Fault monitoring system
By collecting and analyzing the electrical and microwave signals of the linear accelerator in real time through a fault monitoring system, the problem of operational instability caused by device aging was solved, achieving stable operation of the linear accelerator and early fault warning, thus improving the treatment effect.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- OUR UNITED CORP
- Filing Date
- 2025-03-28
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-01
AI Technical Summary
Linear accelerators experience decreased operational stability due to component aging during long-term use, and existing monitoring methods cannot accurately reflect their health status, leading to unstable treatment outcomes.
A fault monitoring system is adopted, which collects electrical and microwave signals from the modulator and four-terminal circulator in real time through a waveform acquisition device, generates data files and transmits them to the server for analysis, provides health status information of the linear accelerator, and realizes unattended real-time monitoring and fault early warning.
Stable and reliable operation of the linear accelerator has been achieved. Through early fault warning and maintenance, the operational stability of the equipment and the therapeutic effect have been improved.
Smart Images
Figure CN224190136U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of medical equipment fault monitoring technology, and in particular to a fault monitoring system. Background Technology
[0002] Linear accelerators are core equipment in the field of radiotherapy, primarily used to accelerate and guide charged particles to the lesion area, achieving high-precision destruction of tumors. During long-term use, linear accelerators gradually age, causing a decrease in operational stability and consequently a decline in treatment effectiveness.
[0003] Currently, to ensure the stable and reliable operation of linear accelerators and thus guarantee their therapeutic effects, their output dose is typically monitored. However, the final output dose of a linear accelerator is the result of the combined action of its various components; a normal output dose does not necessarily indicate that the linear accelerator is in good condition. This results in the relatively poor operational stability of linear accelerators. Utility Model Content
[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a fault monitoring system that monitors the stability of linear accelerator operation.
[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:
[0006] This application provides a fault monitoring system for monitoring faults in a linear accelerator of a radiotherapy system. The linear accelerator includes a modulator and a four-terminal circulator. The fault monitoring system includes a waveform acquisition unit, a server, and a switch component. The switch component is used to connect the waveform acquisition unit and the server respectively. The waveform acquisition unit is used to acquire the electrical signals of the modulator and / or the microwave signals of the four-terminal circulator, and convert them into corresponding data files for transmission. The server receives and stores the data files transmitted by the waveform acquisition unit through the switch component, and generates corresponding status information, which reflects the health status of the linear accelerator.
[0007] The fault monitoring system in this application can acquire electrical signals from the modulator and / or microwave signals from the four-terminal circulator in the linear accelerator of the radiotherapy system in real time via a waveform acquisition device, and convert them into corresponding data files which are then transmitted to the server. The server can receive and store the data files transmitted from the waveform acquisition device in real time, and process and analyze them to obtain status information reflecting the health status of the linear accelerator, thereby achieving the purpose of monitoring the operating status of the linear accelerator. Based on this, users can also access the server through a client and obtain the aforementioned status information from the server, thus understanding the health status of the linear accelerator. Furthermore, it enables unattended real-time monitoring of the linear accelerator to ensure its stable and reliable operation.
[0008] In addition, users can use the fault monitoring system to ascertain the health status of the linear accelerator before obvious aging or abnormalities occur, enabling early warning of potential accelerator failures. This allows for maintenance and upkeep of the equipment before malfunctions occur, thereby improving the operational stability of the linear accelerator.
[0009] In some embodiments, the microwave signal of the four-terminal circulator includes the incident wave input to the four-terminal circulator and the reflected wave output from the four-terminal circulator.
[0010] In some embodiments, the electrical signals of the modulator include the pulse current and pulse voltage output by the modulator.
[0011] In some embodiments, the waveform acquisition device has at least four independent acquisition channels, two of which are connected to a four-terminal circulator and the other two are connected to a modulator. The two acquisition channels connected to the four-terminal circulator are used to acquire the incident wave input to the four-terminal circulator and the reflected wave output from the four-terminal circulator, respectively, and the two acquisition channels connected to the modulator are used to acquire the pulse current and pulse voltage output from the modulator, respectively.
[0012] In some embodiments, the waveform acquisition device is an oscilloscope.
[0013] In some embodiments, the fault monitoring system further includes: a PoE splitter, through which the waveform acquisition unit is connected to the switch component; wherein the PoE splitter has a power supply terminal and a data terminal; the power supply terminal is connected to the power interface of the waveform acquisition unit for powering the waveform acquisition unit; and the data terminal is connected to the data interface of the waveform acquisition unit for transmitting data.
[0014] In some embodiments, the switch assembly includes an on-rack switch and an off-rack switch; the waveform acquisition unit is connected to the on-rack switch via a PoE splitter, and the on-rack switch is connected to the off-rack switch via a bridge.
[0015] In some embodiments, the rack-mount switch is connected to the server via Ethernet cable and / or wirelessly.
[0016] In some embodiments, the radiotherapy system further includes a host computer and a host computer-side switch. The host computer is connected to the host computer-side switch via a network cable and / or wirelessly, and the host computer-side switch is connected to a rack-mounted switch via a network cable and / or wirelessly to achieve data transmission. The host computer and / or the host computer-side switch are connected to a server via a local area network to transmit data stored in the host computer to the server.
[0017] In some embodiments, the fault monitoring system also includes a client that can access the server to obtain data transmitted from the host computer to the server. Attached Figure Description
[0018] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a linear accelerator provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0020] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a linear accelerator and fault monitoring system provided in this application embodiment;
[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a POE separator provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a fault monitoring system provided in an embodiment of this application.
[0023] Figure label:
[0024] 100 - Linear accelerator; 10 - Electron gun; 20 - Accelerator tube; 30 - Modulator; 40 - Magnetron; 50 - Four-terminal circulator; 60 - Waveguide;
[0025] 200-Fault monitoring system; 1-Waveform acquisition unit; 2-Server; 3-Switch assembly; 31-Rack-mounted switch; 32-Under-rack switch; 4-POE splitter; 41-Power supply terminal; 42-Data terminal;
[0026] 300 - Host computer; 400 - Host computer-side switch. Detailed Implementation
[0027] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.
[0028] It should be noted that in practical applications, due to limitations in equipment precision or installation errors, achieving absolute parallelism or perpendicularity is difficult. The descriptions of "perpendicular," "parallel," or "in the same direction" in this application are not absolute limitations, but rather indicate that a vertical or parallel structural arrangement can be achieved within a preset error range, achieving the corresponding preset effect. This maximizes the technical effect of the defined features and makes the corresponding technical solution easy to implement, possessing high feasibility. For example, "perpendicular" includes absolute perpendicularity and near-perpendicularity, where the acceptable deviation range for near-perpendicularity can be, for example, within 5°. "Parallel" includes absolute parallelism and near-parallelism, where the acceptable deviation range for near-parallelism can also be, for example, within 5°. "In the same direction" includes absolute same direction and near-same direction, where the acceptable deviation range for near-same direction can also be, for example, within 5°.
[0029] In the description of the embodiments of this application, "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this utility model, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more.
[0030] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "communication" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection. They can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or a communication between the internal components of two elements. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.
[0031] In the description of embodiments of this application, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, article, or apparatus that includes that element.
[0032] In the description of the embodiments of this application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this utility model should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design options. Specifically, the use of the words "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.
[0033] Linear accelerators are core equipment in the field of radiotherapy. They mainly accelerate and guide charged particles to the lesion area to achieve high-precision killing of tumors.
[0034] For example, such as Figure 1 As shown, the linear accelerator 100 includes an electron gun 10, an accelerating tube 20, a modulator 30, a magnetron 40, and a four-terminal circulator 50 (also called a four-terminal circulator coupler). The electron gun 10 is connected to the accelerating tube 20 and is used to inject an electron beam into the accelerating tube 20. The modulator 30 is connected to the magnetron 40 and is used to provide a high-voltage pulse to the magnetron 40, causing the magnetron 40 to generate microwaves. The four-terminal circulator 50 is connected between the magnetron 40 and the accelerating tube 20 of the linear accelerator 100 via a waveguide 60, and is used to transmit the microwaves generated by the magnetron 40 to the accelerating tube 20 to accelerate the electron beam within the accelerating tube 20, thereby generating a high-energy radiation beam for radiotherapy of tumors.
[0035] During long-term use, components such as the accelerating tube 20 and magnetron 40 of the linear accelerator 100 gradually age, leading to decreased operational stability and consequently, poorer treatment outcomes. Currently, to ensure the stable and reliable operation of the linear accelerator 100 and thus guarantee its therapeutic effect, its output dose is typically monitored. However, the final output dose of the linear accelerator 100 is the result of the combined action of its various components; a normal output dose does not necessarily indicate that the linear accelerator 100 is in good condition. Consequently, the operational stability of the linear accelerator 100 remains relatively poor.
[0036] Based on this, this application provides a fault monitoring system 200 for monitoring faults in the linear accelerator 100 of a radiotherapy system to ensure that the linear accelerator 100 can operate stably and reliably.
[0037] like Figure 2 As shown, the fault monitoring system 200 in this embodiment includes a waveform acquisition device 1, a server 2, and a switch component 3. The switch component 3 is connected to the waveform acquisition device 1 and the server 2 respectively. That is, the waveform acquisition device 1 is connected to the server 2 through the switch component 3.
[0038] The waveform acquisition device 1 is used to acquire the electrical signal of the modulator 30 and / or the microwave signal of the four-terminal circulator 50 (i.e., the waveform acquisition device 1 is used to acquire at least one of the electrical signal of the modulator 30 and the microwave signal of the four-terminal circulator 50), and convert it into a corresponding data file for transmission; the server 2 receives and stores the data file transmitted by the waveform acquisition device 1 through the switch component 3, and generates corresponding status information, which is used to reflect the health status of the linear accelerator 100.
[0039] The fault monitoring system 200 in this application can acquire the electrical signals of the modulator 30 and / or the microwave signals of the four-terminal circulator 50 in the linear accelerator 100 of the radiotherapy system in real time through the waveform acquisition device 1, and convert them into corresponding data files and transmit them to the server 2. The server 2 can receive and store the data files transmitted by the waveform acquisition device 1 in real time, and process and analyze them to obtain status information reflecting the health status of the linear accelerator 100, thereby achieving the purpose of monitoring the operating status of the linear accelerator 100. Based on this, users can also access the server 2 through a client and obtain the above status information from the server 2, thereby knowing the health status of the linear accelerator 100. Furthermore, it can realize unattended real-time monitoring of the linear accelerator 100 to ensure that the linear accelerator 100 can operate stably and reliably.
[0040] In addition, users can also use the fault monitoring system 200 to know the health status of the linear accelerator 100 before it shows obvious signs of aging or abnormality, thus enabling early warning of faults in the linear accelerator 100. This allows for maintenance and upkeep of the equipment before a failure occurs, thereby improving the operational stability of the linear accelerator 100.
[0041] In some embodiments, the electrical signal of the modulator 30 includes at least one of the pulse current and pulse voltage output by the modulator 30, and the microwave signal of the four-terminal circulator 50 includes at least one of the incident wave input to the four-terminal circulator 50 and the reflected wave output by the four-terminal circulator 50.
[0042] The incident wave input to the four-terminal circulator 50 refers to the microwave transmitted from the magnetron 40 to the four-terminal circulator 50, and the reflected wave output from the four-terminal circulator 50 refers to the microwave reflected from the accelerating tube 20 to the four-terminal circulator 50 and output through the four-terminal circulator 50.
[0043] For example, the electrical signal of modulator 30 includes the pulse current and pulse voltage output by modulator 30, and the microwave signal of four-terminal circulator 50 includes the incident wave input to four-terminal circulator 50 and the reflected wave output by four-terminal circulator 50.
[0044] In order to facilitate the acquisition of four signals—the pulse current output by the modulator 30, the pulse voltage output by the modulator 30, the incident wave of the four-terminal circulator 50, and the reflected wave output by the four-terminal circulator 50—the waveform acquisition device 1 in this embodiment may have at least four independent acquisition channels, two of which are connected to the four-terminal circulator 50 and the other two are connected to the modulator 30.
[0045] It should be noted that the two acquisition channels connected to the four-terminal circulator 50 are used to acquire the incident wave input to the four-terminal circulator 50 and the reflected wave output by the four-terminal circulator 50, respectively. The two acquisition channels connected to the modulator 30 are used to acquire the pulse current and pulse voltage output by the modulator 30, respectively.
[0046] It is understandable that the above four acquisition channels can simultaneously acquire four signals: the incident wave from the four-terminal circulator 50, the reflected wave from the four-terminal circulator 50, the pulse current from the modulator 30, and the pulse voltage from the modulator 30. This not only improves the efficiency of signal acquisition but also facilitates the comparison and analysis of the above four signals, thereby enabling faster and more accurate assessment of the health status of the linear accelerator 100. Consequently, maintenance and upkeep of the equipment can be performed before the linear accelerator 100 malfunctions, thereby improving the operational stability of the linear accelerator 100.
[0047] To acquire the electrical signals from the modulator 30 and the microwave signals from the four-terminal circulator 50, the waveform acquisition device 1 in this embodiment can be an oscilloscope. Of course, the waveform acquisition device 1 can also be a logic analyzer, data logger, or other device with signal acquisition capabilities; the specific choice depends on the actual situation, and this application does not impose any limitations on this.
[0048] In some embodiments, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 The fault monitoring system 200 also includes a POE splitter 4, and the waveform acquisition unit 1 is connected to the switch component 3 through the POE splitter 4.
[0049] Understandably, the PoE splitter 4 can be connected to the switch assembly 3 via an Ethernet cable to separate the power and data signals transmitted over the Ethernet cable, thereby powering the waveform acquisition unit 1 while transmitting data. This eliminates the need for a separate power cable for the waveform acquisition unit 1, reducing wiring hassles.
[0050] For example, the POE splitter 4 has a power supply terminal 41 and a data terminal 42; the power supply terminal 41 is connected to the power interface of the waveform acquisition unit 1 and is used to power the waveform acquisition unit 1; the data terminal 42 is connected to the data interface of the waveform acquisition unit 1 and is used to transmit data.
[0051] In some embodiments, see Figure 3 and Figure 4 The switch component 3 includes a rack-mounted switch 31 and a rack-side switch 32. The waveform acquisition unit 1 is connected to the rack-mounted switch 31 through a PoE splitter 4, and the rack-mounted switch 31 is connected to the rack-side switch 32 through a bridge.
[0052] In this configuration, the rack-mounted switch 31 can power the waveform acquisition unit 1 via the PoE splitter 4 while simultaneously transmitting data; the rack-mounted switch 31 and the off-rack switch 32 can transmit data via a bridge.
[0053] It should be noted that the rack-mounted switch 31 can also be connected to the rack-side switch 32 via a network cable, and this application does not limit this connection.
[0054] In addition, the rack switch 32 can be connected to the server 2 via network cable and / or wireless. That is to say, the rack switch 32 can be connected to the server 2 via either network cable or wireless, or it can be connected to the server 2 via both network cable and wireless at the same time.
[0055] Based on this, the data collected by waveform acquisition device 1 can be transmitted to rack switch 31 via PoE splitter 4, and then transmitted to rack switch 32 via bridge. Furthermore, rack switch 32 can transmit the data to server 2 via network cable or wireless for data storage and analysis.
[0056] In some embodiments, the radiotherapy system further includes a host computer 300 and a host computer-side switch 400, wherein the host computer 300 is connected to the rack-side switch 32 via the host computer-side switch 400.
[0057] For example, the host computer 300 can not only control the linear accelerator 100 to perform radiotherapy, but also acquire the status parameters of the linear accelerator 100 (e.g., logs and operating parameters) to monitor the operating status of the linear accelerator 100.
[0058] In this configuration, the host computer 300 is connected to the host computer-adjacent switch 400 via a network cable and / or wirelessly. The host computer-adjacent switch 400 is connected to the rack-mounted switch 32 via a network cable and / or wirelessly to achieve data transmission. In other words, the host computer 300 can be connected to the host computer-adjacent switch 400 either via a network cable or wirelessly, or both simultaneously. Similarly, the host computer-adjacent switch 400 can be connected to the rack-mounted switch 32 either via a network cable or wirelessly, or both simultaneously.
[0059] Based on this, the host computer 300 and / or the host computer-side switch 400 are connected to the server 2 via a local area network (LAN) to transfer data stored in the host computer 300 to the server 2. In other words, at least one of the host computer 300 and the host computer-side switch 400 is connected to the server 2 via a LAN.
[0060] When the host computer 300 is connected to the server 2 via a local area network, the logs and operating parameters of the linear accelerator 100 obtained by the host computer 300 can be directly transmitted to the server 2 via the local area network for data storage and analysis.
[0061] When the host computer-side switch 400 is connected to the server 2 via a local area network, the status parameters and other data of the linear accelerator 100 obtained by the host computer 300 can be transmitted to the host computer-side switch 400. Then, the host computer-side switch 400 transmits the data to the server 2 via the local area network for data storage and analysis.
[0062] In some embodiments, see Figure 4 The fault monitoring system 200 also includes a client, which can access the server 2 to obtain data transmitted from the host computer 300 to the server 2.
[0063] In this scenario, the host computer 300 can acquire data such as logs and operating parameters of the linear accelerator 100 and transmit the data to the server 2. Users can obtain the data through the client and thus learn about the operating status of the linear accelerator 100, thereby enabling monitoring of the operating status of the linear accelerator 100.
[0064] For example, the client can also provide visual query functionality to help users obtain and understand data more intuitively and efficiently.
[0065] It is understood that the client can be either a web client or an application client, and the choice can be made based on the actual situation; this application does not impose any restrictions on this. It should be noted that web clients access server 2 through a browser, while application clients access server 2 through applications such as mobile apps or PC software.
[0066] In some embodiments, see Figure 4 By accessing server 2 through the client, status information reflecting the health status of linear accelerator 100 can be obtained and displayed visually. This allows users to obtain the health status of linear accelerator 100 more intuitively and efficiently, which is beneficial for detecting abnormalities before linear accelerator 100 fails, so as to maintain and repair the equipment and improve the stability of linear accelerator 100 operation.
[0067] In some embodiments, see Figure 4 The radiotherapy system has a rotating gantry, and the waveform acquisition unit 1 and the gantry-mounted switch 31 can be installed on the rotating gantry.
[0068] In some embodiments, see Figure 4 The linear accelerator 100, waveform acquisition device 1, rack-mounted switch 31 and rack-mounted switch 32 are located in the equipment room, while the server 2, host computer 300 and host computer side switch 400 are located in the control room.
[0069] In the description of this specification, specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.
[0070] The above are merely specific embodiments of this utility model, but the protection scope of this utility model is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this utility model should be included within the protection scope of this utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of this utility model should be determined by the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. A fault monitoring system for monitoring faults in a linear accelerator of a radiotherapy system, the linear accelerator comprising a modulator and a four-terminal circulator, characterized in that, The fault monitoring system includes: a waveform acquisition unit, a server, and a switch component; The switch component is used to connect the waveform acquisition device and the server respectively; The waveform acquisition device is used to acquire the electrical signal of the modulator and / or the microwave signal of the four-terminal circulator, and convert them into corresponding data files for transmission. The server receives and stores the data file transmitted by the waveform acquisition device through the switch component, and generates corresponding status information, which is used to reflect the health status of the linear accelerator.
2. The fault monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The microwave signal of the four-terminal circulator includes the incident wave input to the four-terminal circulator and the reflected wave output by the four-terminal circulator.
3. The fault monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The electrical signals of the modulator include the pulse current and pulse voltage output by the modulator.
4. The fault monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The waveform acquisition device has at least four independent acquisition channels, two of which are connected to the four-terminal circulator, and the other two are connected to the modulator. The two acquisition channels connected to the four-terminal circulator are used to acquire the incident wave input to the four-terminal circulator and the reflected wave output by the four-terminal circulator, respectively. The two acquisition channels connected to the modulator are used to acquire the pulse current and pulse voltage output by the modulator, respectively.
5. The fault monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The waveform acquisition device is an oscilloscope.
6. The fault monitoring system according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The fault monitoring system also includes: A PoE splitter, wherein the waveform acquisition device is connected to the switch assembly via the PoE splitter; The POE splitter has a power supply terminal and a data terminal; the power supply terminal is connected to the power interface of the waveform acquisition unit to supply power to the waveform acquisition unit; the data terminal is connected to the data interface of the waveform acquisition unit to transmit data.
7. The fault monitoring system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The switch assembly includes on-rack switches and off-rack switches; The waveform acquisition device is connected to the rack-mounted switch via the PoE splitter, and the rack-mounted switch is connected to the under-rack switch via a bridge.
8. The fault monitoring system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The rack-mount switch is connected to the server via Ethernet cable and / or wirelessly.
9. The fault monitoring system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The radiotherapy system also includes a host computer and a host computer-side switch. The host computer is connected to the host computer-side switch via a network cable and / or wirelessly. The host computer-side switch is connected to the rack-mounted switch via a network cable and / or wirelessly to achieve data transmission. The host computer and / or the host computer-side switch are connected to the server via a local area network, and are used to transmit the data stored in the host computer to the server.
10. The fault monitoring system according to claim 9, characterized in that, The fault monitoring system also includes a client, through which the client can access the server to obtain data transmitted from the host computer to the server.