Beam control system for BNCT treatment

Abstract

The application provides a beam control system for BNCT treatment, which comprises a treatment control module, an accelerator control module and a flux monitoring module; the treatment control module is used for acquiring a delivery dose and a delivery time of the BNCT in real time, triggering a stop beam instruction based on the delivery dose or the delivery time, and transmitting the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module to terminate the delivery of the neutron beam; the accelerator control module is used for receiving the stop beam instruction to correspondingly turn off the proton beam to terminate the delivery of the neutron beam, and automatically turn off the proton beam when an abnormal situation occurs; and the flux monitoring module is used for monitoring the neutron flux in real time and transmitting monitoring data to the treatment control module to enable the treatment control module to acquire the delivery dose based on the monitoring data in real time. The application realizes accurate control of the delivery of the beam and real-time monitoring of the delivery dose and the delivery time in the process of the BNCT treatment, and ensures the accuracy and safety of the delivery of the beam of the equipment.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the field of radiation technology and relates to a beam control system for BNCT treatment. BACKGROUND

[0002] Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is an advanced cancer radiotherapy method combining biological targeting and physical targeting. It combines biological targeting drugs and neutron irradiation technology to treat some types of malignant tumors. The core principle is to use nuclear reactions occurring inside cancer cells to selectively destroy cancer cells while protecting surrounding normal tissues to the maximum extent.

[0003] As a highly targeted tumor treatment method, BNCT has extremely critical importance in dose monitoring and beam delivery control, which is directly related to the effectiveness, safety and clinical feasibility of treatment. Therefore, how to provide a beam control system for BNCT treatment that can effectively monitor the beam and accurately control the delivery of the beam is a technical problem that those skilled in the art are eager to solve. SUMMARY

[0004] The application provides a beam control system for BNCT treatment to solve the technical problem of how to provide a beam control system for BNCT treatment that can effectively monitor the beam and accurately control the delivery of the beam.

[0005] The first aspect of the application provides a beam control system for BNCT treatment, which comprises a treatment control module, an accelerator control module and a flux monitoring module.

[0006] The treatment control module is configured to obtain a delivery dose and a delivery time of the BNCT in real time, trigger a shutdown instruction based on the delivery dose or the delivery time, and transmit the shutdown instruction to the accelerator control module to terminate the delivery of the neutron beam.

[0007] The accelerator control module is configured to receive the shutdown instruction to automatically turn off the proton beam to terminate the delivery of the neutron beam, and automatically turn off the proton beam in the event of an abnormal situation.

[0008] The flux monitoring module is configured to monitor the neutron flux in real time and transmit monitoring data to the treatment control module so that the treatment control module obtains the delivery dose based on the monitoring data in real time.

[0009] In some implementations of the first aspect, a first shutdown path and a second shutdown path are provided between the treatment control module and the accelerator control module.

[0010] when the treatment control module delivers the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module through the first stop beam path, the accelerator control module performs a first stop beam operation based on the stop beam instruction;

[0011] when the treatment control module delivers the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module through the second stop beam path, the accelerator control module performs a second stop beam operation based on the stop beam instruction.

[0012] In some implementations of the first aspect, the treatment control module comprises a dose control unit, an independent termination unit, a treatment interlock unit and a dose verification unit;

[0013] the dose control unit is configured to convert the monitoring data into a beam delivery dose rate to obtain the delivery dose in real time, and trigger the stop beam instruction when the delivery dose reaches a stop beam threshold value and deliver the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module through the first stop beam path or the second stop beam path;

[0014] the independent termination unit is independent of the dose control unit, and is configured to trigger the stop beam instruction independently when the dose control unit is abnormal and the delivery time reaches an independent termination time, and deliver the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module through the second stop beam path;

[0015] the treatment interlock unit is configured to trigger the stop beam instruction directly when both the dose control unit and the independent termination unit are abnormal, and deliver the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module through the second stop beam path;

[0016] the dose verification unit is configured to simulate neutron beam conditions before actual beam delivery to verify whether the dose control unit is working normally.

[0017] In some implementations of the first aspect, the dose control unit comprises a dose control primary unit and a dose control secondary unit;

[0018] the dose control primary unit is configured to trigger the stop beam instruction when the delivery dose reaches a first stop beam threshold value, and deliver the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module through the first stop beam path;

[0019] the dose control secondary unit is configured to trigger the stop beam instruction when the dose control primary unit is abnormal and the delivery dose reaches a second stop beam threshold value, and deliver the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module through the second stop beam path; the second stop beam threshold value is greater than the first stop beam threshold value.

[0020] In some implementations of the first aspect, the accelerator control module comprises an accelerator control unit, an accelerator control interlock unit and a facility interlock unit;

[0021] The accelerator control unit is configured to perform the first beam-off operation based on the beam-off instruction transmitted by the first beam-off path;

[0022] The accelerator control interlock unit is configured to perform the second beam-off operation based on the beam-off instruction transmitted by the second beam-off path, or directly perform the second beam-off operation when the facility interlock unit is abnormal;

[0023] The facility interlock unit is configured to transmit the beam-off instruction transmitted by the second beam-off path to the accelerator control interlock unit, or directly trigger the beam-off instruction and transmit it to the accelerator control interlock unit to perform the second beam-off operation when the second beam-off path transmission is abnormal.

[0024] In some implementations of the first aspect, the accelerator control interlock unit is further configured to perform the second beam-off operation when the accelerator control unit fails to successfully perform the first beam-off operation.

[0025] In some implementations of the first aspect, the accelerator control module further comprises a beam diagnosis unit and a beam abnormal interlock link verification unit.

[0026] The beam diagnosis unit is configured to determine whether the proton beam transmission is normal based on multiple beam current ratios, and transmit an abnormal signal to the accelerator control interlock unit to perform the second beam-off operation when the proton beam transmission is abnormal.

[0027] The beam abnormal interlock link verification unit is configured to simulate the proton beam condition before actual beam delivery to verify whether the beam diagnosis unit and the accelerator control interlock unit are working normally.

[0028] In some implementations of the first aspect, the beam diagnosis unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal when a first current ratio result is less than a first preset normal transmission efficiency; the first current ratio result is based on the current of the proton beam at injection and the current of the proton beam after acceleration.

[0029] The beam diagnosis unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal when a second current ratio result is less than a second preset normal transmission efficiency; the second current ratio result is based on the current of the proton beam after acceleration and the current of the proton beam at the end of the common transmission section.

[0030] The beam diagnosis unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal when a third current ratio result is less than a third preset normal transmission efficiency; the third current ratio result is based on the current of the proton beam after acceleration and the current of the proton beam at the end of the section before the neutron target.

[0031] When the intensity of the proton beam at the end of the neutron target is greater than the preset allowable deviation, the beam diagnosis unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal.

[0032] In some implementations of the first aspect, the flux monitoring module includes a first neutron flux detector, a second neutron flux detector, and a third neutron flux detector.

[0033] The first neutron flux detector, the second neutron flux detector, and the dose control unit are connected, configured to obtain the current neutron flux based on the corresponding relationship between the detection response and the neutron flux, and transmit the current neutron flux to the dose control unit.

[0034] The third neutron flux detector is connected to the independent termination unit, configured to transmit the detected neutron beam signal as a start signal for the independent termination unit to obtain the delivery time.

[0035] In some implementations of the first aspect, the treatment control module further includes a beam scheduling unit, a beam delivery unit, and an emergency stop unit.

[0036] The beam scheduling unit is configured to apply a beam delivery to the accelerator control module to enable the accelerator control module to perform beam scheduling.

[0037] The beam delivery unit is configured to transmit a beam delivery instruction to the accelerator control module to start the neutron beam delivery.

[0038] The emergency stop unit is configured to trigger an emergency stop instruction and transmit the emergency stop instruction to the accelerator control module through the second beam stop path to perform the second beam stop operation.

[0039] As described above, the beam control system for BNCT treatment has the following beneficial effects:

[0040] 1. The dose control unit in the present application adopts a dual-redundancy design. When the main dose control unit works abnormally, the backup dose control subunit can monitor the beam dose and perform the beam stop operation, ensuring the normal delivery of the beam and continuing the treatment of the patient, improving the completion rate of the treatment, and improving the reliability of the system.

[0041] 2、The application configures an independent termination unit completely independent of the dose control unit, ensuring that when the dose control unit loses function or a fault is not identified, the system can still perform the function of stopping the beam based on the independent termination time, avoiding the patient from receiving excessive dose delivery. The application can prevent the situation that the dose of beam delivery cannot reach the planned dose for a long time due to the decline of neutron flux caused by the performance decline of the neutron target during beam delivery, and cannot trigger the stop beam to cause the patient to be treated for too long, ensuring that the patient treatment time is within the safe time.

[0042] 3、The application monitors the transmission efficiency of the proton beam in real time, controls the proton beam for generating neutrons from the source, and stops the delivery of the beam in time when an abnormality of the proton beam is identified, preventing incorrect delivery of the neutron beam from the source. This identifies the abnormality of beam delivery earlier, improving the timeliness of system abnormality processing.

[0043] 4、The application ensures the successful transmission of the stop beam instruction to the accelerator by establishing two different stop beam paths between the treatment control module and the accelerator control module, effectively preventing the situation that the stop beam instruction cannot be transmitted due to a fault in one path, and increasing the reliability of successful stop beam. In addition, the application designs an emergency stop button independent of the stop beam path to achieve emergency stop beam, increasing the flexibility and reliability of stop beam.

[0044] 5、The application designs the downstream of the stop beam path to monitor the running state of the upstream, which will directly send a stop beam instruction to the back-end link when the upstream running state is abnormal, actively preventing the situation that the stop beam instruction cannot be transmitted due to an abnormality, reducing the risk of not being able to normally stop the beam delivery due to system abnormality, and avoiding the patient from receiving excessive dose delivery.

[0045] 6、The application designs two corresponding stop beam operations based on the two stop beam paths, which can effectively avoid the damage of the stop beam operation to the system, and ensure that the beam termination is rapidly and efficiently realized under abnormal conditions, ensuring the reliability of beam stop. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0046] Figure 1 The architecture schematic diagram of the beam control system for BNCT treatment described in the embodiment of the application is shown.

[0047] Figure 2 The architecture schematic diagram of the beam control system for BNCT treatment described in another embodiment of the application is shown.

[0048] Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the multiple beam intensities monitored by the beam diagnosis unit described in the embodiment of the application is shown.

[0049] Figure 4A display information diagram of a display module in the embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0050] Figure 5 An architecture diagram of a beam control system for BNCT treatment according to another embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0051] Element number explanation:

[0052] 1. A beam control system for BNCT treatment;

[0053] 10. A treatment control module;

[0054] 101. A dose control unit;

[0055] 1010. A dose control main unit;

[0056] 1011. A dose control sub unit;

[0057] 1012. A MU dose conversion main unit;

[0058] 1013. A MU dose conversion sub unit;

[0059] 1015. A beam start-stop unit;

[0060] 1016. A beam display unit;

[0061] 102. An independent termination unit;

[0062] 103. A treatment interlock unit;

[0063] 104. A beam scheduling unit;

[0064] 105. A beam delivery unit;

[0065] 106. An emergency stop unit;

[0066] 107. A dose verification unit;

[0067] 20. An accelerator control module;

[0068] 201. An accelerator control unit;

[0069] 202. An accelerator control interlock unit;

[0070] 203. A facility interlock unit;

[0071] 2031. A first facility interlock sub unit;

[0072] 2032. A second facility interlock sub unit;

[0073] 204. A beam diagnostic unit;

[0074] 205 accelerator interface

[0075] 206 beam abnormal interlock link verification unit

[0076] 30 flux monitoring module

[0077] 301 first neutron flux probe

[0078] 302 second neutron flux probe

[0079] 303 third neutron flux probe

[0080] 40 display module

[0081] 401 main dose monitoring display unit

[0082] 402 sub-dose monitoring display unit

[0083] 403 independent termination time display unit

[0084] 900 treatment control software unit

[0085] 901 treatment control box

[0086] 903 microwave power supply

[0087] 904 high-voltage power supply

[0088] 906 constant-current power supply

[0089] 907 Faraday cup mechanical limit switch

[0090] 909 radiation safety interlock unit DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0091] The present application will be described by specific, concrete examples. It is readily understandable to those skilled in the art that other advantages and benefits of the present application can be easily derived from the disclosure of this specification. The present application can also be implemented or applied by different specific embodiments, and the details in the specification can be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present application. It should be noted that the following examples and features in the examples can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0092] It is to be understood that other embodiments can be utilized and mechanical, structural, electrical, and operational changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure are defined by the appended claims. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. Spatially relative terms, such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "below", "below", "bottom", "top", and the like, can be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures.

[0093] Further, as used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes" and / or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, operations, elements, components, items, and / or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, operations, elements, components, items, and / or groups thereof. As used herein, the terms "or" and "and / or" are construed to be inclusive, or mean one and / or any combination.

[0094] BNCT treatment is an advanced cancer radiotherapy method combining biological targeting and physical targeting, which combines biological targeting drugs and advanced neutron irradiation technology. It is used to treat some types of malignant tumors, and its core principle is to use nuclear reactions occurring inside cancer cells to selectively destroy cancer cells while maximizing the protection of surrounding normal tissues. The treatment process is to inject a drug containing boron -10 selectively enriched in cancer cells into the patient, and then use the superhot neutron beam generated by the accelerator to irradiate the tumor area. The hot neutrons selectively react with the 10 B accumulated in the tumor cells to produce high-energy alpha particles and lithium ions with a very short range (6-9 μm), and the tumor cells are irradiated by alpha rays and Li to cause DNA double-strand breakage in cancer cells, resulting in the death of cancer cells and achieving tumor treatment.

[0095] During the BNCT treatment, the irradiation of the patient needs to be performed according to the irradiation dose given in the patient treatment plan, to ensure that the irradiation dose at the tumor position is greater than the tumor lethal dose, and the irradiation dose of the normal tissue and organs is lower than the tolerance dose. Inaccurate delivery of the irradiation dose will lead to treatment failure or damage to the patient's normal tissue. In addition, the patient needs to stop the beam delivery in time when an emergency occurs during the treatment to prevent further irradiation. Therefore, the BNCT device needs to design a beam control system with high reliability and good robustness to control the beam delivery, and to ensure the accuracy of the irradiation dose of the patient and the timely interruption of the beam when an abnormal situation occurs to ensure the safety of the patient.

[0096] To at least solve the above technical problems, the embodiment of the present application provides a beam control system for BNCT treatment, which can accurately control the delivery of the beam and monitor the dose of the beam delivery in real time during the treatment of the patient, ensure the smooth completion of the treatment of the patient and the accurate delivery of the irradiation dose, and ensure the accuracy and safety of the beam delivery of the device.

[0097] Figure 1 The architecture schematic diagram of the beam control system for BNCT treatment provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown. As shown in Figure 1 The beam control system for BNCT treatment provided by the embodiment of the present application 1 includes a treatment control module 10, an accelerator control module 20 and a flux monitoring module 30.

[0098] The treatment control module 10 is used to acquire the delivery dose and delivery time of the BCNT in real time, to trigger a beam stop instruction based on the delivery dose or delivery time, and to deliver the beam stop instruction to the accelerator control module to terminate the neutron beam delivery.

[0099] The accelerator control module 20 is used to receive the beam stop instruction to correspondingly close the proton beam to terminate the neutron beam delivery, and to automatically close the proton beam when an abnormal situation occurs.

[0100] The flux monitoring module 30 is used to monitor the neutron flux in real time, and to deliver the monitoring data to the treatment control module 10 to enable the treatment control module 10 to acquire the delivery dose in real time based on the monitoring data.

[0101] Further, please continue to refer to Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the first beam stop path and the second beam stop path are arranged between the treatment control module 10 and the accelerator control module 20.

[0102] In some embodiments, when the treatment control module 10 delivers the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module 20 through the first stop beam path, the accelerator control module 20 performs a first stop beam operation based on the stop beam instruction.

[0103] In some embodiments, when the treatment control module 10 delivers the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module 20 through the second stop beam path, the accelerator control module 20 performs a second stop beam operation based on the stop beam instruction.

[0104] Please refer to Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the treatment control module 10 includes a dose control unit 101, an independent termination unit 102, a treatment interlock unit 103, and a dose verification unit 107.

[0105] The dose control unit 101 is configured to convert the monitoring data into a beam delivery dose rate to obtain the delivery dose in real time, and trigger the stop beam instruction when the delivery dose reaches a stop beam threshold and deliver the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module 20 through the first stop beam path or the second stop beam path. The dose control unit 101 performs statistics on the real-time delivery dose of the neutron beam, and triggers the stop beam instruction in time when the delivered dose has reached the treatment plan dose, to terminate the continuous delivery of the neutron beam, thereby effectively ensuring the safety of the BNCT treatment.

[0106] In some embodiments, the flux monitoring module 30 monitors the neutron flux delivered in real time at the outlet of the neutron beam, and delivers the monitoring data to the dose control unit 101 in real time. The dose control unit 101 converts the received monitoring data of the neutron flux into a dose monitoring unit, and uses MU (machine unit) to represent the dose rate of the beam delivery. The definition of MU is a concept used in linear accelerators for radiotherapy to measure the dose rate of the beam, which represents the unit of beam dose delivered by the device per second. In the boron neutron capture therapy device, the maximum thermal neutron flux in water is defined as 5.0×10 8 n / (cm 2 ·s), which is 1 MU. That is, the dose control unit 101 divides the monitoring data (neutron flux value delivered by the flux monitoring module 30) by 5.0×10 8 n / (cm 2 ·s) to obtain the current beam delivery dose rate (MU / s). Then, the delivery dose can be obtained in real time based on the delivery time.

[0107] Further, please refer to Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the dose control unit 101 includes a dose control primary unit 1010 and a dose control secondary unit 1011.

[0108] In some embodiments, the dose control primary unit 1010 is configured to trigger the shutdown instruction when the delivered dose reaches a first shutdown threshold, and transmit the shutdown instruction to the accelerator control module 20 through the first shutdown path.

[0109] In some embodiments, the dose control secondary unit 1011 is configured to trigger the shutdown instruction when the dose control primary unit 1010 malfunctions and the delivered dose reaches a second shutdown threshold, and transmit the shutdown instruction to the accelerator control module 20 through the second shutdown path.

[0110] In fact, the dose control unit 101 provided by the present application uses a double dose judgment unit to monitor the dose. Wherein, please continue to refer to Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the dose control primary unit 1010 is connected with the first neutron flux detector 301 of the flux monitoring module 30, and the dose control secondary unit 1011 is connected with the second neutron flux detector 302 of the flux monitoring module 30. They respectively receive the monitoring data transmitted by the first neutron flux detector 301 and the second neutron flux detector 302, and are respectively independently converted into a beam delivery dose rate to calculate the delivered dose, and then through the configuration of different dose shutdown thresholds for the dose control primary unit 1010 and the dose control secondary unit 1011, the corresponding triggering of the shutdown instruction is realized.

[0111] Wherein, the second shutdown threshold is greater than the first shutdown threshold. In some embodiments, the first shutdown threshold is set to be consistent with the treatment plan dose, and the second shutdown threshold is 110% of the treatment plan dose. That is, when the delivered dose obtained by the dose control primary unit 1010 has reached the treatment plan dose, the shutdown instruction is transmitted to the accelerator control module 20 through the first shutdown path to perform the first shutdown operation. When the dose control primary unit 1010 malfunctions and fails to trigger the shutdown, the dose control secondary unit 1011 will continue to monitor the beam, and when the dose control secondary unit 1011 monitors that the delivered dose is 110% of the treatment plan dose, the shutdown instruction is sent to the accelerator control module 20 through the second shutdown path to perform the second shutdown operation.

[0112] Further, the dose verification unit 107 is configured to simulate the neutron beam conditions before the actual beam delivery to verify whether the dose control unit 101 is working normally. That is, before the actual beam delivery, the dose control unit 101 is verified by the dose verification unit 107 to ensure that the dose control unit 101 can work normally in actual use. In some embodiments, the dose verification unit 107 verifies whether the dose control unit 101 can work normally by providing a neutron simulation signal.

[0113] Please continue to refer to Figure 2As shown, the independent termination unit 102 is independent of the dose control unit 101, and is used to trigger the stop beam instruction alone and pass it to the accelerator control module 20 through the second stop beam path when the dose control unit 101 malfunctions and the delivery time reaches the independent termination time. When the neutron beam delivery is started, the independent termination unit 102 starts timing, and when the delivery time reaches the preset independent termination time, the independent termination unit 102 sends the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module 20 through the second stop beam path. The independent termination unit 102 is completely independent of the dose control unit 101, and performs backup of the function of the dose control unit 101 to turn off the beam delivery. That is, when neither the primary dose control unit 1010 nor the secondary dose control unit 1011 triggers the stop beam signal (i.e., when a malfunction occurs), the independent termination unit 102 can work independently, thereby ensuring that the delivered dose of the beam does not exceed the maximum dose acceptable to the patient.

[0114] In some embodiments, the independent termination time is obtained in the following manner: the maximum delivery dose allowed is calculated according to the limit that the beam delivery does not exceed 120% or 0.25 Gy of the treatment plan dose, and then the maximum delivery dose is divided by the maximum value of the system neutron flux obtained by the gold foil activation method on the day to calculate the independent termination time at which the beam delivery should be stopped.

[0115] Further, please continue to refer to Figure 2 As shown, the independent termination unit 102 is connected to the third neutron flux detector 303 of the flux monitoring module 30 alone, and the third neutron flux detector 303 detects the neutron beam signal as the starting signal for the independent termination unit 102 to obtain the delivery time. In some embodiments, when the beam starts to prepare for delivery each time, the independent termination unit 102 enters the treatment monitoring mode. When the third neutron flux detector 303 detects the neutron beam signal, the independent termination unit 102 starts timing for the current beam delivery. When the delivery time reaches the independent termination time, the independent termination unit 102 triggers the stop beam instruction.

[0116] Further, during the treatment, if the third neutron flux detector 303 does not monitor the neutron beam signal, the independent termination unit 102 suspends timing and saves the current time reading; if the third neutron flux detector 303 monitors the neutron beam signal, the independent termination unit 102 resumes timing until the third neutron flux detector 303 does not monitor the neutron signal or the independent termination time is reached, and the independent termination unit 102 stops timing and saves the time reading at this time.

[0117] Please continue to refer to Figure 2As shown, the therapy interlock unit 103 is configured to directly trigger the stop beam instruction and transmit the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module 20 through the second stop beam path when both the dose control unit 101 and the independent termination unit 102 are abnormal.

[0118] In some embodiments, the therapy interlock unit 103 monitors the heartbeat signals of the dose control unit 101 and the independent termination unit 102 in real time, so as to monitor the working states of the dose control unit 101 and the independent termination unit 102 in real time. When both the dose control unit 101 and the independent termination unit 102 are abnormal, the therapy interlock unit 103 directly triggers the stop beam instruction and transmits the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module 20 through the second stop beam path, so as to perform the second stop beam operation and accurately and quickly terminate the beam.

[0119] Please continue to refer to Figure 2 As described above, the first stop beam path and the second stop beam path are provided between the therapy control module 10 and the accelerator control module 20.

[0120] In some embodiments, the first stop beam path is an accelerator interface path. That is, when the therapy control module 10 transmits the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control module 20 through the accelerator interface 205, the accelerator control module 20 performs the first stop beam operation at this time. The first stop beam operation includes cutting off the transmission of the proton beam by closing the Faraday cup, so as to stop the delivery of the beam.

[0121] In some embodiments, the second stop beam path is a therapy interlock unit path. That is, when the therapy control module 10 transmits the stop beam instruction from the second stop beam path to the accelerator control module 20 through the therapy interlock unit 103, the accelerator control module 20 performs the second stop beam operation at this time. The second stop beam operation includes cutting off the delivery of the proton beam by closing the microwave power supply and the high-voltage power supply of the proton injection system, so as to stop the delivery of the beam.

[0122] That is, in fact, the present application provides two transmission paths of the stop beam instruction, and corresponding stop beam operations are configured. Please continue to refer to Figure 2As shown, the stop beam instruction issued from the dose control primary unit 1010 is transmitted from the first stop beam path (accelerator interface 205) to the accelerator control module 20, and the accelerator control module 20 stops the delivery of the beam by cutting off the transmission of the proton beam by closing the Faraday cup, thereby achieving the stop of the beam delivery. The stop beam instruction issued by the dose control secondary unit 1011 and the independent termination unit 102 is transmitted from the second stop beam path to the accelerator control module 20 via the treatment interlock unit 103, and the accelerator control module 20 stops the delivery of the proton beam by cutting off the delivery of the proton beam by closing the microwave power supply and high-voltage power supply of the proton injection system, thereby achieving the stop of the beam delivery. When the dose control secondary unit 1011 and the independent termination unit 102 both work abnormally, the treatment interlock unit 103 will also directly trigger the stop beam instruction and transmit it from the second stop beam path to the accelerator control module 20.

[0123] That is, in fact, in the case of normal stop beam, the present application transmits the stop beam instruction through the first stop beam path to close the Faraday cup, thereby reducing the damage to the system caused by frequent closing of the microwave power supply and high-voltage power supply of the proton injection system. In the abnormal case, the present application transmits the stop beam instruction through the second stop beam path to close the microwave power supply and high-voltage power supply, thereby directly cutting off the generation of the proton beam, which is a more reliable stop beam mode and ensures the reliability of the stop of the beam. Further, the present application controls through different levels of units to ensure that when an individual unit works abnormally, the system can timely reflect and execute the backup stop beam function, thereby more effectively protecting the system from different abnormal situations.

[0124] Further, please continue to refer to Figure 2 As shown, the treatment control module 10 further includes a beam scheduling unit 104, a beam delivery unit 105, and an emergency stop unit 106.

[0125] The beam scheduling unit 104 is configured to apply for beam delivery to the accelerator control module so that the accelerator control module 20 performs beam scheduling. In some embodiments, after the patient treatment position is completed, the beam scheduling unit 104 applies for beam delivery to the accelerator control module 20 through the accelerator interface 205. When the accelerator control module 20 receives the application, it completes the preparation of the beam and deflects the beam transmission path to the corresponding treatment room.

[0126] The beam delivery unit 105 is configured to transmit beam delivery instructions to the accelerator control module to start the delivery of the neutron beam. In some embodiments, the beam delivery unit 105 executes the delivery of the instruction through a physical button.

[0127] The emergency stop unit 106 is configured to trigger an emergency stop instruction and transmit the emergency stop instruction to the accelerator control module 20 via the second beam-off path to perform the second beam-off operation. In some embodiments, when an operator identifies that the delivery of the beam needs to be stopped, the operator can trigger a beam-off instruction via the emergency stop unit 106 and transmit the beam-off instruction to the accelerator control module 20 via the second beam-off path to stop the delivery of the beam.

[0128] Referring to Figure 2 As shown in the drawings, the accelerator control module 20 comprises an accelerator control unit 201, an accelerator control interlock unit 202, and a facility interlock unit 203.

[0129] The accelerator control unit 201 is configured to perform the first beam-off operation based on the beam-off instruction transmitted via the first beam-off path. Please continue to refer to Figure 2 As shown in the drawings, the accelerator control module 20 further comprises an accelerator interface 205, which is configured to realize communication between the accelerator control module 20 and the treatment control module 10.

[0130] In the above embodiment, when the beam-off instruction issued by the dose control master unit 1010 is transmitted to the accelerator control unit 201 via the first beam-off path (the accelerator interface 205), the accelerator control unit 201 closes the Faraday cup based on the beam-off instruction, i.e., the Faraday cup is lowered, thereby cutting off the transmission of the proton beam and stopping the delivery of the neutron beam. In addition, when the delivery instruction issued by the beam delivery unit 105 is transmitted to the accelerator control unit 201 via the accelerator interface 205, the accelerator control unit 201 opens the Faraday cup based on the delivery instruction, i.e., the Faraday cup is raised, thereby transmitting the proton beam to the neutron target end and starting the delivery of the neutron beam.

[0131] The accelerator control interlock unit 202 is configured to perform the second beam-off operation based on the beam-off instruction transmitted via the second beam-off path, or directly perform the second beam-off operation when the facility interlock unit 203 works abnormally. In some embodiments, the accelerator control interlock unit 202 judges whether the facility interlock unit 203 works normally by monitoring the heartbeat signal of the facility interlock unit 203.

[0132] Further, the accelerator control interlock unit 202 is further configured to perform the second beam-off operation when the accelerator control unit 201 fails to successfully perform the first beam-off operation. That is, when the accelerator control unit 201 fails to successfully lower the Faraday cup and thereby cut off the transmission of the proton beam, the accelerator control interlock unit 202 is directly triggered to perform the second beam-off operation.

[0133] The facility interlock unit 203 is configured to transmit the stop beam signal from the second stop beam path to the accelerator control interlock unit 202, or directly trigger the stop beam instruction and transmit the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control interlock unit 202 to perform the second stop beam operation when the second stop beam path transmits abnormally.

[0134] In some embodiments, the second stop beam path is connected to the therapy interlock unit 103, i.e., the stop beam signal is transmitted from the second stop beam path to the facility interlock unit 203 via the therapy interlock unit 103. That is, when the therapy interlock unit 103 works abnormally, causing the second stop beam path to transmit abnormally, the facility interlock unit 203 will directly trigger the stop beam instruction and transmit the stop beam instruction to the accelerator control interlock unit 202, thereby preventing the stop beam signal triggered by the therapy control module 10 in an abnormal condition from being transmitted to the accelerator control module 20 to perform the second stop beam operation due to the failure of the therapy interlock unit 103.

[0135] Further, in some embodiments, the facility interlock unit 203 uses a dual-module redundant design, i.e., the facility interlock unit 203 is provided with two facility interlock sub-units, i.e., a first facility interlock sub-unit 2031 and a second facility interlock sub-unit 2032, to ensure that the stop beam signal can be transmitted to the accelerator control interlock unit 202 in time in any case, further improving the reliability of the beam control system for BNCT treatment.

[0136] Please continue to refer to Figure 2 As shown, the accelerator control module 20 further comprises a beam diagnosis unit 204. The beam diagnosis unit 204 is configured to determine whether the proton beam transmission is normal based on the beam current at multiple positions, and transmit an abnormal signal to the accelerator control interlock unit 202 to perform the second stop beam operation when the proton beam transmission is abnormal.

[0137] In some embodiments, the beam diagnosis unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal when a first current ratio result is less than a first preset normal transmission efficiency; the first current ratio result is based on the beam current at the time of proton beam injection and the beam current after the proton beam is accelerated.

[0138] In some embodiments, the beam diagnosis unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal when a second current ratio result is less than a second preset normal transmission efficiency; the second current ratio result is based on the beam current after the proton beam is accelerated and the beam current at the end of the common transmission section.

[0139] In some embodiments, when the third current intensity comparison result is less than the third preset normal transmission efficiency, the beam diagnostic unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal; the third current intensity comparison result is obtained based on the current intensity of the proton beam after acceleration and the current intensity of the proton beam at the front end of the neutron target.

[0140] In some embodiments, when the current intensity of the proton beam at the front end of the neutron target exceeds a preset allowable deviation, the beam diagnostic unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal.

[0141] It should be noted that the first preset normal transmission efficiency, the second preset normal transmission efficiency, and the third preset normal transmission efficiency can be the same value or different values, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0142] Figure 2 This diagram shows multiple beam current intensities monitored by the beam diagnostic unit 204. (See diagram for example.) Figure 3 As shown, three pulsed beam current detectors (ACCT1~ACCT3) and one DC beam current detector (DCCT) are deployed along the beam propagation path of the system to measure the proton beam current generated to the neutron target. The ACCT is an AC current transformer, primarily detecting pulsed beam signals; the DCCT is a DC current transformer, primarily detecting continuous beam signals. These four beam current detectors can monitor the proton beam current at various points within the system.

[0143] In the above embodiment, the beam diagnostic unit 204 determines whether the beam delivery is normal by checking whether the beam transmission efficiency between each beam segment is normal during the beam delivery process. Figure 3 For example, there are four specific situations.

[0144] 1) By comparing the beam current intensity (current intensity during proton beam injection) read from ACCT1 at the end of the proton injection system with the beam current intensity (current intensity after proton beam acceleration) read from ACCT2 at the end of the RFQ accelerator (radio frequency quadrupole accelerator), a first current intensity is obtained, thereby determining whether the beam transmission from the proton injection system to the accelerator is normal: when ACCT2*100% / ACCT1≥the first preset normal transmission efficiency, the beam transmission is determined to be normal; when ACCT2*100% / ACCT1<the first preset normal transmission efficiency, the beam transmission is determined to be abnormal, and an abnormal signal is transmitted to the accelerator control interlocking unit 202 to execute the second beam stop operation.

[0145] 2) The beam current at the end of the common section of the high-energy transport line (the current of the proton beam at the end of the common section of the transport line) read by the ACCT3 is compared with the beam current at the end of the accelerator (the current of the proton beam after acceleration) read by the ACCT2 to obtain a second current, and then it is determined whether the beam transmission of the common section of the high-energy transport system is normal: when ACCT3*100% / ACCT2≥the second preset normal transmission efficiency, it is determined that the beam transmission is normal; when ACCT3*100% / ACCT2<the second preset normal transmission efficiency, it is determined that the beam transmission is abnormal, and an abnormal signal is transmitted to the accelerator control interlock unit 202 to execute the second beam stop operation.

[0146] 3) The beam current at the end of the beam transport line before the neutron target (the current of the proton beam at the end of the beam transport line before the neutron target) read by the DCCT is compared with the beam current at the end of the accelerator (the current of the proton beam after acceleration) read by the ACCT2 to obtain a third current, and then it is determined whether the beam transmission of this section of the high-energy transport line system is normal: when DCCT*100% / ACCT2≥the third preset normal transmission efficiency, it is determined that the beam transmission is normal; when DCCT*100% / ACCT2<the third preset normal transmission efficiency, it is determined that the beam transmission is abnormal, and an abnormal signal is transmitted to the accelerator control interlock unit 202 to execute the second beam stop operation.

[0147] 4) The beam current at the end of the beam transport line before the neutron target (the current of the proton beam at the end of the beam transport line before the neutron target) read by the DCCT is compared with the beam current when the system is normally working to determine whether the proton beam of the system is normal: when the fluctuation range of the beam current read from the DCCT>the preset allowable deviation, it is determined that the beam supply before the target is abnormal, and an abnormal signal is transmitted to the accelerator control interlock unit 202 to execute the second beam stop operation.

[0148] In summary, the accelerator control interlock unit 202 mainly executes the function of stopping the beam in abnormal conditions, and stops the delivery of the neutron beam by cutting off the supply of the proton beam. The second beam stop operation executed by the accelerator control interlock unit 202 will be further summarized and described below.

[0149] 1, After receiving the beam stop instruction transmitted by the facility interlock unit 203, the second beam stop operation is executed. The beam stop instruction transmitted by the facility interlock unit 203 includes the beam stop instruction transmitted by the second beam stop path, and the beam stop instruction directly triggered by the facility interlock unit 203 when the second beam stop path transmits an abnormality. In the above embodiment, the beam stop instruction transmitted by the second beam stop path includes the beam stop instruction triggered by the dose control subunit 1011, the beam stop instruction triggered by the independent termination unit 102, the beam stop instruction triggered by the treatment interlock unit 103, and the beam stop instruction triggered by the emergency stop unit 106.

[0150] 2、When the accelerator control interlock unit 202 detects that the facility interlock unit 203 is abnormal, including any facility interlock sub-unit is abnormal, it directly triggers the second beam stop operation.

[0151] 3、When the accelerator control unit 201 performs the first beam stop operation, i.e. performs normal beam stop by closing the Faraday cup, if the accelerator control unit 201 does not receive the signal that the mechanical limit switch of the Faraday cup is in the closed position within 3 seconds, it directly triggers the accelerator control interlock unit 202 to close the beam by turning off the microwave power supply and high-voltage power supply, thereby avoiding the failure of the proton beam to be successfully closed when the Faraday cup is not normally positioned.

[0152] 4、When the proton beam transmission is abnormal, the second beam stop operation is directly triggered upon receiving the abnormal signal transmitted by the beam diagnosis unit 204.

[0153] Please continue to see Figure 3 As shown, the accelerator control module 20 further includes a beam abnormal interlock link verification unit 206. The beam abnormal interlock link verification unit 206 is used to simulate the proton beam condition before actual beam delivery to verify whether the beam diagnosis unit 204 and the accelerator control interlock unit 202 are working normally. That is, before actual beam delivery, the beam abnormal interlock link verification unit 206 verifies the beam diagnosis unit 204 and the accelerator control interlock unit 202 to ensure that they can work normally in actual use and perform the beam stop function in abnormal conditions. In some embodiments, the beam abnormal interlock link verification unit 206 verifies whether the beam diagnosis unit 204 and the accelerator control interlock unit 202 can work normally by providing a simulated current to simulate the proton beam condition. Please continue to see Figure 2 As shown, the flux monitoring module 30 includes a first neutron flux probe 301, a second neutron flux probe 302, and a third neutron flux probe 303, as previously described.

[0154] As previously described, in some embodiments, the first neutron flux probe 301, the second neutron flux probe 302, and the dose control unit 101 are connected, used to obtain the current neutron flux based on the corresponding relationship between the detection response and the neutron flux, and transmit to the dose control unit 101. The third neutron flux probe 303 is connected with the independent termination unit 102, used to detect the neutron beam signal as the starting signal for the independent termination unit 102 to obtain the delivery time.

[0155] The first neutron flux detector 301 is connected with the dose control main unit 1010, and the second neutron flux detector 302 is connected with the dose control secondary unit 1011. The three-way neutron flux detectors are connected with the treatment control module 10, so that the dose control main unit 1010, the dose control secondary unit 1011 and the independent termination unit 102 can work independently. When other units work abnormally, the other units can perform the normal stop function.

[0156] Further, the gold wire activation method is used to measure the thermal neutron flux to calibrate the corresponding relationship between the detection response of the neutron flux detector and the neutron flux. Specifically, the gold wire activation method is used to test the neutron flux at the position with the maximum neutron flux in the water tank, and the average response value of the neutron detector is calculated. The average response value of the neutron detector at this time represents the neutron flux output by the system at this time, and the corresponding relationship between the detection response and the neutron flux is established.

[0157] In some embodiments, the first neutron flux detector 301, the second neutron flux detector 302 and the third neutron flux detector 303 provided by the embodiment of the present application can use commonly used diamond thermal neutron detectors, boron-coated perovskite neutron detectors and other commonly used neutron flux detectors. The present application does not make any limitation on this. In addition, those skilled in the art can also use other methods to establish the corresponding relationship between the detection response and the neutron flux, and the present application also does not make any limitation on this.

[0158] Please continue to refer to Figure 2 The beam control system for BNCT treatment provided by the embodiment of the present application can further include a display module 40. The display module 40 is used to monitor and display the dose of the neutron beam delivered, the real-time delivery dose rate of the beam and other beam delivery related information in real time during the beam delivery process, so as to facilitate the device operator to view the current beam delivery related information. In addition, the display module 40 is designed to keep the displayed beam delivery related information unchanged after the beam delivery is paused or terminated until it is intentionally cleared or restored. Further, the display module 40 is also configured with an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) for power supply, so as to ensure that the beam delivery related information can be saved for a period of time in the case of power failure of the system, further improving the safety of treatment.

[0159] Figure 2 The display information schematic diagram of the display module 40 in the embodiment of the present application is shown. As Figure 4 shown, the display module 40 can include a main dose monitoring display unit 401, a secondary dose monitoring display unit 402 and an independent termination time display unit 403.

[0160] The information displayed by the primary dose monitoring display unit 401 includes the first stop threshold, the current neutron beam dose rate 1, the current delivered dose 1, the progress chart representing the proportional relationship between the current delivered dose 1 and the treatment plan dose, and the like.

[0161] The information displayed by the secondary dose monitoring display unit 402 includes the second stop threshold, the current neutron beam dose rate 2, the current delivered dose 2, the progress chart representing the proportional relationship between the current delivered dose 2 and the treatment plan dose, and the like.

[0162] The information displayed by the independent termination time display unit 403 includes the independent termination time of the current beam delivery, the beam delivery time, the progress chart representing the proportional relationship between the delivered time and the independent termination time, the neutron target front proton beam dose rate, and the like.

[0163] Therefore, as described above, the beam control system 1 for BNCT treatment provided by the embodiments of the present application includes a treatment control module 10, an accelerator control module 20, and a flux monitoring module 30. The modules cooperate with each other to accurately control the delivery of the beam and the real-time monitoring of the dose of the beam delivery during the treatment of the patient, ensure the smooth completion of the treatment of the patient and the accurate delivery of the irradiation dose, and ensure the accuracy and safety of the equipment beam delivery. Further, the beam control system for BNCT treatment can further include a display module 40, so as to facilitate the equipment operator to view the current beam delivery related information.

[0164] Figure 4 The architecture schematic diagram of the beam control system for BNCT treatment provided by another embodiment of the present application is shown. The following will be described in combination with Figure 5 The workflow of the beam control system for BNCT treatment provided by the embodiments of the present application will be further introduced.

[0165] a. Beam delivery start workflow:

[0166] The treatment control software unit 900 issues the beam delivery plan to the dose control unit 101, the treatment control software unit 900 applies for the beam through the beam scheduling unit 104, after the beam is ready, the beam delivery instruction is issued by clicking the beam button through the treatment control box 901, the instruction is sent to the accelerator control unit 201 through the accelerator interface 205 through the beam start-stop unit 1015, the accelerator control unit 201 controls the faraday cup to be pulled out, the proton beam starts to be delivered, and the neutron beam delivery is started.

[0167] b. Beam delivery normal stop workflow (triggered by the dose control main unit 1010 to terminate the workflow):

[0168] The first neutron flux probe 301 acquires the neutron flux and transmits to the MU dose conversion main unit 1012, so that the MU dose conversion main unit 1012 converts the neutron flux into the beam delivery dose rate. After that, the dose control main unit 1010 acquires the delivered dose based on the beam delivery dose rate. When the delivered dose is monitored to reach the first shutdown threshold (equal to the treatment plan dose), the shutdown instruction is sent to the accelerator control unit 201 through the accelerator interface 205, and the accelerator control unit 201 controls the Faraday cup insertion, so that the proton beam stops delivering and the neutron beam stops delivering.

[0169] c. Beam delivery pause workflow:

[0170] The pause beam delivery button on the treatment control box 901 is pressed to send the beam stop instruction. The instruction is sent to the accelerator control unit 201 through the accelerator interface 205 by the beam on-off unit 1015, and the accelerator control unit 201 controls the Faraday cup insertion, so that the proton beam stops delivering and the neutron beam stops delivering.

[0171] d. Beam delivery from pause state to delivery state workflow:

[0172] The pause beam delivery button on the treatment control box 901 is pressed to send the beam stop instruction. The instruction is sent to the accelerator control unit 201 through the accelerator interface 205 by the beam on-off unit 1015, and the accelerator control unit 201 controls the Faraday cup insertion, so that the proton beam stops delivering and the neutron beam stops delivering.

[0173] e. Beam delivery termination triggered by dose control secondary unit 1011 workflow:

[0174] During beam delivery, the second neutron flux probe 302 acquires the neutron flux and transmits to the MU dose conversion secondary unit 1013. The dose control secondary unit 1011 monitors the delivered dose according to the beam delivery dose rate converted by the MU dose conversion secondary unit 1013. When the dose control main unit 1010 works abnormally, the dose control secondary unit 1011 monitors the delivered dose to reach 110% of the treatment plan dose (the second shutdown threshold), and sends the shutdown instruction to the accelerator control interlock unit 202 through the treatment interlock unit 103 and the facility interlock unit 203. The accelerator control interlock unit 202 terminates the delivery of the proton beam by shutting down the microwave power supply 903 and the high-voltage power supply, and then terminates the delivery of the neutron beam.

[0175] f. Beam delivery termination triggered by reaching independent termination time workflow:

[0176] The treatment control software unit 900 issues an independent termination time to the independent termination unit 102, and the third neutron flux detector 303 is connected to the independent termination unit 102, so that the detected neutron beam signal is used as the basis for starting timing. During the beam delivery process, when the dose control primary unit 1010 and the dose control secondary unit 1011 fail to trigger the stop beam signal due to abnormal operation, the independent termination unit 102 monitors that the delivery time reaches the independent termination time, and sends a stop beam instruction to the accelerator control interlock unit 202 through the treatment interlock unit 103 and the facility interlock unit 203. The accelerator control interlock unit 202 terminates the delivery of the proton beam by turning off the microwave power supply 903 and the high-voltage power supply, and further terminates the delivery of the neutron beam.

[0177] g. The flow of beam delivery terminated by the treatment interlock unit 103:

[0178] During the beam delivery process, when the treatment interlock unit 103 monitors that the dose control unit 101 and the independent termination unit 102 are abnormal, the treatment interlock unit 103 sends a stop beam instruction to the accelerator control interlock unit 202 through the facility interlock unit 203. The accelerator control interlock unit 202 terminates the delivery of the proton beam by turning off the microwave power supply 903 and the high-voltage power supply, and further terminates the delivery of the neutron beam;

[0179] h. The flow of beam delivery terminated by the facility interlock unit 203:

[0180] When the facility interlock unit 203 monitors that the treatment interlock unit 103 is abnormal, the facility interlock unit 203 sends a stop beam instruction to the accelerator control interlock unit 202. The accelerator control interlock unit 202 terminates the delivery of the proton beam by turning off the microwave power supply 903 and the high-voltage power supply, and further terminates the delivery of the neutron beam.

[0181] i. The flow of beam delivery terminated by the proton transmission efficiency abnormality:

[0182] During the beam delivery process, the beam diagnostic unit 204 monitors the beam intensity at multiple locations through the proton injection system ACCT, the accelerator system ACCT, the high-energy transmission system common end ACCT, and the treatment terminal DCCT. When the beam diagnostic unit 204 monitors that the proton beam transmission is abnormal, an abnormal signal is transmitted to the accelerator control interlock unit 202. The accelerator control interlock unit 202 terminates the delivery of the proton beam by turning off the microwave power supply 903 and the high-voltage power supply, and further terminates the delivery of the neutron beam.

[0183] g. The flow of beam delivery terminated by the emergency stop unit 106:

[0184] In the process of beam delivery, when the operator presses the emergency stop button through the treatment control terminal or the accelerator control terminal, the stop beam treatment is transmitted by the radiation safety interlock unit 909 to the treatment interlock unit 103, and then the stop beam instruction is sent to the accelerator control interlock unit 202 through the facility interlock unit 203. The accelerator control interlock unit 202 terminates the delivery of the proton beam by turning off the microwave power supply 903 and the high-voltage power supply 904, and then terminates the delivery of the neutron beam.

[0185] k. The flow of beam delivery triggered by the unsuccessful closing of the Faraday cup to terminate:

[0186] In the process of beam delivery, when the accelerator control unit 201 performs normal stop beam by closing the Faraday cup, if the accelerator control unit 201 does not receive the signal that the Faraday cup mechanical limit switch 907 is in the closed position within 3 seconds, the accelerator control interlock unit 202 will be directly triggered to terminate the delivery of the proton beam by turning off the microwave power supply 903 and the high-voltage power supply 904, and then terminate the delivery of the neutron beam.

[0187] Further, please continue to refer to Figure 5 In still other embodiments, the dose control unit 101 can further include a beam display unit 1016 for monitoring and displaying the dose of the neutron beam that has been delivered, the real-time delivery dose rate of the beam, and other beam delivery related information in real time during the beam delivery process, so that the device operator can view the current beam delivery related information. In addition, the beam display unit 1016 is designed to keep the displayed beam delivery related information unchanged after the beam delivery is paused or terminated, until it is intentionally cleared or restored. Further, the beam display unit 1016 is also configured with a UPS uninterruptible power supply to ensure that in the case of system power failure, the beam delivery related information can be saved for a period of time, further improving the safety of the treatment system.

[0188] Further, in some embodiments, the beam control system for BNCT treatment provided by the embodiments of the present application needs to go through a verification link before each beam delivery, to ensure that the system is in a normal operating state before starting this treatment. For example, please continue to refer to Figure 5 Figure 5 Before each beam delivery, a beam delivery plan for verification is issued by the treatment control software unit 900 to the dose control unit 101. Then, the neutron simulation signal is input to verify whether the dose control unit 101 is working normally. For another example, a fixed current value is sent to the proton injection system ACCT, the accelerator system ACCT, the high-energy transmission system public end ACCT and the treatment terminal DCCT through the constant current power supply 906 to simulate the beam condition, and to check whether the beam diagnostic unit 204 and the accelerator control interlock unit 202 normally execute the stop beam function in the case of beam transmission abnormality.

[0189] In summary, the beam control system for BNCT treatment provided by the present application can efficiently ensure the treatment safety and accuracy during the treatment process.

[0190] Firstly, the dose control unit in the present application adopts a dual-redundancy design. When the dose control main unit works abnormally, the backup dose control sub-unit can monitor the beam dose and perform the beam stop operation, so that the treatment of the patient can continue to be performed under the condition of ensuring normal beam delivery, the completion rate of the treatment is improved, and the reliability of the system for stopping the beam is improved.

[0191] Secondly, the independent termination unit completely independent of the dose control unit is configured in the present application, so that when the dose control unit loses function or fails to be identified, the system can still perform the function of stopping the beam based on the independent termination time, and the patient is prevented from receiving excessive dose delivery.

[0192] Thirdly, the present application monitors the transmission efficiency of the proton beam in real time, controls the proton beam for generating neutrons from the source, and stops the delivery of the beam in time when an abnormality of the proton beam is identified, thereby preventing incorrect delivery of the neutron beam from the source. This earlier identification of the abnormality of the beam delivery improves the timeliness of the abnormality handling of the system.

[0193] In addition, the present application establishes two different beam stop paths between the treatment control module and the accelerator control module to ensure the successful transmission of the beam stop instruction to the accelerator, effectively prevents the situation that the beam stop instruction cannot be transmitted due to a fault of a path, and increases the reliability of successfully performing the beam stop. In addition, the present application designs an emergency stop button independent of the beam stop path to realize emergency beam stop, thereby increasing the flexibility and reliability of the beam stop.

[0194] Meanwhile, the present application designs the downstream of the beam stop path to monitor the running state of the upstream, and when the running state of the upstream is abnormal, the downstream directly sends a beam stop instruction to the back-end link, thereby actively preventing the situation that the beam stop instruction cannot be transmitted due to an abnormality, reducing the risk that the beam delivery cannot be normally stopped due to an abnormality of the system, and avoiding the patient from receiving excessive dose delivery.

[0195] Finally, the present application designs two corresponding beam stop operations based on the two beam stop paths, which can effectively avoid the damage of the beam stop operation to the system, ensure efficient implementation of the beam termination under abnormal conditions, and ensure the reliability of the beam stop.

[0196] It should also be understood that the division of modules or units in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. When actually implemented, another division manner can be used. In addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processor, or can be physically separated, or two or more modules can be integrated in one module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module.

[0197] The above merely illustrates the principles and effects of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed by the present application, which shall be covered by the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

[0198] The above embodiments only illustratively explain the principles and effects of the present application, and are not used to limit the present application. Any person skilled in the art can modify or change the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and category of the present application. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes completed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical thought disclosed by the present application shall be covered by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A beam control system for boron neutron capture therapy, characterized in that, The system includes a treatment control module, an accelerator control module, and a flux monitoring module. The treatment control module is used to acquire the delivery dose and delivery time of boron neutron capture therapy in real time, so as to trigger a beam stop command based on the delivery dose or delivery time, and transmit the beam stop command to the accelerator control module to terminate the neutron beam delivery. The accelerator control module is used to receive the beam stop command to shut down the proton beam and terminate the delivery of the neutron beam, and to automatically shut down the proton beam in case of abnormality. The flux monitoring module is used to monitor the neutron flux in real time and transmit the monitoring data to the treatment control module so that the treatment control module can obtain the delivery dose in real time based on the monitoring data; wherein, a first beam-stopping path and a second beam-stopping path are provided between the treatment control module and the accelerator control module; The treatment control module includes a dose control unit, an independent termination unit, and a treatment interlock unit; The dose control unit is used to convert the monitoring data into a beam delivery dose rate to obtain the delivery dose in real time, and to trigger the beam stop command when the delivery dose reaches the beam stop threshold and transmit it to the accelerator control module through the first beam stop path or the second beam stop path. The independent termination unit is independent of the dose control unit and is used to trigger the beam stop command separately and transmit it to the accelerator control module through the second beam stop path when the dose control unit malfunctions and the delivery time reaches the independent termination time. The treatment interlock unit is used to directly trigger the beam stop command and transmit it to the accelerator control module through the second beam stop path when both the dose control unit and the independent termination unit malfunction.

2. The beam control system for boron neutron capture therapy according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the treatment control module transmits the beam-stopping command to the accelerator control module through the first beam-stopping path, the accelerator control module performs the first beam-stopping operation based on the beam-stopping command. When the treatment control module transmits the beam-stopping command to the accelerator control module through the second beam-stopping path, the accelerator control module performs a second beam-stopping operation based on the beam-stopping command.

3. The beam control system for boron neutron capture therapy according to claim 2, characterized in that, The treatment control module also includes a dose verification unit; The dose verification unit is used to simulate neutron beam conditions before actual beam delivery to verify whether the dose control unit is working properly.

4. The beam control system for boron neutron capture therapy according to claim 3, characterized in that, The dose control unit includes a main dose control unit and a secondary dose control unit; The dose control master unit is used to trigger the beam stop command when the delivered dose reaches the first beam stop threshold, and transmits it to the accelerator control module through the first beam stop path; The dose control sub-unit is used to trigger the beam-stopping command when the dose control master unit malfunctions and the delivered dose reaches the second beam-stopping threshold, and transmits it to the accelerator control module through the second beam-stopping path; the second beam-stopping threshold is greater than the first beam-stopping threshold.

5. The beam control system for boron neutron capture therapy according to claim 2, characterized in that, The accelerator control module includes an accelerator control unit, an accelerator control interlocking unit, and a facility interlocking unit. The accelerator control unit is used to execute the first beam-stopping operation based on the beam-stopping command transmitted by the first beam-stopping path; The accelerator control interlocking unit is used to execute the second beam stop operation based on the beam stop command transmitted by the second beam stop path, or to directly execute the second beam stop operation when the facility interlocking unit malfunctions. The facility interlocking unit is used to transmit the stop command transmitted by the second stop path to the accelerator control interlocking unit, or, when the second stop path transmission is abnormal, directly trigger the stop command and transmit it to the accelerator control interlocking unit to execute the second stop operation.

6. The beam control system for boron neutron capture therapy according to claim 5, characterized in that, The accelerator control interlocking unit is also used to execute the second beam-stopping operation when the accelerator control unit fails to successfully execute the first beam-stopping operation.

7. The beam control system for boron neutron capture therapy according to claim 5, characterized in that, The accelerator control module also includes a beam diagnostic unit and a beam anomaly interlocking link verification unit; The beam diagnostic unit is used to determine whether the proton beam transmission is normal based on the beam current intensity at multiple locations, and to transmit an abnormal signal to the accelerator control interlocking unit to execute the second beam stop operation when the proton beam transmission is abnormal. The beam anomaly interlocking link verification unit is used to simulate proton beam conditions before the actual beam delivery to verify whether the beam diagnostic unit and the accelerator control interlocking unit are working properly.

8. The beam control system for boron neutron capture therapy according to claim 7, characterized in that, include: When the first beam intensity ratio result is less than the first preset normal transmission efficiency, the beam diagnostic unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal. The first current intensity comparison result is obtained based on the current intensity during proton beam injection and the current intensity after the proton beam is accelerated. When the second beam intensity ratio result is less than the second preset normal transmission efficiency, the beam diagnostic unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal. The second current intensity comparison result is obtained based on the current intensity of the proton beam after acceleration and the current intensity of the proton beam at the end of the transmission common segment; When the third beam intensity ratio result is less than the third preset normal transmission efficiency, the beam diagnostic unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal. The third current intensity comparison result is obtained based on the current intensity of the proton beam after acceleration and the current intensity of the proton beam at the front end of the neutron target; or When the current intensity of the proton beam at the front end of the neutron target exceeds the preset allowable deviation, the beam diagnostic unit determines that the proton beam transmission is abnormal.

9. The beam control system for boron neutron capture therapy according to claim 3, characterized in that, The flux monitoring module includes a first neutron flux detector, a second neutron flux detector, and a third neutron flux detector; The first neutron flux detector and the second neutron flux detector are connected to the dose control unit and are used to obtain the current neutron flux based on the correspondence between the detection response and the neutron flux, and transmit it to the dose control unit. The third neutron flux detector is connected to the independent termination unit and is used to use the detected neutron beam signal as the start signal for the independent termination unit to obtain the delivery time.

10. The beam control system for boron neutron capture therapy according to claim 2, characterized in that, The treatment control module also includes a beam scheduling unit, a beam delivery unit, and an emergency stop unit; The beam scheduling unit is used to request beam delivery from the accelerator control module so that the accelerator control module can perform beam scheduling. The beam delivery unit is used to transmit beam delivery commands to the accelerator control module to activate the neutron beam delivery. The emergency stop unit is used to trigger an emergency stop command and transmit it to the accelerator control module through the second beam-stopping path to execute the second beam-stopping operation.

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