Ray generator, ray generation method and radiation equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a ray generator, which comprises a magnetron used for generating microwave energy under the action of a magnetic pulse sequence; the electron gun is used for generating electron beams under the action of the electronic pulse sequence; the accelerating tube is used for introducing microwave energy and electron beams and accelerating the electron beams according to the microwave energy; the controller is used for acquiring target accumulated dose data within target time and determining an electronic pulse sequence and a magnetic pulse sequence based on the target accumulated dose data, the magnetic pulse sequence comprises N magnetic pulses, and the N magnetic pulses are arranged at intervals in the time sequence; at least one electronic pulse in the electronic pulse sequence is synchronized with the N magnetic pulses in time sequence, and the number of the N magnetic pulses synchronized with the at least one electronic pulse in time sequence is adjustable. The invention further provides a ray generation method and radiation equipment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of radiation inspection technology, specifically to the field of radiation equipment technology, and more specifically to a radiation generator, a radiation generation method, and a radiation device. Background Technology

[0002] Electron linear accelerators use microwave energy generated by a magnetron to accelerate an electron beam emitted from an electron gun. Current technologies generally employ a gun-magnetic synchrotron pulse operation, strictly synchronizing both pulses within the same time window to generate radiation. While this method can maintain a steady-state dose output, in scenarios such as rapid container inspections or precision medical radiotherapy, precise control of the cumulative dose over a short period is often required based on changes in the target patient or treatment plan. However, in existing synchronization methods, the electronic and microwave parameters are strongly coupled, making it difficult to dynamically adjust the output dose rapidly, significantly, and with fine precision within a single pulse or extremely short period. This fails to meet the flexibility and accuracy requirements of dose closed-loop control in modern complex applications.

[0003] It should be noted that the above description of the technical background is only for the purpose of providing a clear and complete explanation of the technical solutions of the present invention and facilitating understanding by those skilled in the art. It should not be assumed that the above technical solutions are known to those skilled in the art simply because they have been described in the background section of this invention. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, this disclosure provides a radiation generator, a radiation generation method and a radiation device, which solves the problem of insufficient accuracy requirements for dose closed-loop control in complex application scenarios.

[0005] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, a radiation generator is provided, the radiation generator comprising: a magnetron for generating microwave energy under the action of a magnetic pulse sequence; an electron gun for generating an electron beam under the action of an electron pulse sequence; an accelerating tube for introducing the microwave energy and the electron beam, and accelerating the electron beam according to the microwave energy; and a controller for acquiring target cumulative dose data within a target time period, and determining the electron pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence based on the target cumulative dose data, wherein the magnetic pulse sequence comprises N magnetic pulses, the N magnetic pulses being arranged at temporal intervals; at least one electron pulse in the electron pulse sequence is temporally synchronized with the N magnetic pulses, and the number of the N magnetic pulses temporally synchronized with the at least one electron pulse is adjustable, where N is greater than or equal to 2.

[0006] According to embodiments of this disclosure, a single electronic pulse in the electronic pulse sequence sequentially covers the N magnetic pulses.

[0007] According to embodiments of this disclosure, determining the electron pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence based on the target cumulative dose data includes: determining a first parameter of the magnetic pulse sequence within a target time period based on the target cumulative dose data, wherein the first parameter includes the number and width of the magnetic pulses included in the magnetic pulse sequence; determining a second parameter of the electron pulse sequence within the target time period based on the first parameter, wherein the second parameter includes the width of the electron pulses included in the electron pulse sequence; and determining the electron pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence based on the first parameter, the second parameter, and the temporal synchronization relationship between the first parameter and the second parameter.

[0008] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the controller is further configured to: acquire real-time cumulative dose data within a target time period; and, in response to a dose deviation between the actual cumulative dose data and the target cumulative dose data exceeding a preset threshold, adjust at least one of the following parameters of the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence: the number of magnetic pulses in the first parameter; the width of the magnetic pulses in the first parameter; and the width of the electronic pulses in the second parameter.

[0009] According to embodiments of this disclosure, adjusting at least one of the following parameters of the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence includes: adjusting the width of the magnetic pulse in the first parameter in response to the dose deviation exceeding a first threshold but not exceeding a second threshold; and adjusting at least one of the number of magnetic pulses in the first parameter and the width of the electronic pulse in the second parameter in response to the dose deviation exceeding the second threshold.

[0010] According to an embodiment of this disclosure, the magnetic pulse sequence further includes: a timing interval between any two adjacent magnetic pulses among the N magnetic pulses, wherein the width of the timing interval and the width of the electronic pulse satisfy a preset proportional relationship.

[0011] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the maximum width of a single magnetic pulse does not exceed a first proportion of the width of a single electronic pulse that is synchronized with it in time, and the minimum width of a single magnetic pulse is not less than a second proportion of the width of a single electronic pulse that is synchronized with it in time.

[0012] A second aspect of this disclosure provides a method for generating radiation, comprising: acquiring target cumulative dose data over a target time period; determining an electron pulse sequence and a magnetic pulse sequence based on the target cumulative dose data, wherein the magnetic pulse sequence includes N magnetic pulses arranged at temporal intervals; at least one electron pulse in the electron pulse sequence is temporally synchronized with the N magnetic pulses, the number of the N magnetic pulses temporally synchronized with the at least one electron pulse is adjustable, and N is greater than or equal to 2; generating an electron beam according to the electron pulse sequence; generating microwave energy according to the magnetic pulse sequence; accelerating the electron beam according to the microwave energy; and controlling the accelerated electron beam to strike a target to generate radiation.

[0013] According to embodiments of this disclosure, a single electronic pulse in the electronic pulse sequence sequentially covers the N magnetic pulses.

[0014] According to embodiments of this disclosure, determining the electron pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence based on the target cumulative dose data includes: determining a first parameter of the magnetic pulse sequence within a target time period based on the target cumulative dose data, wherein the first parameter includes the number and width of the magnetic pulses included in the magnetic pulse sequence; determining a second parameter of the electron pulse sequence within the target time period based on the first parameter, wherein the second parameter includes the width of the electron pulses included in the electron pulse sequence; and determining the electron pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence based on the first parameter, the second parameter, and the temporal synchronization relationship between the first parameter and the second parameter.

[0015] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the method further includes: acquiring real-time cumulative dose data over a target time period; and adjusting at least one of the following parameters of the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence in response to a dose deviation between the actual cumulative dose data and the target cumulative dose data exceeding a preset threshold: the number of magnetic pulses in the first parameter; the width of the magnetic pulses in the first parameter; and the width of the electronic pulses in the second parameter.

[0016] A third aspect of this disclosure provides a radiation device including a ray generator as described above. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The accompanying drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. Furthermore, the shapes and proportions of the components in the drawings are merely illustrative to aid in understanding the invention and are not intended to specifically limit the shapes and proportions of the components. Those skilled in the art, guided by the teachings of this invention, can select various possible shapes and proportions to implement the invention according to specific circumstances. In the drawings:

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of a ray generator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0019] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a radiation generator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a ray generation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown schematically.

[0021] Explanation of icon numbers:

[0022] 100. X-ray generator;

[0023] 110. Electron gun; 120. Magnetron; 130. Accelerator tube. Detailed Implementation

[0024] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of this invention, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should fall within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0025] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit this disclosure. The terms “comprising,” “including,” etc., as used herein indicate the presence of the stated features, steps, operations, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, or components.

[0026] All terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined. It should be noted that the terms used herein are to be interpreted in a manner consistent with the context of this specification, and not in an idealized or overly rigid way.

[0027] When using expressions such as "at least one of A, B, and C," the meaning should generally be interpreted according to the understanding of someone skilled in the art. For example, "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" should include, but is not limited to, systems having A alone, having B alone, having C alone, having A and B, having A and C, having B and C, and / or having A, B, and C. Similarly, when using expressions such as "at least one of A, B, or C," the meaning should generally be interpreted according to the understanding of someone skilled in the art. For example, "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" should include, but is not limited to, systems having A alone, having B alone, having C alone, having A and B, having A and C, having B and C, and / or having A, B, and C.

[0028] In existing technologies, electron linear accelerators, as core radiation source equipment widely used in industrial non-destructive testing, container security inspection systems, and medical radiotherapy, rely heavily on the timing coordination of their various core components for their operation. Specifically, an electron linear accelerator typically consists of a accelerator tube, a magnetron for generating microwave energy, an electron gun for generating an electron beam, and corresponding high-voltage pulse modulators. In the physical process of X-ray generation, the accelerator tube itself does not produce particles but serves as the site where microwave energy interacts with the electron beam. The electron gun is responsible for emitting the electron beam at specific moments as the "raw material" to be accelerated, while the magnetron provides high-power microwave energy as the "power" to accelerate the electrons. Only when the electron beam provided by the electron gun and the microwave energy provided by the magnetron not only coincide spatially but also strictly overlap temporally within the accelerator tube can the electrons gain sufficient energy to be accelerated and strike the target material, thereby generating X-rays or electron beams with specific energy and dose. This physical mechanism determines that the core of electron linear accelerator control lies in the coordinated scheduling of the "source" (electrons) and the "energy" (microwaves). Any timing deviation of either will directly lead to the interruption of the radiation output or the instability of the dose.

[0029] To achieve the aforementioned synergy, existing electron linear accelerators generally employ a "gun-magnetic synchronous pulse" operating mode. This involves controlling the circuitry to forcibly lock the triggering time and duration of the electron gun's high-voltage pulse and the magnetron's high-voltage pulse, ensuring they operate within the same time window (typically lasting several microseconds). This guarantees that each pulse effectively generates radiation. While this synchronous operating mode ensures a relatively stable dose output in conventional applications, effectively solving the fundamental matching problem between electron beam current and microwave power, and enabling continuous beam output under steady-state operation, its inherent limitations are becoming increasingly apparent as application scenarios demand higher dose control precision, particularly in situations requiring short-term, large-amplitude, and precise adjustments to the output dose. For example, in rapid container inspection systems, vehicles pass at varying speeds (5-60 km / h) with significant differences in cargo density within containers, requiring the accelerator to rapidly adjust the accumulated dose based on scan feedback within hundreds of milliseconds. Similarly, in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) using medical accelerators, precise accumulation of the minimum fractionated dose within an extremely short time segment is required according to the treatment plan. In these scenarios, the "gun-magnetic synchronous pulse" method, due to the strict binding of the parameters of its electronic pulse and magnetic pulse, cannot flexibly decouple and adjust within a single pulse cycle. This makes it impossible to quickly respond to dose changes by independently controlling the injection duration or number of microwave energy injections, making it difficult to achieve rapid, accurate, and convenient pulse-level dose adjustment. It also fails to meet the stringent control requirements of complex scanning or precision treatment for precise cumulative dose in a short period of time.

[0030] The radiation generator is a key component of the radiation source. It includes: a magnetron, which generates microwave energy under the action of a magnetic pulse sequence; an electron gun, which generates an electron beam under the action of an electron pulse sequence; and an accelerator tube, which introduces microwave energy and an electron beam and accelerates the electron beam according to the microwave energy.

[0031] In this document, a "magnetron" is described as a device that converts DC power into microwave energy by utilizing the interaction of electrons in mutually perpendicular electric and magnetic fields to generate high-power microwave oscillations within a resonant cavity. Those skilled in the art will understand that a "magnetron" differs from a klystron or traveling wave tube; the electron trajectory in a magnetron is a cycloidal motion under the influence of orthogonal electromagnetic fields, and microwaves are generated using this cross-field interaction.

[0032] In this document, an "electron gun" is defined as a device that emits a high-intensity, high-brightness electron beam by means of cathode heating or a strong electric field, utilizing the principles of thermoemission or field emission. Those skilled in the art should understand that an "electron gun" differs from a plasma source or ion source. The core principle of an electron gun lies in generating a pure electron stream with specific initial velocities and focusing characteristics, serving as the particle source for subsequent acceleration structures.

[0033] In this paper, an "accelerator tube" is defined as a device that uses a disk-loaded waveguide structure or a standing-wave cavity structure to establish a high-frequency electromagnetic field to couple microwave energy to an electron beam, thereby giving the electrons kinetic energy. Those skilled in the art should understand that an "accelerator tube" differs from a drift tube or a deflecting magnet. The principle of an accelerator tube lies in establishing a synchronous longitudinal electric field, allowing the injected electron beam to continuously gain energy under the influence of the microwave field, thus reaching the energy threshold required to generate high-energy rays. Specifically, in this paper, an electron gun is used to emit an electron beam e1 with a first predetermined electron energy; a magnetron and an accelerator tube are used to accelerate the electron beam e1 with the first predetermined electron energy to obtain electron beam e.

[0034] In a radiation generator, the frequency and amplitude of the electron gun's pulse signal are primarily controlled by a high-voltage pulse modulator and its associated trigger timing circuits and power regulation modules, with dedicated digital signal processing units or programmable logic controllers involved. Simultaneously, the frequency and amplitude of the magnetron's pulse signal are controlled by sending trigger signals at predetermined time intervals. Changing the repetition period of these trigger signals adjusts the conduction frequency of the high-voltage switching transistor, thus determining the pulse output density. Amplitude control is mainly achieved by adjusting the charging voltage level of the pulse forming network, or by dynamically adjusting the power supply module's output power using a proportional-integral-differential algorithm based on feedback signals. This alters the peak voltage of the high-voltage pulse, directly affecting the electron gun's emission current or the magnetron's microwave output power.

[0035] Specifically, the controllers for the electron gun's pulse signals and the magnetron's pulse signals can be independent or controlled by the same controller. For example, when the controllers for the electron gun's pulse signals and the magnetron's pulse signals are independent, a dual-modulator control architecture is typically used. The first controller is dedicated to generating the electron gun's control timing and monitoring its feedback, while the second controller is dedicated to generating the magnetron's control timing and monitoring its feedback. The two controllers exchange synchronization signals via a high-speed communication bus. This architecture enables complete decoupled adjustment of the electron beam current parameters and microwave power parameters, facilitating the optimization of each parameter in complex physical experiments or high-precision dose verification. When the controllers for the electron gun's pulse signals and the magnetron's pulse signals are the same, the controller typically employs a central processing unit. This unit runs a unified timing logic algorithm, simultaneously generating two or more control signals to drive the electron gun and magnetron. Internal logic operations directly ensure the timing alignment of the two signals. This architecture simplifies the system hardware, reduces the risk of synchronization errors caused by communication delays, and is more conducive to achieving the complex timing envelope control disclosed herein.

[0036] Figure 1A schematic block diagram of a ray generator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a radiation generator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] Combination Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, according to a general inventive concept of this disclosure, a radiation generator 100 is provided. The radiation generator 100 includes: a magnetron 120 for generating microwave energy under the action of a magnetic pulse sequence; an electron gun 110 for generating an electron beam e1 under the action of an electron pulse sequence; an accelerating tube 130 for introducing microwave energy and the electron beam e1, and accelerating the electron beam e1 according to the microwave energy; and a controller 140 for acquiring target cumulative dose data within a target time, and determining an electron pulse sequence and a magnetic pulse sequence based on the target cumulative dose data. The magnetic pulse sequence includes N magnetic pulses, where N is greater than or equal to 2, and the N magnetic pulses are arranged at temporal intervals. At least one electron pulse in the electron pulse sequence is temporally synchronized with the N magnetic pulses, and the number of N magnetic pulses that are temporally synchronized with at least one electron pulse is adjustable.

[0038] In the embodiments of this disclosure, a control strategy of "electron pulse time-domain envelope magnetic pulse time-domain" is adopted. By eliminating the restriction of strict equal-width synchronization between electron pulses and microwave pulses, the emission process of the electron gun 110 is set to a relatively wide and stable "time window," while the microwave energy generated by the magnetron 120 is filled within this time window in the form of multiple narrow pulses. This ensures that the supply of the electron beam remains continuous and stable throughout the entire beam emission cycle, providing sufficient and stable "raw materials" for the acceleration process, while the microwave energy is injected in the form of discrete energy packets, achieving "multi-stage superposition" of energy. Compared with the single-pulse synchronization method, the electron pulse time-domain envelope magnetic pulse time-domain can improve the stability and uniformity of dose output. The energy fluctuations of multiple magnetic pulses cancel each other out after superposition, resulting in better consistency of the final output X-ray energy spectrum. Meanwhile, the electron pulse time-domain envelope magnetic pulse time-domain allows for a wide range and high precision adjustment of the total dose of a single beam output by changing the number and width of the internally wrapped magnetic pulses, without changing the working state of the electron gun 110 (i.e., not frequently starting and stopping the electron gun 110, thereby protecting the filament life of the electron gun 110).

[0039] In some specific embodiments, the magnetic pulse sequence includes N magnetic pulses, which are arranged at temporal intervals. At least one electronic pulse in the electron pulse sequence is synchronized temporally with the N magnetic pulses. The number of N magnetic pulses synchronized temporally with at least one electronic pulse is adjustable, which is an asymmetric timing synchronization mechanism. Under this asymmetric timing synchronization mechanism, a wider electron pulse generated by the electron gun 110 defines an effective acceleration enable range. Within this acceleration enable range, the controller 140 schedules N narrower magnetron pulses to be triggered sequentially at a preset frequency. Here, "synchronization" means that the effective duration of the N magnetic pulses falls within the duration range of the corresponding electronic pulse, thereby ensuring that each injection of microwave energy can effectively accelerate electrons. More importantly, N is a variable. The controller 140 can calculate and dynamically increase or decrease the value of N in real time according to the current required cumulative dose target. For example, when a larger cumulative dose is required, the controller 140 will arrange more magnetic pulses within a single electronic pulse window; while when a fine-tuning of the dose or the generation of a very small dose is required, the controller 140 will reduce the number of magnetic pulses. This adjustability in quantity enables dose control and solves the dose adjustment dead zone problem caused by strong magnetic coupling of the gun in traditional methods.

[0040] According to another general inventive concept of this disclosure, a radiation device is provided, including the aforementioned X-ray generator 100. In embodiments of this disclosure, the radiation device may include components such as a magnetron 120, an electron gun 110, an accelerator tube 130, and a controller 140. A container vehicle being scanned or a patient receiving radiotherapy is irradiated by high-energy X-rays or electron beams generated by the X-ray generator 100, and a transmission image of the scanned object is obtained through a detector array, or dose deposition is completed for lesions. The working principle of this type of security inspection system can be summarized as follows: An accelerator is controlled to generate a penetrating X-ray beam. After the X-ray beam passes through the object being inspected, it is received by a detector on the other side and converted into an electrical signal. Due to the different absorption and scattering abilities of different substances within the object, a signal reflecting the internal structure and density distribution of the object is formed on the detector, ultimately reconstructing an image. The radiation inspection system according to embodiments of this disclosure is suitable for non-destructive inspection of fast-moving logistics vehicles, particularly when the objects to be inspected are multiple containers loaded on a train, continuously passing through the transmissive area of ​​the inspection channel at a certain speed (e.g., tens of kilometers per hour). Due to the significant differences in cargo density within different containers and their high speed, it is necessary to rapidly adjust the cumulative dose of the next pulse cycle within hundreds of milliseconds based on the vehicle type identification result or the scanning feedback from the previous carriage, using the aforementioned X-ray generator 100, to adapt to the drastic switching from empty containers to high-density mineral containers, ensuring that the image is neither overexposed nor underexposed. In other embodiments, it is also suitable for controlling precise radiotherapy in medical accelerator systems, particularly in reducing the radiation dose to healthy tissues during treatment and protecting organs. When the medical accelerator rotates 360° around the patient, the therapist typically divides the treatment plan into multiple extremely small angular intervals (e.g., a tiny control unit every 2°), each unit requiring the application of a precise and often non-linear dose. At this point, the radiation device provided in this embodiment can, according to the instructions issued by the treatment planning system, precisely synthesize the required micro-segmented dose by combining different numbers of magnetic pulses within each extremely short angular rotation time. This ensures that the tumor site receives sufficient irradiation while the irradiation dose to surrounding normal tissues is strictly controlled within a safe threshold, thereby achieving high-fidelity execution of intensity-modulated radiotherapy or volumetric rotational intensity-modulated radiotherapy. Specifically, when X-rays pass through the object to be examined, due to the interaction between different doses of X-rays and the object, following the exponential decay law of photon-matter interaction, high-energy X-ray photons will undergo photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, or electron-electron pair effect with matter atoms. For high-density or heavy objects, a higher dose of radiation is required to ensure that a sufficient number of photons penetrate the object and reach the detector, thereby forming an image signal with a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio; while for low-density or thin objects, an excessively high dose will cause detector saturation or unnecessary radiation waste.Therefore, the cumulative dose controlled by the radiation device provided in this disclosure is matched in real time with the optimal X-ray photon flux based on the equivalent path length and average density of the object to be inspected, thereby optimizing the radiation protection level while ensuring imaging quality.

[0041] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, a single electron pulse in the electron pulse sequence sequentially covers N magnetic pulses. That is, a single pulse of the electron gun 110 is configured as an "enabling window" or "base pulse" with a relatively long duration, while the microwave energy pulse of the magnetron 120 is configured as one or more discrete "energy packets" located within this window. The purpose of this temporal coverage is, on the one hand, to ensure the stability of the electron beam generation. By maintaining the electron gun 110 continuously on for a relatively long period of time, beam quality fluctuations and filament life loss caused by frequent start-stop operations are avoided. On the other hand, this coverage makes the control more orderly, and the effective dose can be clearly calculated. That is, the effective dose is strictly equal to the sum of the doses generated by the magnetic pulses falling within the electron pulse window period. Any magnetic field fluctuations outside the window period will not be converted into radiation output, thereby constructing a clear physical boundary. Specifically, this embodiment has several coverage scenarios: First, the full-coverage mode, where the start and end times of all N magnetic pulses are strictly after the rising edge and before the falling edge of the electronic pulse. This is the standard implementation method, used to ensure the absolute linear superposition of dose output. Second, the edge-aligned mode, where the start time of the first magnetic pulse is synchronized with the start time of the stable segment of the electronic pulse, or the end time of the last magnetic pulse is synchronized with the end time of the stable segment of the electronic pulse. This mode aims to maximize the effective width of the electronic pulse and is suitable for high dose rate output scenarios. Third, the dynamic window mode, where the width of the electronic pulse is dynamically changing. It is always more than the total duration of the currently calculated N magnetic pulses by a preset "safety redundancy". No matter how N changes, the electronic pulse always adaptively wraps the internal magnetic pulse sequence like a "container".

[0042] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, determining the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence based on target cumulative dose data includes: determining a first parameter of the magnetic pulse sequence within a target time period based on the target cumulative dose data, wherein the first parameter includes the number and width of the magnetic pulses included in the magnetic pulse sequence; determining a second parameter of the electronic pulse sequence within the target time period based on the first parameter, wherein the second parameter includes the width of the electronic pulses included in the electronic pulse sequence; and determining the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence based on the first parameter, the second parameter, and the temporal synchronization relationship between the first parameter and the second parameter.

[0043] In some embodiments, a first parameter of the magnetic pulse sequence within a target time period is determined based on the target cumulative dose data. This first parameter includes the number and width of the magnetic pulses in the sequence. This is essentially a reverse derivation process based on a preset mapping model. Specifically, the controller 140 internally stores a table or function model relating "single microwave pulse parameters to output dose." Upon receiving the target cumulative dose data (e.g., a specific dose value), quantization is first performed by dividing the target value by the standard dose value that a single magnetic pulse can produce, thus obtaining the required number of magnetic pulses (i.e., parameter N). This achieves a rough quantization of the dose. Next, since simple integer multiples may not accurately match the target dose (due to remainders or slight deviations), parameter fine-tuning is required. This involves maintaining or fine-tuning the number N while adjusting the width (duration) of each magnetic pulse linearly or non-linearly to change the energy integral of a single pulse, thereby compensating for the aforementioned deviations. This process does not rely on real-time feedback but is based on feedforward calculations using historical or calibration data, ensuring that a theoretically accurate combination of magnetic pulse parameters is generated before beam output.

[0044] In some embodiments, a second parameter of the electronic pulse sequence within a target time is determined based on a first parameter, wherein the second parameter includes the width of the electronic pulses included in the electronic pulse sequence. The process of determining the second parameter follows the principle of "container adapting to contents," specifically, after determining the number N of magnetic pulses and the width of each magnetic pulse, the necessary physical interval time between adjacent magnetic pulses (to prevent waveform overlap or for heat dissipation) is also considered. The width of the electronic pulse is calculated as: the sum of the widths of all N magnetic pulses, the sum of all interval times, and a preset leading and trailing edge guard time. Furthermore, when determining the "target time" (i.e., the minimum segmentation region) and the electronic pulse width, the dynamic characteristics of the actual application scenario need to be considered. For example, in a scenario involving scanning rapidly moving objects (such as train container inspection), the target time depends on the moving speed of the inspected object and the spatial resolution requirements. If the train travels at a high speed, the corresponding spatial segment (e.g., each 10-centimeter slice of a container) passes through the beam plane for an extremely short time. This necessitates that the width of the electronic pulses be narrow enough to fit within this time window, prompting the controller 140 to select a denser magnetic pulse arrangement or reduce the number of N to accommodate the time constraint when calculating the first parameter. Conversely, if the object moves slowly or is static (e.g., a pause at a specific angle in a medical setting), the width constraint on the electronic pulses can be relaxed, allowing for the encapsulation of more magnetic pulses to achieve a large dose accumulation.

[0045] In some embodiments, the electron pulse sequence and magnetic pulse sequence are determined based on the first parameter, the second parameter, and the timing synchronization relationship between the first parameter and the second parameter. This means that the abstract parameters calculated above are transformed into specific time-axis control commands. Operationally, the trigger time of the electron pulse is first established as the reference time point (T0). A high-voltage enable signal for the electron gun 110 is generated based on the calculated electron pulse width, thereby defining an effective beam emission permission interval on the time axis. Subsequently, within this beam emission permission interval, the trigger times of the magnetic pulses are sequentially arranged according to the quantity N and width in the first parameter, and a preset interval strategy. For example, the first magnetic pulse is triggered after a specific delay after T0, the second magnetic pulse is triggered after a specific delay after the first one ends, and so on, until the Nth magnetic pulse is arranged. This arrangement decomposes a macroscopic "minimum segmented cumulative dose" into a series of gun-magnetic coordinated action sequences. In this process, the quantity of magnetic pulses acts as a dose ladder, determining the magnitude of the total dose; while the width of the magnetic pulses acts as a dose vernier, determining the final accuracy of the total dose. Through this combination, the controller 140 can flexibly construct waveform combinations that meet arbitrary dose requirements within the target time. Whether a short-term high peak dose or a long-term low stable dose is required, it can be achieved by changing the internal arrangement of the sequence.

[0046] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, the controller 140 is further configured to: acquire real-time cumulative dose data within a target time period; and, in response to a dose deviation between the actual cumulative dose data and the target cumulative dose data exceeding a preset threshold, adjust at least one of the following parameters of the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence: the number of magnetic pulses in the first parameter; the width of the magnetic pulses in the first parameter; and the width of the electronic pulses in the second parameter. This specific process constitutes a closed-loop correction mechanism for dose control. In actual operation, due to power grid fluctuations, aging of the magnetron 120, or changes in ambient temperature, the theoretically calculated parameters may not produce a completely accurate dose. Therefore, dynamic compensation is required based on the monitored actual deviation. The specific adjustment strategy depends on the nature of the deviation: if the actual dose is found to be slightly lower than the target value, and there is still time margin within the current electronic pulse window, the width of the magnetic pulses can be increased, or one or more short magnetic pulses can be added to the end of the sequence (while correspondingly extending the electronic pulse width); if the actual dose is found to be significantly higher than the target value, the number N of magnetic pulses can be reduced in the next cycle; if the actual dose is found to be unstable, the interval distribution of the magnetic pulses may be readjusted. This adjustment is not only for the current pulse, but more importantly, it is used to correct the generation parameters of subsequent pulse sequences, ensuring that the cumulative dose error converges within an acceptable range throughout the entire scan or treatment process.

[0047] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, adjusting at least one of the following parameters of the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence includes: adjusting the width of the magnetic pulse in the first parameter in response to a dose deviation exceeding a first threshold but not exceeding a second threshold; and adjusting at least one of the number of magnetic pulses in the first parameter and the width of the electronic pulse in the second parameter in response to a dose deviation exceeding the second threshold. This adjustment method is also a graded optimization control strategy designed to balance the speed and accuracy of adjustment. The first threshold represents a small, permissible accuracy error (e.g., a minor dose undershoot). When the deviation is within this range, it is considered the "fine-tuning zone," where there is no need to change the overall structure of the pulses; only a small increase or decrease in the width of the magnetic pulses in analog form is required. This adjustment has a fast response, high resolution, and is suitable for eliminating steady-state errors. The second threshold represents a larger, significant error that may affect the final imaging or treatment effect (e.g., dose tomography due to drastic load changes). When the deviation exceeds this range, it is considered the "coarse-tuning zone," where simply adjusting the width may have reached hardware limits or the adjustment range is insufficient. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the number of magnetic pulses (i.e., an increase or decrease in the digital quantity). A change in the number of pulses means a change in the number of energy injections, enabling a step-like, large jump in dose. Simultaneously, since the quantity N changes, the width of the electronic pulses surrounding the magnetic pulses must also be adaptively adjusted to ensure that the coverage relationship remains valid. This hierarchical strategy avoids instability caused by excessively widening a single pulse under large deviations, and also avoids oscillations caused by changing the number of pulses under small deviations.

[0048] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, the magnetic pulse sequence further includes a timing interval between any two adjacent magnetic pulses among the N magnetic pulses, the width of which satisfies a preset proportional relationship with the width of the electronic pulse. By setting the preset proportional relationship, the duty cycle layout of the magnetic pulses can be standardized. By fixing or proportionally setting the interval, the complex continuous-time control problem can be simplified into a discrete time-slice management problem. That is, without changing the target time, the controller 140 can pre-calculate how many standard intervals of magnetic pulses the window can accommodate at most. When the dose needs to be adjusted, the number of magnetic pulses contained within the electronic pulses can be increased or decreased like "building blocks," without having to recalculate complex timing interferences or heat dissipation intervals each time. This design greatly simplifies the computational load of the algorithm, improves the real-time response speed of the controller 140, and realizes flexible and low-computational-consumption single-pulse total dose adjustment.

[0049] like Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, the maximum width of a single magnetic pulse does not exceed a first proportional value to the width of a single electronic pulse synchronized with it in timing, and the minimum width of a single magnetic pulse is not less than a second proportional value to the width of a single electronic pulse synchronized with it in timing. By introducing the first proportional value (upper limit) and the second proportional value (lower limit), the physically stable operating region and the effective adjustment region can be defined. The purpose of setting the first proportional value (upper limit) is to prevent a single magnetic pulse from being too wide. If a magnetic pulse almost fills the entire width of the electronic pulse, it degenerates back to the traditional "single-pulse synchronization" mode, losing the advantage of flexibly accumulating dose by adjusting the number N, and an excessively wide magnetic pulse may cause the magnetron 120 to overheat or spark. The purpose of setting the second proportional value (lower limit) is to prevent the magnetic pulse from being segmented too finely. If the magnetic pulse width is less than the minimum time required for microwave oscillation to establish, or less than the rise / fall edge response limit of the high-voltage modulator, the generated microwave energy will be extremely unstable, resulting in unpredictable dose output. In addition, too many extremely narrow pulses will increase switching losses and control complexity. Therefore, limiting the magnetic pulse width to a reasonable ratio that is neither too wide nor too narrow is a key constraint to ensure the "gun-wrapped magnet" technology.

[0050] like Figure 3 As shown, a method for generating rays is disclosed according to a second aspect of this disclosure, the method comprising: operations S100 to S600.

[0051] In operation S100, the target cumulative dose data within the target time period is acquired; that is, a data command is received. In radiotherapy scenarios, this data command originates from the treatment plan. Based on the patient's anatomy and tumor shape, the therapist breaks down the total treatment dose into several extremely small "minimum fractionated cumulative doses," each fraction corresponding to a tiny angle of rotation of the accelerator gantry or a specific, extremely short time window. In industrial inspection or security inspection scenarios, this data command originates from the control calculations of scanning imaging. Based on the vehicle's speed, cargo density identification results, and required image signal-to-noise ratio, the optimal radiation dose required for the current scan slice is calculated in real time. Therefore, the acquired "target cumulative dose data" is essentially a dynamically changing numerical command, specifying the total amount of radiation that the radiation generator 100 must precisely output in the next target time period.

[0052] In operation S200, an electronic pulse sequence and a magnetic pulse sequence are determined based on the target cumulative dose data. The magnetic pulse sequence includes N magnetic pulses, which are arranged at temporal intervals. At least one electronic pulse in the electronic pulse sequence is temporally synchronized with the N magnetic pulses. The number of N magnetic pulses that are temporally synchronized with at least one electronic pulse is adjustable, and N is greater than or equal to 2. Specifically, a mapping model of "pulse parameters-dose output" is pre-established in the method. Upon receiving the target dose, the total number of magnetic pulses required to achieve the target dose (i.e., parameter N) is calculated based on the microwave energy that a single standard magnetic pulse can excite and its corresponding dose contribution value. If the target dose is large, the calculated value of N increases, resulting in a dense pulse train in time; if the target dose is small, the value of N decreases. Simultaneously, to coordinate with these N magnetic pulses, the timing parameters of the electronic pulses need to be determined. Unlike the one-to-one fixed binding method of electron and magnetic pulses in the prior art, the electronic pulse calculated in this operation S200 is a "wide pulse" covering the total duration of all the aforementioned N magnetic pulses. Therefore, the process of determining the sequence is actually to construct an asymmetric synchronous timing sequence with "electronic pulses as the envelope and magnetic pulses as the filler", where the number of magnetic pulses N is a variable that can be dynamically adjusted in real time according to the dose requirement, thereby realizing the fine synthesis of dose within a single electronic pulse cycle.

[0053] In operation S300, an electron beam e1 is generated according to the electron pulse sequence; that is, according to the electron pulse sequence determined in operation S200, a corresponding high-voltage pulse is applied to the cathode or control grid of the electron gun 110. During the pulse duration, the filament of the electron gun 110 heats the cathode to generate thermionic electrons, which form an electron beam with a certain initial velocity under the action of the high-voltage electric field. Crucially, because the electron pulse is designed to cover the entire magnetic pulse sequence, the electron gun 110 continuously and stably outputs an electron flow throughout the target time, providing a continuous "accelerated particle stream" for the subsequent acceleration process, thus avoiding beam transient instability caused by frequent start-stop of the electron gun 110.

[0054] In operation S400, microwave energy is generated according to the magnetic pulse sequence; that is, according to the magnetic pulse sequence determined in operation S200, a corresponding high-voltage pulse is applied to the magnetron 120. Each narrow high-voltage pulse triggers the magnetron 120 to establish microwave oscillation within the resonant cavity, outputting a packet of microwave energy. Since the magnetic pulse sequence is arranged at intervals, the output of the magnetron 120 is actually a series of discrete microwave energy packets. The amplitude, width, and number of these packets strictly correspond to the calculated first parameter, constituting the "power source" required to accelerate electrons.

[0055] In operation S500, the electron beam e1 is accelerated according to the microwave energy; the aforementioned continuous electron beam and discrete microwave energy packets are simultaneously fed into the accelerating tube 130; acceleration only occurs when the electron beam e1 and the microwave field exist simultaneously in time and space. Since the electron beam e1 covers all microwave packets in time sequence, each microwave packet entering the accelerating tube 130 can "capture" electrons in a waiting or transiting state for acceleration. This means that N magnetic pulses will generate N effective acceleration processes, each acceleration raising a portion of electrons to a higher energy state. The overall acceleration effect is a linear superposition of these N microscopic acceleration processes.

[0056] In operation of S600, the accelerated electron beam e is controlled to strike the target material to generate X-rays. The high-energy electron beam, accelerated by the accelerating tube 130, leaves the accelerating structure and bombards the heavy metal target (such as a tungsten target). Through bremsstrahlung, the kinetic energy of the high-energy electrons is converted into X-ray photons. Because this X-ray generation method precisely controls the total energy integral of the accelerated electrons by controlling the number N and width of the magnetic pulses, the final total X-ray dose (i.e., cumulative dose) generated by the target is also precisely controlled to the target value.

[0057] In some exemplary embodiments, a single electronic pulse in an electronic pulse sequence covers N magnetic pulses in time.

[0058] In some exemplary embodiments, determining the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence based on the target cumulative dose data includes operations S210 to S230.

[0059] In operation S210, based on the target cumulative dose data, a first parameter of the magnetic pulse sequence within the target time is determined, wherein the first parameter includes the number and width of the magnetic pulses included in the magnetic pulse sequence.

[0060] In operation S220, a second parameter of the electronic pulse sequence within the target time is determined based on the first parameter, wherein the second parameter includes the width of the electronic pulses included in the electronic pulse sequence.

[0061] In operation S230, the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence are determined based on the first parameter, the second parameter, and the timing synchronization relationship between the first parameter and the second parameter.

[0062] Specifically, in operations S210 to S230, operation S210 divides the target cumulative dose by the single-pulse reference dose, rounds to obtain the number of magnetic pulses N, and uses the remainder to calculate the width adjustment of a single magnetic pulse through linear interpolation. This ensures that the sum of the energies of N magnetic pulses with specific widths is theoretically equal to the target dose. Next, operation S220 calculates the total duration of the N magnetic pulses plus the total interval time between them, and adds the necessary settling time and margin to determine the width of the electron pulse. This ensures that the "window" of the electron beam is large enough to fully accommodate the energy output sequence of the magnetron 120. Finally, operation S230 generates a specific trigger timetable on the time axis, using the electron pulse as the reference background, and "embedding" the N magnetic pulses at preset intervals (or dynamic intervals calculated according to heat dissipation requirements) into the effective flat-top region of the electron pulse, generating the final executable pulse sequence to drive the hardware.

[0063] In some exemplary embodiments, the ray generation method further includes operations S700 to S800.

[0064] During operation of S700, real-time cumulative dose data within the target time period is acquired.

[0065] In operation S800, in response to the dose deviation between the actual cumulative dose data and the target cumulative dose data exceeding a preset threshold, at least one of the following parameters of the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence is adjusted: the number of magnetic pulses in the first parameter; the width of the magnetic pulses in the first parameter; and the width of the electronic pulses in the second parameter.

[0066] Specifically, a dynamic correction closed loop for dose accuracy is constructed in operations S700 to S800. Operation S700 samples the actual output dose value in real time. Operation S800 is a hierarchical decision-making process: when the deviation is at the first level (small deviation), it is judged as a slight drift in microwave power or a slight fluctuation in electron gun current intensity. At this time, only the width of the magnetic pulse in the next cycle is compensated and adjusted to maintain the smoothness of the output. When the deviation is at the second level (large deviation), it is judged as a possible pulse loss, severe environmental interference, or drastic load change. At this time, simply adjusting the width is not enough to quickly recover the error. The number of magnetic pulses N is directly modified (e.g., directly adding or removing one pulse), and the width of the electron pulse is recalculated simultaneously to maintain coverage. This dual adjustment mechanism ensures both high accuracy in steady state and rapid recovery capability under transient interference.

[0067] The embodiments of this disclosure have been described above. However, these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Although various embodiments have been described above, this does not mean that the measures in the various embodiments cannot be used advantageously in combination. Various substitutions and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of this disclosure, and all such substitutions and modifications should fall within the scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A radiation generator, characterized in that, include: A magnetron is used to generate microwave energy under the action of a magnetic pulse sequence; An electron gun is used to generate an electron beam under the action of a sequence of electron pulses; An accelerating tube is used to introduce the microwave energy and the electron beam, and to accelerate the electron beam according to the microwave energy; as well as The controller is used to acquire target cumulative dose data within a target time period, and determine the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence based on the target cumulative dose data. The magnetic pulse sequence includes N magnetic pulses, which are arranged at time intervals. At least one electronic pulse in the electronic pulse sequence is synchronized with the N magnetic pulses in time. The number of the N magnetic pulses synchronized with the at least one electronic pulse in time is adjustable, and N is greater than or equal to 2.

2. The radiation generator according to claim 1, characterized in that, A single electronic pulse in the electronic pulse sequence covers the N magnetic pulses in time.

3. The radiation generator according to claim 2, characterized in that, The determination of the electronic pulse sequence and magnetic pulse sequence based on the target cumulative dose data includes: Based on the target cumulative dose data, a first parameter of the magnetic pulse sequence within the target time period is determined, wherein the first parameter includes the number and width of the magnetic pulses included in the magnetic pulse sequence; Based on the first parameter, a second parameter of the electron pulse sequence within the target time period is determined, wherein the second parameter includes the width of the electron pulses included in the electron pulse sequence; and The electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence are determined based on the first parameter, the second parameter, and the timing synchronization relationship between the first parameter and the second parameter.

4. The radiation generator according to claim 3, characterized in that, The controller is also used for: Acquire real-time cumulative dose data within the target time period; and In response to a dose deviation between the actual cumulative dose data and the target cumulative dose data exceeding a preset threshold, at least one of the following parameters of the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence is adjusted: The number of magnetic pulses in the first parameter; The width of the magnetic pulse in the first parameter; and The width of the electronic pulse in the second parameter.

5. The radiation generator according to claim 4, characterized in that, The adjustment of at least one of the following parameters of the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence includes: In response to the dose deviation exceeding a first threshold but not exceeding a second threshold, the width of the magnetic pulse in the first parameter is adjusted; and In response to the dose deviation exceeding a second threshold, at least one of the number of magnetic pulses in the first parameter and the width of electronic pulses in the second parameter is adjusted.

6. The radiation generator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The magnetic pulse sequence further includes: The timing interval between any two adjacent magnetic pulses in the N magnetic pulses, wherein the width of the timing interval and the width of the electronic pulse satisfy a preset proportional relationship.

7. The radiation generator according to claim 6, characterized in that, The maximum width of a single magnetic pulse does not exceed a first proportion of the width of a single electronic pulse that is synchronized with it in time, and the minimum width of a single magnetic pulse is not less than a second proportion of the width of a single electronic pulse that is synchronized with it in time.

8. A method for generating rays, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain the target cumulative dose data within the target time period; Based on the target cumulative dose data, an electronic pulse sequence and a magnetic pulse sequence are determined, wherein the magnetic pulse sequence includes N magnetic pulses, which are arranged at temporal intervals; at least one electronic pulse in the electronic pulse sequence is temporally synchronized with the N magnetic pulses, and the number of the N magnetic pulses that are temporally synchronized with the at least one electronic pulse is adjustable, where N is greater than or equal to 2; An electron beam is generated based on the electron pulse sequence; Microwave energy is generated according to the magnetic pulse sequence; The electron beam is accelerated according to the microwave energy; and The accelerated electron beam is controlled to strike the target material to generate radiation.

9. The method for generating rays according to claim 8, characterized in that, A single electronic pulse in the electronic pulse sequence covers the N magnetic pulses in time.

10. The method for generating rays according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The determination of the electronic pulse sequence and magnetic pulse sequence based on the target cumulative dose data includes: Based on the target cumulative dose data, a first parameter of the magnetic pulse sequence within the target time period is determined, wherein the first parameter includes the number and width of the magnetic pulses included in the magnetic pulse sequence; Based on the first parameter, a second parameter of the electron pulse sequence within the target time period is determined, wherein the second parameter includes the width of the electron pulses included in the electron pulse sequence; and The electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence are determined based on the first parameter, the second parameter, and the timing synchronization relationship between the first parameter and the second parameter.

11. The method for generating rays according to claim 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Acquire real-time cumulative dose data within the target time period; and In response to a dose deviation between the actual cumulative dose data and the target cumulative dose data exceeding a preset threshold, at least one of the following parameters of the electronic pulse sequence and the magnetic pulse sequence is adjusted: The number of magnetic pulses in the first parameter; The width of the magnetic pulse in the first parameter; and The width of the electronic pulse in the second parameter.

12. A radiation device, characterized in that, Includes the radiation generator as described in any one of claims 1-7.

Images