic photon beam have the specific photon energy that meets the treatment requirements, so that the photons in the therapeutic photon beam can accurately reach the corresponding depth of the treatment site 1011 and perform radiotherapy on the treatment site 1011.

[0038] The present disclosure achieves precise projection of the photon beam to the treatment site at a predetermined depth in the body of the subject by selecting the energy of the photons in the generated high-energy photon beam, so that the energy of the photon beam can be more concentrated on the treatment site of the subject, thereby improving the therapeutic effect of the photon beam on the treatment site and the utilization efficiency of the photon beam. At the same time, it also reduces the damage of the photon beam to normal tissues in non-treatment sites, reduces the side effects of radiotherapy on the subject, and alleviates the health impact of radiotherapy on professionals engaged in radiotherapy.

[0039] It should be understood that, ideally, the energy of the photons in the high-energy photon beam with the selected photon energy generated by the photon beam generating device 200 should be consistent, that is, all photons in the generated photon beam have the selected specific photon energy. In reality, the energy of all photons in the high-energy photon beam generated by the photon beam generating device 200 may be difficult to reach a strictly single level, but the energy spectrum of the high-energy photon beam may have a certain bandwidth, that is, most of the photons in the generated photon beam have the selected photon energy, while there are still some photons whose energy is higher or lower than the selected photon energy. In order to ensure that the photons in the therapeutic photon beam reach the desired depth position in the body of the diagnostic and treatment subject 101 as accurately as possible, it is expected that as many photons in the photon beam as possible have the selected photon energy, and the energy of other photons deviates from the selected photon energy as little as possible. To this end, the spectrum bandwidth of the therapeutic photon beam generated by the photon beam generating device 200 of the present disclosure is set to be as narrow as possible. In certain embodiments, the deviation between the photon energy at half-height and half-width of the energy spectrum distribution of the photons in the therapeutic photon beam and the selected photon energy is less than or equal to 10% of the selected photon energy. In other words, the energy spectrum broadening of the photons in the therapeutic photon beam can be 10%. Alternatively or additionally, the energy spectrum broadening of the photons in the therapeutic photon beam can be 8% or 4%. Preferably, the energy spectrum broadening of the photons in the therapeutic photon beam can be 2% or 1%. It should be understood that compared with traditional high-energy rays with a wide energy spectrum and continuous distribution, the therapeutic photon beam of the present disclosure has a smaller energy spectrum broadening, that is, the energy of most of the photons in the therapeutic photon beam is concentrated in an energy range close to the selected photon energy, so that most of the photons in the therapeutic photon beam can reach the treatment site 1011 after entering the body of the patient 101, and only a small portion of the photons act on locations outside the treatment site 1011, thereby improving the treatment accuracy of the photon beam and reducing the damage of the photon beam to the normal tissue of the patient.

[0040] Because the high-energy photon beam of the present disclosure still has a certain energy spectrum bandwidth, in certain embodiments, the photon energy selected by the photon energy selection device 300 can be the energy of the photon corresponding to the peak energy spectrum in the energy spectrum distribution of the photons in the treatment photon beam. In this way, the vast majority of the photons in the treatment photon beam generated by the photon beam generating device 200 have the selected photon energy suitable for the depth of the treatment site 1011, thereby allowing the vast majority of the photons in the treatment photon beam to be used for radiotherapy of the treatment site 1011 and reducing damage to normal tissues other than the treatment site 1011 caused by the treatment photon beam.

[0041] In certain embodiments, the photon beam control device 400 may further control the photon beam generating device 200 so that the generated therapeutic photon beam has a photon beam cross-sectional size and / or photon beam cross-sectional shape corresponding to the size and / or shape of the treatment site 1011, so as to meet the needs of treating the treatment site 1011. It should be understood that in order to accurately achieve a photon beam with a specific cross-sectional size and / or cross-sectional shape, a collimator controlled by the photon beam control device 400 may be provided in the photon beam generating device 200. Figure 4 Describe this.

[0042] When considering a radiotherapy plan, in order to provide adequate radiotherapy to a treatment site 1011 at a specific depth within the body of the patient 101, in addition to considering the photon energy of the photons in the treatment photon beam that reaches the treatment site 1011, it is also necessary to consider the dose of radiotherapy provided to the treatment site 1011. The dose of radiotherapy is associated with the residual photon energy of the photons after they reach the treatment site 1011, the number (power) of photons in the treatment photon beam, and the duration of the radiotherapy. Therefore, after determining the required dose of radiotherapy, the residual photon energy, the number of photons, and the duration of the radiotherapy can be adjusted in a correlated manner. For example, the residual photon energy of the treatment photon beam under the conditions of a specific number of photons and a specific duration of radiotherapy can be determined. It should be understood that the sum of the remaining photon energy and the photon energy determined by the depth information of the treatment site 1011 is the initial photon energy of the photons in the treatment photon beam generated by the photon beam generating device 200, so the photon energy selection device 300 can calculate the sum of the remaining photon energy and the photon energy determined by the depth information of the treatment site 1011 as the selected specific photon energy.

[0043] Figure 2 FIG2 shows a schematic block diagram of a high-energy photon-based diagnosis and treatment system 20 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 Similarly, Figure 2 The diagnosis and treatment system 20 in the embodiment also includes a photon beam generating device 200 , a photon energy selecting device 300 , and a photon beam controlling device 400 . In addition, the diagnosis and treatment system 20 also includes an imaging device 500 and a position information determining device 600 .

[0044] The imaging device 500 can generate a two-dimensional or three-dimensional image of an imaging site 1012 of the patient 101. It should be understood that the "imaging site" can be understood as the observed portion of the patient's body, which generally includes the treatment site. Furthermore, the imaging device 500 can generate images of the imaging site 1012 of the patient 101 using a variety of imaging technologies (e.g., CT, MRI, etc.).

[0045] The position information determining device 600 can determine the relative position of the treatment site 1011 in the imaging site 1012 in the emitting direction of the treatment photon beam within the body of the diagnosis and treatment object 101 based on the two-dimensional or three-dimensional image generated by the imaging site 1012, thereby obtaining the depth information of the treatment site 1011. Figure 2 As shown, the determined depth information of the treatment site 1011 will be transmitted to the photon energy selection device 300, so that the photon energy selection device 300 selects photon energy suitable for the treatment photon beam to act on the treatment site 1011 located at the position corresponding to the depth information based on the depth information.

[0046] In certain embodiments, the position information determining device 600 may also determine the planar position information of the treatment site 1011 within the body of the subject being treated based on the image of the imaging site 1012. When the size of the treatment site 1011 is sufficiently small (for example, the size of the treatment site is substantially the same as the cross-sectional size of the treatment photon beam), the planar position information may be the relative position information of the treatment site 1011 within the body of the subject being treated 101 in a plane perpendicular to the emission direction of the treatment photon beam. When the size of the treatment site 1011 is relatively large, the specific position corresponding to the planar position information may be the relative position of a reference point in the treatment site 1011 within the body of the subject being treated 101 in a plane perpendicular to the emission direction of the treatment photon beam. For example, the reference point may be the geometric center or centroid of the treatment site 1011, etc., which is predefined by the operator. After determining the planar position information of the treatment site 1011 , the photon beam control device 400 can control the photon beam generating device 200 based on the planar position information of the treatment site 1011 so that the generated treatment photon beam is emitted toward the treatment site 1011 in the diagnosis and treatment object 101 .

[0047] The position information determining device 600 can also determine the size and / or shape of the treatment site 1011 based on the image of the imaging site 1012. If the treatment site 1011 is relatively small in depth, the photon energy selected once by the photon energy selecting device 300 can reach a depth position within the subject's body that substantially covers the entire depth of the treatment site 1011, thereby enabling complete depth treatment of the treatment site 1011 without further adjustment of the photon energy of the photon beam. However, if the treatment site 1011 is relatively large in depth, a photon beam generated based on a single photon energy selected by the photon energy selecting device 300 may not fully cover the treatment site 1011 in depth. In this case, the photon energy selecting device 300 may need to select different photon energies multiple times to gradually adjust the depth of the treatment site 1011 reached by the generated photon beam, ultimately covering the entire depth of the treatment site 1011 and achieving complete depth treatment of the treatment site 1011.

[0048] For example, Figure 3A As shown, first, the first photon energy can be selected by the photon energy selection device 300 based on the first boundary position (corresponding to the first depth information) of the treatment site 1011 along the emission direction of the treatment photon beam in the body of the diagnosis and treatment object 101, so that the generated photon beam acts on the first boundary position on the treatment site 1011. Then the photon energy is gradually adjusted so that the action position of the generated photon beam on the treatment site 1011 gradually moves toward the second boundary position (corresponding to the second depth information) of the treatment site 1011 opposite to the first boundary position in the depth direction. Finally, the photon energy is selected as the second photon energy based on the second boundary position, so that the generated photon beam acts on the second boundary position (corresponding to the second depth information) of the treatment site 1011. Figure 3B As shown), to achieve complete coverage of the treatment site 1011 in the depth direction. Figure 3A and 3B In the illustrated embodiment, the first boundary position corresponds to the boundary position of the treatment site 1011 on the side facing the photon beam (i.e., the shallowest position), and the second boundary position corresponds to the boundary position of the treatment site 1011 on the side facing away from the photon beam (i.e., the deepest position). However, it should be understood that the first boundary position may also be the deepest position, and the second boundary position may also be the shallowest position.

[0049] As mentioned above, the absorption characteristics of the tissues in the patient's body that the photon beam passes through before reaching the active part in the treatment site will also affect the depth of the specific position of the photon beam acting on the treatment site 1011. Figure 3AAs shown, in order to make the generated photon beam act on the first boundary position on the treatment part 1011, when selecting the first photon energy, in addition to considering the first depth information corresponding to the first boundary position, it is also necessary to consider the characteristics of the tissue in the body of the diagnosis and treatment object 101 that the treatment photon beam 201 passes through before reaching the first boundary position, such as the atomic number and density of the material in the tissue. For another example, Figure 3B As shown, in order to make the generated photon beam act on the specific action part between the first boundary position and the second boundary position, when selecting the photon energy, in addition to considering the corresponding depth information of the specific action part, it is also necessary to consider the characteristics of the tissue in the body of the diagnostic and treatment object 101 through which the treatment photon beam 201 passes before reaching the first boundary position, and the characteristics of the tissue of the partial treatment site 1011 through which the treatment photon beam 201 passes before reaching the specific action part in the treatment site.

[0050] Alternatively, by controlling the energy of the photons in the therapeutic photon beam, the therapeutic photon beam can also act on the treatment site 1011 from any depth position between the first boundary position and the second boundary position of the treatment site 1011, for example, starting from the depth position where the geometric center or centroid of the treatment site 1011 is located, and by adjusting the photon energy, the depth position at which the photon beam acts on the treatment site 1011 is moved toward the first boundary position and the second boundary position. In this way, the present disclosure can achieve radiotherapy at any depth of the treatment site through precise control of the therapeutic photon beam, and can minimize damage to surrounding healthy tissue caused by the therapeutic photon beam.

[0051] In the case where the size of the treatment site 1011 in the plane perpendicular to the depth direction is relatively small, the photon beam generating device 200 can be controlled by the photon beam control device 400 to adjust the cross-sectional size and shape of the generated photon beam so that the cross section of the photon beam can completely cover the area of ​​the treatment site 1011 in the plane perpendicular to the depth direction. If the size of the treatment site 1011 in the plane perpendicular to the depth direction is relatively large and / or the shape of the treatment site 1011 in the plane perpendicular to the depth direction is relatively irregular, it may be impossible or inappropriate to allow the cross section of the photon beam to completely cover the area of ​​the treatment site 1011 in the plane perpendicular to the depth direction. In this case, Figure 3CAs shown, the cross-section of the photon beam can be set to a regular shape (e.g., a circle) and an appropriate size (the size is smaller than the size of the treatment site 1011 in a plane perpendicular to the depth direction) by the photon beam control device 400. Then, a certain position of the treatment site 1011 in a plane perpendicular to the depth direction is determined by the position information determination device 600 as the starting position of the photon beam irradiation. The irradiation position of the photon beam is gradually changed by the position information determination device 600 so that the generated therapeutic photon beam moves in a plane perpendicular to the emission direction of the therapeutic photon beam to cover the entire area of ​​the treatment site 1011 in the plane. In the aforementioned embodiment, the size of the cross-section of the photon beam should be appropriately set to ensure a high therapeutic irradiation efficiency while minimizing the irradiation of the photon beam to non-treatment areas in the plane.

[0052] In this way, by repeatedly adjusting the irradiation position of the cross section of the treatment photon beam 201, this embodiment can perform precise radiotherapy on the treatment site 1011. Especially when the treatment site 1011 has an irregular shape, this embodiment can minimize damage to normal tissue while performing radiotherapy on the treatment site 1011.

[0053] In addition, in some embodiments, the photon beam control device 400 can also control the photon beam generating device 200 to generate a diagnostic photon beam and emit the diagnostic photon beam toward the imaging part 1012 in the diagnostic object 101. The imaging device 500 is configured to receive the diagnostic photon beam generated by the photon beam generating device 200 and penetrating the imaging part 1012 of the diagnostic object 101 to generate a two-dimensional or three-dimensional image of the imaging part 1012. Therefore, in this embodiment, the high-energy photon-based diagnostic and treatment system can use the same photon beam generating device 200 to generate a therapeutic photon beam and a diagnostic photon beam. In this way, the structure of the diagnostic and treatment system can be made simpler, space can be saved, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

[0054] Now refer to Figure 4 A photon beam generating apparatus based on an inverse Compton scattering source is described as an example of the photon beam generating apparatus 200 of the present disclosure. Figure 4 2 is a schematic block diagram of a photon beam generating device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0055] like Figure 4 As shown, the photon beam generating device 200 based on the inverse Compton scattering source may include an electron beam generating device 2001 , a pre-acceleration section 2002 , an acceleration section 2003 , a scattered laser generating device 2004 , an action chamber 2005 , and a collimating device 2006 .

[0056] First, the electron beam generator 2001 can be configured to stably and controllably generate a high-speed, dense electron beam, which is then directed to subsequent processing stages. It should be understood that the energy of the photons in the photon beam generated by the photon beam generator 200 can be adjusted by adjusting the energy of the electron beam. In some embodiments, the electron beam generator 2001 can be an S-band photocathode microwave electron gun.

[0057] Afterward, the pre-acceleration stage 2002 is responsible for further adjusting and optimizing the electron beam quality. In this stage, the focused electron beam undergoes initial electric or magnetic acceleration, ensuring sufficient kinetic energy for the electrons. This process also maintains stability in beam length and emittance (i.e., beam divergence angle) to prevent beam quality degradation during subsequent acceleration.

[0058] The acceleration section 2003 is typically composed of a series of linear accelerator structures or synchrotron rings. This section can be the X-band main acceleration section. By applying a stronger electric or magnetic field to the pre-accelerated electron beam, it produces a high-quality beam with continuously adjustable energy, low emittance (i.e., small beam divergence angle), low energy dispersion (i.e., a narrow energy range of particles within the beam), and sufficient momentum transfer conditions for inverse Compton scattering.

[0059] Afterwards, the scattered laser generating device 2004 can be configured to generate a laser beam with a specific wavelength and intensity. When encountering a high-energy electron beam, the low-energy laser photons will absorb part of the electron's energy through the inverse Compton scattering process and be converted into photons of higher energy levels.

[0060] It should be understood that the acceleration section 2003 needs to generate a stable beam with low emittance, low energy dispersion, and large charge, and the scattered laser generating device 2004 needs to generate stable laser pulses with pulse energy of joules and pulse length in the picosecond range. At the same time, the generated electron beam and laser beam need to be focused to a size of the order of 10 microns and synchronized to sub-picosecond time accuracy to achieve collision. Therefore, the generation of stable scattered laser light requires controlling the time jitter of the electron beam and scattered laser light at the point of action to be less than 500 femtoseconds (fs, 10 -15 s).

[0061] Finally, in action chamber 2005, the electron beam, now at extremely high energy, interacts with carefully controlled scattered laser light, resulting in inverse Compton scattering. Because the scattering cross-sections of electrons and photons are small, the resulting therapeutic photon beam (e.g., X-rays or gamma rays) is highly directional and has a single energy. This photon beam can therefore be used to precisely irradiate tumor tissue during radiotherapy.

[0062] Furthermore, to obtain a photon beam having a specific cross-sectional size and / or cross-sectional shape, the photon beam generating device 200 is further provided with a collimating device 2006, such as a collimating monochromator. For example, the collimating monochromator may be composed of a series of variable-aperture diaphragms. By selecting an appropriate collimating aperture, rays of appropriate bandwidth are selected, thereby limiting the cross-sectional size and / or cross-sectional shape of the therapeutic photon beam emitted from the treatment chamber 2005 in a plane perpendicular to the emission direction of the therapeutic photon beam. It should be understood that the collimating device 2006 may also be disposed outside the photon beam generating device 200 and between the photon beam generating device 200 and the subject 101.

[0063] In summary, by precisely controlling the energy of the photons in the generated high-energy photon beam, the present disclosure achieves precise, targeted delivery to any depth within the patient's body. This allows for real-time adjustment of the high-energy photon beam's output energy spectrum and optimized dose distribution, ensuring that damage to normal tissue is minimized while enhancing treatment efficacy. Consequently, the disclosed diagnostic and treatment system requires lower radiation doses for radiotherapy, resulting in higher efficacy and fewer side effects, alleviating health and safety concerns for professionals and patients exposed to long-term radiation.

[0064] It should be understood that although the detailed description above mentions several devices or sub-devices of a device, this division is merely exemplary and not mandatory. In fact, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more devices described above may be embodied in a single device. Conversely, the features and functions of a single device described above may be further divided and embodied by multiple devices.

[0065] Through the teachings given in the above description and the associated drawings, many modifications and other embodiments of the present disclosure given here will be recognized by those skilled in the art of the present disclosure. Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, although the above description and the associated drawings have described the example embodiments in the context of certain example combinations of parts and / or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of parts and / or functions can be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In this regard, for example, other combinations of parts and / or functions that are different from those explicitly described above are also expected to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Although specific terms are used here, they are used only in a general and descriptive sense and are not intended to be limiting.

Claims

1. A high-energy photon-based diagnosis and treatment system (10), comprising: A photon beam generating device (200) is configured to generate a high-energy photon beam, wherein the energy of photons in the high-energy photon beam can be adjusted within a predetermined photon energy range; A photon energy selection device (300) is configured to select a first photon energy from the predetermined photon energy range based on depth information of a treatment site (1011) in a diagnosis and treatment subject (101) within the body of the diagnosis and treatment subject (101); as well as A photon beam control device (400) is configured to control the photon beam generating device (200) to generate a therapeutic photon beam, wherein photons in the therapeutic photon beam have the first photon energy, and the therapeutic photon beam is emitted toward a treatment site (1011) in the diagnosis and treatment object (101), The photons in the therapeutic photon beam act on the treatment site (1011) at a position corresponding to the depth information based on the first photon energy, and the depth information includes relative position information of the treatment site (1011) in the body of the subject (101) along the emission direction of the therapeutic photon beam.

2. The diagnosis and treatment system (10) according to claim 1, further comprising: An imaging device (500) configured to generate an image of an imaging portion (1012) of the diagnosis and treatment object (101); as well as The position information determining device (600) is configured to determine at least the depth information of the treatment part (1011) in the imaging part (1012) within the body of the diagnosis and treatment object (101) based on the image of the imaging part (1012).

3. The diagnosis and treatment system (10) according to claim 2, wherein the position information determination device (600) is further configured to determine the size and / or shape of the treatment site (1011) based on the image of the imaging site (1012).

4. The diagnostic and treatment system (10) according to claim 3, wherein the photon beam control device (400) is further configured to control the photon beam generating device (200) so that the generated therapeutic photon beam has a photon beam cross-sectional size and / or photon beam cross-sectional shape corresponding to the size and / or shape of the treatment site (1011).

5. The diagnosis and treatment system (10) according to claim 3, wherein the photon beam control device (400) is further configured to control the photon beam generating device (200) so that the cross-sectional size of the generated treatment photon beam is smaller than the size of the treatment part (1011), and The photon beam control device (400) is further configured to control the photon beam generating device (200) so that the generated therapeutic photon beam moves in a plane perpendicular to the emission direction of the therapeutic photon beam to cover the treatment site (1011).

6. The diagnosis and treatment system (100) according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the position information determining device (600) is further configured to determine the planar position information of the treatment part (1011) based on the image of the imaging part (1012), wherein the planar position information is the relative position information of the treatment part (1011) in the body of the diagnosis and treatment object (101) in a plane perpendicular to the emission direction of the treatment photon beam; and The photon beam control device (400) is further configured to control the photon beam generating device (200) based on the planar position information of the treatment site (1011) so that the generated treatment photon beam is emitted toward the treatment site (1011) in the diagnosis and treatment object (101).

7. The diagnosis and treatment system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the selected first photon energy is the energy of the photon corresponding to the peak energy spectrum in the energy spectrum distribution of the photons in the treatment photon beam.

8. The diagnosis and treatment system (10) according to claim 7, wherein the deviation between the photon energy at half-height and half-width of the energy spectrum distribution of the photons in the treatment photon beam and the first photon energy is less than or equal to 10% of the first photon energy.

9. The diagnosis and treatment system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 8, wherein the depth information includes first boundary position information and second boundary position information of the treatment site (1011) in the body of the diagnosis and treatment object (101) along the emission direction of the treatment photon beam, The photon energy selection device (300) is further configured to select a second photon energy from the predetermined photon energy range based on the first boundary position information and / or the second boundary position information; and The photon beam control device (400) is further configured to control the photon beam generating device (200) so that the photons in the generated therapeutic photon beam gradually change from having the first photon energy to having the second photon energy, wherein the photons in the therapeutic photon beam act on the treatment site (1011) at a position corresponding to the first boundary position information based on the first photon energy, and the photons in the therapeutic photon beam act on the treatment site (1011) at a position corresponding to the second boundary position information based on the second photon energy.

10. A diagnostic and treatment system (10) according to any one of claims 1-5 and 8, wherein the photon energy selection device (300) is further configured to select the first photon energy based on the depth information and the characteristics of one or more tissues in the body of the diagnostic and treatment subject (101) through which the therapeutic photon beam passes before reaching the active part in the treatment site (1011).

11. The diagnosis and treatment system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 8, wherein the photon beam generating device (200) is an inverse Compton scattering source, comprising: an electron beam generating device (2001) configured to generate an electron beam; a pre-acceleration section (2002) configured to fix the beam length and emittance of the electron beam; an accelerating section (2003), configured to accelerate the pre-accelerated electron beam; a scattered laser light generating device (2004) configured to generate scattered laser light; The action chamber (2005) is configured to perform inverse Compton scattering on the accelerated electron beam and the scattered laser light to generate the therapeutic photon beam.

12. The diagnosis and treatment system (10) according to claim 11, wherein the photon beam generating device (200) further comprises: A collimating device (2006) is configured to limit the photon beam cross-sectional size and / or photon beam cross-sectional shape of the therapeutic photon beam from the action chamber (2005) in a plane perpendicular to the emission direction of the therapeutic photon beam.

13. The diagnostic and treatment system (10) according to any one of claims 1-5, 8 and 12, wherein the predetermined photon energy range is between 5keV and 15meV.

14. The diagnosis and treatment system (10) according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the photon beam control device (400) is further configured to control the photon beam generating device (200) to generate a diagnostic photon beam; and The imaging device (500) is further configured to receive the diagnostic photon beam from the photon beam generating device (200) and pass through the imaging part (1012) of the diagnosis and treatment object (101), and generate an image of the imaging part (1012) based on the received diagnostic photon beam.

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