Boron neutron capture therapy system and method of operation

Abstract

The present application relates to a boron neutron capture therapy system and an operating method thereof, the boron neutron capture therapy system including an image acquisition module, a detection module, a treatment planning module, a processing module, and a correction module, the image acquisition module acquires medical images of an irradiated object, the detection module detects an actual blood boron concentration of the irradiated object, the treatment planning module generates a predetermined treatment plan based on the medical image data, the processing module obtains a functional relationship between the blood boron concentration and a dose rate based on the predetermined treatment plan and a plurality of sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations, the correction module obtains a corrected irradiation time based on the functional relationship and the actual blood boron concentration, and can avoid injecting a boron-containing drug into a patient before treatment, reduce treatment costs, and simplify the treatment process.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application relates to the fields of radiation therapy and computers, and more particularly to boron neutron capture therapy systems and methods of operation thereof. [Background technology]

[0002] With the development of atomic science, radiation therapy using cobalt-60, linear accelerators, electron beams, etc. has become one of the main means of cancer treatment. However, conventional photon or electron therapy kills tumor cells due to the limitations of the physical conditions of the radiation itself, while damaging many normal tissues along the beam path. In addition, tumor cells have different degrees of sensitivity to radiation, so conventional radiation therapy is not very effective in treating malignant tumors with high radiation resistance (e.g., glioblastoma multiforme, melanoma).

[0003] To reduce radiation damage to normal tissues surrounding tumors, the concept of targeted therapy in chemotherapy has been applied to radiotherapy, and for tumor cells with high radiation resistance, radiotherapy with high relative biological effectiveness (RBE), such as proton therapy, heavy ion therapy, and neutron capture therapy, is currently being actively developed. Among these, boron neutron capture therapy, a type of neutron capture therapy, provides a better cancer treatment option than conventional radiotherapy by specifically collecting boron-containing drugs in tumor cells, which, combined with highly precise neutron beam control, provides a better cancer treatment option than conventional radiotherapy.

[0004] Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a treatment that uses boron ( 10 B) Utilizing the property that the contained drug has a high capture cross section for thermal neutrons, 10 B(n,α) 7 Li neutron capture and fission reactions 4 He and 7Two types of heavy charged particles of Li are generated. The two types of heavy charged particles have an average energy of approximately 2.33 MeV, a high linear energy transfer (LET), and a short range. The linear energy transfer and range of the alpha particles are 150 keV / μm and 8 μm, respectively. 7 In the case of Li heavy charged particles, the energy is 175 keV / μm and 5 μm, and the total range of the two types of particles is equivalent to the size of one cell, so that radiation damage to the living body is limited to the cellular level, and boron-containing drugs selectively accumulate in tumor cells. When combined with an appropriate neutron source, the goal of killing tumor cells locally can be achieved without causing significant damage to normal tissues.

[0005] During boron neutron capture therapy, the neutron beam used to irradiate the patient is intense. Therefore, precise control of the radiation dose is essential to achieve a high therapeutic effect while minimizing radiation damage to the patient. Therefore, the accuracy of treatment planning is crucial. Currently, boron-containing drugs, such as BPA, used in boron neutron capture therapy are generally expensive. To reduce treatment costs and simplify the treatment process, treatment planning involves simulating the duration of treatment to achieve the prescribed dose using a hypothetical blood boron concentration. During the actual treatment process, the patient is continuously injected with the boron-containing drug. Before the patient enters the irradiation chamber for treatment, blood samples are collected to measure the patient's actual blood boron concentration. During irradiation, the boron-containing drug is continuously injected to maintain the blood boron concentration.

[0006] Since the metabolic status of different irradiated subjects is different and there is a difference between the virtual blood boron concentration and the actual blood boron concentration of the irradiated subjects, there will be errors in the treatment plan previously formulated based on the virtual blood boron concentration during the actual irradiation process. In this case, the process of performing simulation calculations again based on the actual blood boron concentration of the irradiated subjects to obtain a new treatment plan is time-consuming, which increases the total treatment time for each irradiated subject, reduces the utilization rate of the therapy system, and increases the cost expenditure for the irradiated subjects due to the repeated simulation calculations. In order to improve the utilization rate of the therapy system and reduce the treatment time and treatment costs of the irradiated subjects, the present invention provides a neutron capture therapy system and an operating method of its treatment planning module. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Therefore, in order to address the above technical issues, it is necessary to provide a boron neutron capture therapy system and an operating method thereof that can reduce treatment costs, improve treatment efficiency, and guarantee treatment effects. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A boron neutron capture therapy system according to one aspect of the present invention includes an image acquisition module, a detection module, a treatment planning module, a processing module, and a correction module, wherein the image acquisition module acquires medical images of an irradiated body, the detection module detects the actual blood boron concentration of the irradiated body, the treatment planning module generates a predetermined treatment plan based on the medical image data, the processing module acquires a functional relationship between blood boron concentration and dose rate based on the predetermined treatment plan and multiple sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations, and the correction module acquires a corrected irradiation time based on the functional relationship and the actual blood boron concentration.

[0009] Furthermore, the processing module includes a simulation unit and a fitting unit, wherein the simulation unit performs a simulation based on the specified treatment plan and the specified blood boron concentration to obtain a dose rate corresponding to the specified blood boron concentration, and the fitting unit performs fitting based on the specified blood boron concentration and its corresponding dose rate to obtain a functional relationship between the two.

[0010] Furthermore, the predetermined blood boron concentrations are 20 ppm, 25 ppm, 30 ppm, and 35 ppm, respectively.

[0011] Furthermore, the dose rate is a total dose rate.

[0012] Furthermore, the dose rate is the sum of the boron dose rate and the background dose rate.

[0013] Furthermore, the dose rate is the sum of the boron dose rate, the neutron dose rate, and the photon dose rate.

[0014] Furthermore, the dose rate is the sum of the boron dose rate, the fast neutron dose rate, the epithermal neutron dose rate, the thermal neutron dose rate, and the photon dose rate.

[0015] The system further includes a control module and a neutron beam irradiation module, wherein the control module controls the neutron beam irradiation module to perform irradiation treatment based on the predetermined treatment plan and the corrected irradiation time.

[0016] The apparatus further includes a placement module on which an object to be irradiated is placed.

[0017] A method of operating a boron neutron capture therapy system according to another aspect of the present invention includes the steps of generating a predetermined treatment plan based on medical image data, obtaining a functional relationship between blood boron concentration and dose rate based on the predetermined treatment plan and a plurality of sets of different predetermined blood boron concentrations, and obtaining a corrected irradiation time based on the actual blood boron concentration and the functional relationship.

[0018] Furthermore, the step of acquiring the functional relationship specifically involves performing a simulation based on multiple sets of different predetermined blood boron concentrations and predetermined treatment plans to acquire dose rates corresponding to each set of the predetermined blood boron concentrations, and fitting a function based on the multiple sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations and the corresponding dose rates to acquire the functional relationship.

[0019] Furthermore, the step of obtaining a corrected irradiation time specifically involves obtaining a predicted dose rate corresponding to the actual blood boron concentration based on the actual blood boron concentration and the functional relationship, and correcting a predetermined irradiation time based on the predicted dose rate to obtain a corrected irradiation time. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] In the boron neutron capture therapy system of the present invention, the treatment planning module obtains a predetermined treatment plan based on a simulation of a predetermined blood boron concentration, the processing module performs fitting based on the predetermined treatment plan, multiple sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations and their corresponding dose rates to obtain a functional relationship between the blood boron concentration and the dose rate, and the correction module performs calculation based on the functional relationship and the actual blood boron concentration to obtain a dose rate corresponding to the actual blood boron concentration, thereby correcting the predetermined irradiation time to obtain a corrected irradiation time, thereby avoiding the need to inject boron-containing drugs into the patient before treatment, reducing treatment costs, and simplifying the treatment process. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic layout diagram of a boron neutron capture therapy system of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a beam shaper of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart of the operation of the boron neutron capture therapy system of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] In order to clarify the purpose, technical means and advantages of the present application, the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and examples. Note that the specific examples described in this specification are only for the purpose of interpreting the present application and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0023] 1 and 2, the boron neutron capture therapy system in this embodiment includes a neutron beam irradiation module 1, an image acquisition module, a detection module, a treatment planning module, a processing module, a correction module, a control module, and a mounting module 3. Specifically, the image acquisition module acquires medical image data of the irradiated subject S, the neutron beam irradiation module 1 includes a neutron generator 11, a beam shaper 12, and a collimator 13, the neutron generator 11 generates a neutron beam, the beam shaper 12 adjusts the beam quality of the neutron beam generated by the neutron generator 11 to reduce unnecessary dose deposition, the collimator 13 collects the neutron beam so that the neutron beam has high targetability during treatment, the detection module detects the actual blood boron concentration of the irradiated subject S, and the treatment planning module calculates the boron concentration of the irradiated subject S. A predetermined treatment plan is generated based on medical image data of the body S and a predetermined blood boron concentration, a processing module obtains a functional relationship between the blood boron concentration and the dose rate based on the predetermined treatment plan and multiple sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations, a correction module obtains a corrected irradiation time based on the predetermined treatment plan, the actual blood boron concentration detected by the detection module and the functional relationship, a control module controls the neutron beam irradiation module 1 to perform irradiation treatment based on the predetermined treatment plan and the corrected irradiation time, and a placement module 3 places the irradiated body S.

[0024] The main principle of boron neutron capture therapy is as follows: the irradiated body S is doped with boron ( B- 10) After administration or injection of the boron-containing drug, the boron-containing drug selectively accumulates in tumor cells, and then the boron ( B- 10) Utilizing the property that the contained drug has a high capture cross section for thermal neutrons,10 B(n,α) 7 Li neutron capture and fission reactions 4 He and 7 Two types of heavy charged particles of Li are generated, with an average energy of approximately 2.33 MeV, a high linear energy transfer (LET), and a short range. The total range of the two particles is equivalent to the size of a single cell, so the radiation damage to the living body is limited to the cellular level, and the goal of locally killing tumor cells can be achieved without causing significant damage to normal tissue.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present application, the neutron generator 11 includes a charged particle beam generator 111 and a target 112. The charged particle beam generator 111 accelerates charged particles (e.g., protons, deuterons, etc.) to generate a charged particle beam such as a proton beam, and the charged particle beam is irradiated onto the target 112 and interacts with the target 112 to generate a neutron beam (neutron beam). The target 112 is preferably a metal target 112. An appropriate nuclear reaction is selected based on the required neutron yield and energy, the energy and current magnitude of the accelerated charged particles that can be provided, the physical and chemical properties of the metal target 112, etc., and well-studied nuclear reactions include: 7 Li(p,n) 7 Be and 9 Be(p,n) 9 B, and both of these reactions are endothermic. In an embodiment of the present invention, a target 112 made of lithium metal is used. However, as is well known to those skilled in the art, the target 112 may be made of a metal material other than lithium or beryllium, such as tantalum (Ta) or tungsten (W). The target 112 may be disk-shaped, have another solid shape, or be in a liquid state (liquid metal). The charged particle beam generator may be a linear accelerator, a cyclotron, a synchrotron, or a synchrocyclotron. In another embodiment, the neutron generator may be a nuclear reactor without an accelerator or target.

[0026] Whether the neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy is a nuclear reactor or a nuclear reaction between accelerated charged particles and the target 112, the generated beam actually contains a mixed radiation field, i.e., neutrons and photons ranging from low to high energy. For boron neutron capture therapy of deep-seated tumors, the higher the content of other radiation, except for epithermal neutrons, the greater the proportion of non-selective dose deposition in normal tissues. Therefore, it is necessary to minimize the content of these radiations that cause unnecessary dose deposition. The beam shaper 12 adjusts the beam quality of the neutron beam generated by the neutron generator 11 to reduce unnecessary dose deposition, and the collimator 13 focuses the neutron beam, ensuring high targetability during treatment.

[0027] The beam shaper 12 includes a reflector 121, a moderator 122, a thermal neutron absorber 123, a radiation shield 124, and a beam outlet 125. The moderator 122 adjusts the energy of fast neutrons (>40 keV) emitted from the neutron generator 11 to the epithermal neutron energy range (0.5 eV to 40 keV) and can reduce the content of thermal neutrons (<0.5 eV) as much as possible. The moderator 122 is made of a material that has a large cross section of interaction with fast neutrons and a small cross section of interaction with epithermal neutrons. In a preferred embodiment, the moderator 122 is made of at least one of D2O, AlF3, Fluental (registered trademark), CaF2, Li2CO3, MgF2, and Al2O3. The reflector 121 surrounds the moderator 122. The reflector 121 is made of a material with high neutron reflectivity, and in a preferred embodiment, the reflector 121 is made of at least one of Pb and Ni. In the neutron beam transport path, a thermal neutron absorber 123 is installed at the rear of the moderator 122, and absorbs the thermal neutrons that have passed through the moderator 122 to reduce the content of thermal neutrons in the neutron beam. The thermal neutron absorber 123 is made of a material with a large cross section that interacts with thermal neutrons. In a preferred embodiment, the thermal neutron absorber 123 is made of Li. -6 In another embodiment, the material of the moderator 122 is Li.-6 Therefore, the thermal neutron absorber 123 does not have to be installed alone, and the moderator 122 may be the thermal neutron absorber 123, and the radiation shielding body 124 blocks neutrons and photons leaking from portions other than the beam exit 125, and the material of the radiation shielding body 124 includes at least one of a photon shielding material and a neutron shielding material, and in a preferred embodiment, the material of the radiation shielding body 124 includes lead (Pb) as a photon shielding material and polyethylene (PE) as a neutron shielding material.

[0028] A collimator 13 is installed behind the beam exit 125, and the epithermal neutron beam emitted from the collimator 13 is irradiated onto the subject S, passes through the superficial normal tissue of the subject S, and is then slowed down to thermal neutrons, reaching the tumor cells and achieving the therapeutic objective.

[0029] As can be understood, the beam shaper 12 may have other structures as long as it obtains an epithermal neutron beam required for treatment. In the present invention, the collimator 13 may not be provided, and the beam is directly irradiated onto the irradiated object S after exiting the beam exit 125 of the beam shaper 12. For ease of explanation, when the collimator 13 is installed, the exit of the collimator 13 may be interpreted as the beam exit 125.

[0030] The device for acquiring the three-dimensional medical image may be an imaging device such as CT, MRI, PET, or ultrasound, and in the present invention, preferably, a CT device image acquisition module is used to acquire medical image data of the irradiated body S using electronic computed tomography (CT). The medical image data of the irradiated body S includes a coordinate matrix in a medical image coordinate system of a medical image voxel model of the irradiation target site (lesion, i.e., tumor cells) and a CT value matrix.

[0031] The detection module detects the blood boron concentration of the irradiated subject S, and can be realized by inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy, high-resolution alpha autoradiography, charged ion spectroscopy, neutron capture camera, nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, prompt gamma spectrometry, etc., and the device related to the above detection method is called the detection module. B- 10) After the contained drug has been administered or injected for a certain period of time, the detection module detects the boron concentration in the blood of the irradiated subject S.

[0032] The mounting module 3 includes a mounting table that supports the irradiation target S, and a driving unit that drives the mounting table to move it to a predetermined position.

[0033] In boron neutron capture therapy, the main factor contributing to the dose has three parts:

[0034] 1) Boron Dose DB: The dose is the amount of boron-containing drugs in tissues and tumors reacting with neutrons. 10 B(n,α) 7 High linear energy transfer α produced by generating a Li neutron capture reaction, 7 It comes from Li particles.

[0035] 2) Neutron dose: Includes fast neutron dose Df, epithermal neutron dose Depi, and thermal neutron dose Dth. Fast neutron dose is the dose generated by the interaction of neutrons with an energy greater than 10 keV with elements in human tissue. Epithermal neutron dose is the dose generated by the interaction of neutrons with an energy of 0.5 eV to 10 keV with elements in human tissue. Thermal neutron dose is the dose generated by the interaction of neutrons with an energy less than 0.5 eV with elements in human tissue.

[0036] 3) Photon dose Dγ: Includes photons induced by neutrons interacting with the shielding structure and generating capture reactions with human tissues. The latter is mainly thermal neutrons. 1 H(n,γ) 2 It is a 2.22 MeV photon produced by the H reaction.

[0037] The dose received per unit time is the dose rate, which includes the boron dose rate, fast neutron dose rate, epithermal neutron dose rate, thermal neutron dose rate, and photon dose rate. The neutron dose rate and photon dose rate are collectively called the background dose rate, and the sum of the boron dose rate and the background dose rate is the total dose rate.

[0038] The processing module includes a simulation unit and a fitting unit, wherein the simulation unit performs simulation based on a predetermined treatment plan and multiple sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations to obtain dose rates corresponding to multiple sets of different predetermined blood boron concentrations, and the fitting unit performs fitting based on the multiple sets of blood boron concentrations and their corresponding dose rates in the simulation unit to obtain a functional relationship between the two.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3, specifically, the operation method of the boron neutron capture therapy system of the present invention includes the following steps.

[0040] Generate a predetermined treatment plan.

[0041] The treatment planning module performs a dose simulation calculation based on the three-dimensional medical image data of the irradiated body S and a predetermined blood boron concentration, and generates a predetermined treatment plan including information such as beam parameters, irradiation position, irradiation direction, prescribed dose, and predetermined irradiation time. Specifically, medical professionals set the prescribed dose based on the subject's physical characteristic parameters, medical image data of the subject, and their own experience. The prescribed dose is the target irradiation dose that the subject actually needs to receive. The treatment planning module uses a Monte Carlo simulation program to simulate the dose distribution when the subject S undergoes irradiation treatment based on the medical image data and a predetermined blood boron concentration, and generates a predetermined treatment plan.

[0042] A plurality of sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations and their corresponding functional relationships with dose rates are obtained.

[0043] The simulation unit of the processing module acquires multiple sets of different predetermined blood boron concentrations, and on the premise that the beam parameters, irradiation position, irradiation direction, and prescribed dose in the predetermined treatment plan remain unchanged, the simulation unit sequentially simulates each predetermined blood boron concentration to acquire dose rates corresponding to each of the multiple sets of different predetermined blood boron concentrations, and the fitting unit performs function fitting based on the multiple sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations and their corresponding dose rates, to generate a calculation formula representing the functional relationship between the blood boron concentration and the dose rate.

[0044] In another embodiment, on the premise that the beam parameters, irradiation position, irradiation direction and predetermined irradiation time in the predetermined treatment plan remain unchanged, the simulation unit sequentially simulates each predetermined blood boron concentration to obtain dose rates corresponding to multiple sets of different predetermined blood boron concentrations.

[0045] The predetermined blood boron concentration value is set based on clinical trial experience. Normally, when the injection amount of boron-containing drug is 400 mg / kg, the blood boron concentration range of the majority of irradiated subjects S is approximately 20 ppm to 35 ppm. The closer the predetermined blood boron concentration is to the actual blood boron concentration, the more accurate the formulated treatment plan will be. Therefore, the formulated treatment plan is relatively accurate when the predetermined blood boron concentration value is selected in the range of 20 ppm to 35 ppm. In the embodiments of the present invention, the predetermined blood boron concentrations are set to 20 ppm, 25 ppm, 30 ppm and 35 ppm, respectively.

[0046] In other embodiments, the number of sets and specific values ​​of the predetermined blood boron concentration may be adjusted based on the actual situation of the subject S.

[0047] Correct the predetermined irradiation time.

[0048] The correction module obtains a predicted dose rate corresponding to the actual blood boron concentration based on the actual blood boron concentration actually measured by the detection module and a calculation formula representing the functional relationship between the blood boron concentration and the dose rate, and corrects the specified irradiation time based on the predicted dose rate to obtain a corrected irradiation time.

[0049] The irradiation dose rate changes with changes in blood boron concentration. When the prescribed dose remains unchanged, if the blood boron concentration changes, the irradiation time must be adjusted to ensure that the irradiation dose actually received by the subject matches the prescribed dose and ensure the therapeutic effect.

[0050] Perform radiation treatment.

[0051] The control module retrieves a predetermined treatment plan corresponding to the current irradiated object S from the treatment planning module, controls the placement module 3 to move the irradiated object S to the irradiation position, and controls the neutron beam irradiation module 1 to generate a neutron beam and irradiate the irradiated object S based on the corrected irradiation time.

[0052] After the irradiation is completed, the actual blood boron concentration of the irradiated subject S is detected, the average blood boron concentration is calculated based on the actual blood boron concentrations before and after irradiation, and the irradiation dose actually received by the irradiated subject S is calculated based on the actual irradiation time, thereby evaluating the therapeutic effect.

[0053] Below, we verify the accuracy of the predicted dose rates obtained by the treatment planning module of the present invention by comparing the difference between the predicted dose rates calculated by the treatment planning module of the present invention and the actual dose rates obtained by Monte Carlo simulation calculations.

[0054] In the first embodiment of the present invention, the dose rate is the total dose rate, that is, the calculation formula represents the functional relationship between the blood boron concentration and the total dose rate. In the following, the difference between the predicted total dose rate calculated by the calculation formula obtained by the processing module of the present invention and the actual total dose rate obtained by the Monte Carlo simulation calculation is compared. In one embodiment, the predetermined blood boron concentrations are 20 ppm, 25 ppm, 30 ppm and 35 ppm, respectively. These predetermined blood boron concentrations and the corresponding predetermined blood boron concentrations of each group are The calculation formula is obtained by fitting based on the total dose rate, and the actual blood boron concentrations detected and obtained by the detection module are 17.5 ppm, 22.5 ppm, 27.5 ppm, 32.5 ppm, and 37.5 ppm, respectively. The actual blood boron concentrations are substituted into the calculation formula to calculate the predicted total dose rate, and a Monte Carlo simulation is performed based on the actual blood boron concentrations and medical image data to obtain the actual total dose rate. The specific calculation results are shown in Tables 1 to 4.

[0055] Table 1. Predicted total dose rate, actual total dose rate, and difference between them when the target tissue is the cerebrum [Table 1]

[0056] Table 2. Predicted total dose rate, actual total dose rate, and difference between them when the target tissue is mucosa [Table 2]

[0057] Table 3. Predicted total dose rate, actual total dose rate, and difference between them when the target tissue is tumor Dmax [Table 3]

[0058] Table 4 Target tissue is tumor D 95 Predicted total dose rate, actual total dose rate, and the difference between them [Table 4]

[0059] As can be intuitively seen from comparing the data in Tables 1 to 4, the difference between the predicted total dose rate calculated using the formula obtained by the processing module of the present invention and the actual total dose rate obtained by Monte Carlo simulation calculation is within 2%, with most of the differences being within 1%. During the radiation therapy process, as long as the error in the dose received by the irradiated subject S does not exceed 5%, the treatment requirements can be met. From the above, the accuracy of the predicted total dose rate calculated using the formula obtained by the processing module of the present invention is high, and all calculation results are within an acceptable error range.

[0060] In Example 2 of the present invention, the dose rate is the sum of the boron dose rate and the background dose rate, that is, the calculation formulas respectively represent the functional relationship between the blood boron concentration and the boron dose rate, and the functional relationship between the blood boron concentration and the background dose rate. Below, the difference between the predicted boron dose rate and the predicted background dose rate calculated by the calculation formula obtained by the processing module of the present invention and the actual boron dose rate and the actual background dose rate obtained by the Monte Carlo simulation calculation is compared. In this example, the predetermined blood boron concentrations are 20 ppm, 25 ppm, 30 ppm, and 35 ppm, respectively. A plurality of sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations and their corresponding boron dose rates and By fitting based on the background dose rate, Equation 1, which represents the functional relationship between a predetermined blood boron concentration and the boron dose rate, and Equation 2, which represents the functional relationship between a predetermined blood boron concentration and the background dose rate, are obtained. The actual blood boron concentrations are 17.5 ppm, 22.5 ppm, 27.5 ppm, 32.5 ppm, and 37.5 ppm, respectively. The specific calculation results are shown in Table 5. The actual total dose rate is the sum of the actual boron dose rate and the actual background dose rate obtained by Monte Carlo simulation calculation, and the predicted total dose rate is the sum of the predicted boron dose rate and the predicted background dose rate obtained by calculation using the equation obtained by the processing module of the present invention.

[0061] Table 5. Predicted total dose rate, actual total dose rate, and difference between them when the target tissue is the cerebrum [Table 5]

[0062] As can be intuitively seen from comparing the data in Table 5, the difference between the predicted total dose rate calculated using the formula obtained by the processing module of the present invention and the actual total dose rate obtained by Monte Carlo simulation calculation is within 2%, with most of the differences being within 1%. During the radiation therapy process, as long as the error in the dose received by the irradiated subject S does not exceed 5%, the treatment requirements can be met. Therefore, the accuracy of the predicted total dose rate calculated using the formula obtained by the processing module of the present invention is high, and all calculation results are within an acceptable error range.

[0063] In Tables 1 to 5, R 2 is the coefficient of determination of the functional relationship; the closer it is to 1, the better the match between the data and the functional relationship.

[0064] As can be seen from the above comparison, for different tissues, the differences between the predicted total dose rates obtained using the processing module of the present invention and the actual total dose rates obtained by Monte Carlo simulation calculation are within the allowable error range, which can ensure the accuracy of the treatment plan.

[0065] In the boron neutron capture therapy system of the present invention, the treatment planning module obtains a predetermined treatment plan based on a simulation of a predetermined blood boron concentration, the processing module performs fitting based on the predetermined treatment plan, multiple sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations, and their corresponding dose rates to obtain a functional relationship between the blood boron concentration and the dose rate, and the correction module performs calculations based on the functional relationship and the actual blood boron concentration to obtain a dose rate corresponding to the actual blood boron concentration, thereby correcting the predetermined irradiation time to obtain a corrected irradiation time, thereby avoiding the need to inject boron-containing drugs into the patient before treatment, reducing treatment costs, and simplifying the treatment process. During the treatment process, the process of quickly calculating based on the actual blood boron concentration to obtain the corresponding dose rate, thereby correcting the irradiation time, and simplifying the process of obtaining the corresponding irradiation time based on the actual blood boron concentration can be simplified, thereby shortening treatment time, improving the utilization rate of the device, and reducing irradiation errors caused by changes in blood boron concentration during actual irradiation.

[0066] In other examples, the dose rate may be the sum of the boron dose rate, the neutron dose rate, and the photon dose rate, or the sum of the boron dose rate, the fast neutron dose rate, the epithermal neutron dose rate, the thermal neutron dose rate, and the photon dose rate.

[0067] In some embodiments of the present invention, the calculation formulas are quadratic functional relationships, but in other embodiments, they may be other types of functional relationships.

[0068] In other embodiments, the predetermined blood boron concentration may be any numerical value, and the difference between two adjacent blood boron concentration values ​​does not exceed 10 ppm. The number of blood boron concentration pairs may be set to another number. In principle, the larger the number, the closer the coefficient of determination of the fitting function between the dose rate and blood boron concentration will be to 1, i.e., the higher the degree of agreement between the data and the functional relationship. However, considering the time cost of the simulation, the predetermined blood boron concentration pairs generally do not exceed 20.

[0069] Although the steps in the flowcharts according to the above-described embodiments are displayed in order according to the direction of the arrows, it should be understood that these steps are not necessarily performed in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in this specification, the execution of these steps is not limited to a strict order, and these steps may be performed in other orders. Furthermore, at least some of the steps in the flowcharts according to the above-described embodiments may include multiple steps or multiple stages, and these steps or stages are not necessarily performed and completed at the same time but may be performed at different times. These steps or stages are not necessarily performed sequentially, but may be performed in order or alternately with other steps or at least some of the steps or stages of other steps.

[0070] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any manner, and for the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, any combination should be considered to be within the scope of the present specification.

[0071] The above examples merely illustrate some embodiments of the present application, and although the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be understood as limiting the scope of the claims of the present application. Those skilled in the art may make further modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present application, and all of these fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be determined based on the scope of the accompanying claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1. Neutron beam irradiation module 11 Neutron Generator 111 Charged particle beam generator 112 Target 12 Beam shaper 121 Reflector 122 Reducer 123 Thermal Neutron Absorber 124 Radiation Shield 125 Beam Exit 13 Collimator 3 Mounting module S Irradiated object

Claims

1. an image acquisition module, a detection module, a treatment planning module, a processing module, and a correction module; the image acquisition module acquires medical images of the subject; the detection module detects the actual blood boron concentration of the subject; the treatment planning module generates a predetermined treatment plan based on the medical image data; the processing module obtains a functional relationship between blood boron concentration and dose rate based on the predetermined treatment plan and a plurality of sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations; The boron neutron capture therapy system, wherein the correction module obtains a corrected irradiation time based on the functional relationship and the actual blood boron concentration.

2. 2. The boron neutron capture therapy system according to claim 1, wherein the processing module includes a simulation unit and a fitting unit, wherein the simulation unit performs a simulation based on the predetermined treatment plan and the predetermined blood boron concentration to obtain a dose rate corresponding to the predetermined blood boron concentration, and the fitting unit performs fitting based on the predetermined blood boron concentration and the corresponding dose rate to obtain a functional relationship between the two.

3. 2. The boron neutron capture therapy system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined blood boron concentrations are 20 ppm, 25 ppm, 30 ppm, and 35 ppm, respectively.

4. 2. The boron neutron capture therapy system of claim 1, wherein the dose rate is a total dose rate.

5. 2. The boron neutron capture therapy system according to claim 1, wherein the dose rate is the sum of a boron dose rate and a background dose rate.

6. 2. The boron neutron capture therapy system according to claim 1, wherein the dose rate is the sum of a boron dose rate, a neutron dose rate, and a photon dose rate.

7. 2. The boron neutron capture therapy system according to claim 1, wherein the dose rate is the sum of a boron dose rate, a fast neutron dose rate, an epithermal neutron dose rate, a thermal neutron dose rate, and a photon dose rate.

8. 2. The boron neutron capture therapy system of claim 1, further comprising: a control module; and a neutron beam irradiation module, wherein the control module controls the neutron beam irradiation module to perform irradiation treatment based on the predetermined treatment plan and the corrected irradiation time.

9. 2. The boron neutron capture therapy system according to claim 1, further comprising a mounting module for mounting an object to be irradiated.

10. generating a predetermined treatment plan based on the medical image data; obtaining a functional relationship between blood boron concentration and dose rate based on a predetermined treatment plan and a plurality of sets of different predetermined blood boron concentrations; and obtaining a corrected exposure time based on the actual blood boron concentration and the functional relationship.

11. 11. The operating method of claim 10, wherein the step of acquiring the functional relationship specifically comprises performing a simulation based on a plurality of sets of different predetermined blood boron concentrations and predetermined treatment plans to acquire dose rates corresponding to each set of the predetermined blood boron concentrations, and performing function fitting based on the plurality of sets of predetermined blood boron concentrations and the corresponding dose rates to acquire the functional relationship.

12. 11. The operating method of claim 10, wherein the step of obtaining a corrected irradiation time specifically comprises obtaining a predicted dose rate corresponding to the actual blood boron concentration based on the actual blood boron concentration and the functional relationship, and correcting a predetermined irradiation time based on the predicted dose rate to obtain a corrected irradiation time.

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