Particle beam therapy device

Abstract

To provide a particle beam therapy device that can reduce noise reaching the irradiated body during treatment. [Solution] The charged particle beam therapy apparatus 100 is equipped with a noise reduction unit 60 that reduces noise reaching the treatment table 7 by outputting an inverse phase signal to the noise generated in conjunction with the driving of the rotating gantry 13. The position of the treatment table 7 during treatment and the position of the noise source 70 are fixed. In contrast, the noise reduction unit 60 is installed on a structure 151 in the building. In this case, the position of the noise reduction unit 60 is fixed regardless of the rotation of the rotating gantry 13. That is, it is possible to fix the noise reduction unit 60 in a position suitable for noise reduction between the noise source 70 and the treatment table 7. Therefore, even if the position of the patient P on the treatment table 7 is not strictly fixed, the noise reduction unit 60 can reduce the noise reaching the patient P.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a particle beam therapy apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a particle beam therapy apparatus described in Patent Document 1 below is known. This particle beam therapy apparatus includes an irradiation unit that irradiates a subject with a particle beam, and a gantry that rotates around the subject to rotate and move an irradiation nozzle. Further, the particle beam therapy apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a mechanism related to the drive of the gantry.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] ,5]]Here, in a particle beam therapy apparatus as described above, noise such as noise may be generated along with the drive of the gantry. On the other hand, a patient who is a subject is placed on a placement part in the gantry. Therefore, there arises a problem that the noise reaches the ears of the patient during treatment. Therefore, it is required to reduce the noise reaching the subject during treatment.

[0005] ,8]] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a particle beam therapy apparatus capable of reducing noise reaching a subject during treatment.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The particle beam therapy apparatus of the present invention is a particle beam therapy apparatus that irradiates an object to be irradiated with a particle beam, comprising: a mounting unit on which the object to be irradiated is placed; a gantry that can rotate around the mounting unit; and a noise reduction unit that reduces noise reaching the position of the mounting unit by outputting an inverse phase signal to the noise generated in conjunction with the driving of the gantry, wherein the noise reduction unit is installed in a structure within a building.

[0007] The particle beam therapy device is equipped with a noise reduction unit that reduces noise reaching the placement area by outputting an inverse phase signal in response to noise generated by the gantry's operation. Therefore, even if noise is generated due to the gantry's operation, the noise reduction unit can cancel out the noise with the inverse phase signal. Here, the position of the placement area during treatment and the position of the noise source are fixed. In contrast, the noise reduction unit is installed in a structure within the building. In this case, the position of the noise reduction unit is fixed regardless of the rotation of the gantry. That is, it is possible to fix the noise reduction unit in a position suitable for noise reduction between the noise source and the placement area. Therefore, even if the position of the irradiated object on the placement area is not strictly fixed, the noise reduction unit can reduce the noise reaching the irradiated object. As a result, noise reaching the irradiated object during treatment can be reduced.

[0008] The noise reduction unit may be positioned between the noise source and the mounting unit. In this case, the noise reduction unit can reduce the noise from the source before it reaches the irradiated object on the mounting unit.

[0009] The gantry has an opening that opens on the treatment room side, and the noise reduction unit may extend from the treatment room side through the opening into the gantry. In this case, the noise reduction unit can be installed in the building structure with a simple structure.

[0010] The gantry has a movable floor, and the noise reduction unit may be positioned between the movable floor and the noise source. The components constituting the movable floor are arranged around the mounting section. Therefore, when noise passes through the movable floor, the noise may spread by transmitting through the components of the movable floor. In contrast, the noise reduction unit can reduce the noise at the stage when the noise passes through the movable floor.

[0011] The noise reduction unit may reduce at least one of the following noises: roller drive noise, brake noise, and sliding noise. This makes it possible to reduce noises that are particularly loud in the operation of the gantry. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a particle beam therapy device that can reduce noise reaching the irradiated object during treatment. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This figure shows a charged particle beam therapy system incorporating the charged particle beam therapy apparatus according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view of the charged particle beam therapy device as seen from the treatment room. [Figure 3] This is a schematic side view showing the configuration near the rotating gantry. [Figure 4] This is a schematic front view showing the configuration near the rotating gantry. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] The embodiments of the particle beam therapy apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that in some cases, features may be exaggerated in the drawings, and the dimensional ratios and shapes of the parts of the particle beam therapy apparatus shown in the drawings do not necessarily match the actual apparatus, nor do they necessarily match between the drawings. As shown in Figure 1, the charged particle beam therapy apparatus 100 (particle beam therapy apparatus) of this embodiment is incorporated into a charged particle beam therapy system 103 (for example, a proton beam therapy system). The charged particle beam therapy apparatus 100 is a device that treats a lesion (for example, a tumor, etc.) inside a patient P (the irradiated body) by irradiating it with a charged particle beam. Here, the charged particle beam is, for example, a proton beam, a heavy ion beam, etc.

[0015] The charged particle beam therapy system 103 comprises an accelerator 105 that accelerates charged particles and emits a charged particle beam, an irradiation unit 3 that irradiates the patient P with the charged particle beam, a rotating gantry 13 that rotates the irradiation unit 3 around a horizontal rotation axis A around the treatment table 7 (placement unit) on which the patient P lies, and a transport line 107 that connects the accelerator 105 and the irradiation unit 3 and transports the charged particle beam from the accelerator 105 to the irradiation unit 3. Of these, the charged particle beam therapy device 100 comprises a part of the transport line 107, the rotating gantry 13, and the irradiation unit 3. The transport line 107 has a plurality of quadrupole electromagnets 113 for focusing the charged particle beam and a plurality of bending magnets 115 for bending the charged particle beam. Furthermore, the transport line 107 has a plurality of ESSs (not shown) that selectively pass charged particle beams of a desired energy width from the incoming charged particle beam.

[0016] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the charged particle beam therapy apparatus 100 as seen from the treatment room side. Figures 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams of the rotating gantry 13 and its surrounding structure. In Figures 3 and 4, the irradiation unit 3 and transport line 107, etc., are omitted to facilitate understanding of the characteristic parts.

[0017] As shown in Figure 2, the rotating gantry 13 has a cylindrical shape with rotation axis A as its cylindrical axis. The rotating gantry 13 is not limited to a rotatable cylindrical shape; it may also have a frame that can swing 180° around rotation axis A. An irradiation unit 3 is positioned on the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder of the rotating gantry 13, and the irradiation unit 3 is fixed to the rotating gantry 13 via a predetermined support frame. As the rotating gantry 13 rotates around rotation axis A, the irradiation unit 3 rotates and moves around rotation axis A with the direction of discharge of the charged particle beam facing radially inward from the rotating gantry 13. That is, the irradiation unit 3 can rotate and move around the patient P, who is positioned on rotation axis A on the treatment table 7, and can irradiate the patient P with charged particle beams from various directions. The treatment table 7 is fixed to the building structure via an arm for moving the treatment table 7 within the treatment room.

[0018] The treatment room 31, where the treatment table 7 is located, is situated within a portion of the area inside the rotating gantry 13, extending from the inside of the building. A movable floor 35 is provided inside the rotating gantry 13 to separate the treatment room 31 from the machine room 33 (see Figure 3) inside the rotating gantry 13. The movable floor 35 has sufficient rigidity and strength to adequately support a person's weight while being cantilevered by a fixing ring 38. The upper surface of the movable floor 35 is almost flush with the floor surface 31a. Therefore, patients P and treatment staff involved in the treatment can walk on the floor surface 31a and the movable floor 35 extending from the floor surface 31a within the treatment room 31.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 3, the building 150 has a floor surface 42, a floor surface 31a disposed at a position higher than the floor surface 42, and a stepped surface 41 rising from the floor surface 42 to the floor surface 31a. These floor surface 42, floor surface 31a, and stepped surface 41 constitute the structure 151 of the building 150. The rotary gantry 13 has a ring member 22B at an axial end portion in the main body portion 21. The ring member 22B is provided on the treatment room 31 side. Further, a small-diameter cylindrical portion 28 is provided on the main body portion 21 on the machine room 33 side. A ring member 22A is provided on the cylindrical portion 28. The rotary gantry 13 has an opening 36 that opens on the treatment room 31 side. The opening 36 opens at the end face 22a on the treatment room 31 side of the rotary gantry 13. The opening 36 is arranged to face the stepped surface 41 with a slight gap. The above-described moving bed 35 is arranged at the same height position as the floor surface 31a in the opening 36.

[0020] To rotate the rotary gantry 13, roller devices 23A and 23B are provided on the floor surface 42 of the building 150 below the rotary gantry 13. The ring member 22A and the ring member 22B of the rotary gantry 13 are provided so as to contact the roller devices 23A and 23B, respectively. The roller devices 23A and 23B include a pedestal portion 24 and a plurality of rollers 25 rotatably supported by the pedestal portion 24. The roller devices 23A and 23B rotatably support the ring members 22A and 22B. The diameter of the ring member 22A is smaller than that of the ring member 22B. The roller device 23A has an idler roller as the roller 25. The roller device 23B has a driving roller 27 as the roller 25.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 4, the roller device 23B has a plurality (here, two) of driving rollers 27. The pair of driving rollers 27 are arranged in a state of being separated from each other in the width direction. The outer peripheral surface of the driving roller 27 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the ring member 22B. A motor (not shown) is attached to the driving roller 27. When the driving roller 27 rotates by the motor, the ring member 22B rotates by the frictional force. Thus, a driving unit 50 for driving the rotary gantry 13 by the driving roller 27 is configured.

[0022] The braking unit 40 is provided between the driving unit 50 and another driving unit 50. In this embodiment, three braking units 40 are provided. The braking unit 40 can brake by applying a braking force to the rotary gantry 13. The braking unit 40 is provided on the treatment room 31 side with respect to the ring member 22B. The ring member 22B has a wheel portion 29 of a gear mechanism on the end face 22a on the treatment room 31 side. The wheel portion 29 is an annular member provided at a position corresponding to the edge portion of the ring member 22B on the end face 22a of the ring member 22B. Thereby, the braking unit 40 is provided with respect to the ring member 22B having a larger diameter than the cylindrical portion 28.

[0023] In the charged particle beam therapy apparatus 100 having such a configuration, noise is generated as the rotary gantry 13 is driven. The noise is noise for the patient's hearing. As the noise, at least any one of the driving sound of the roller, the braking sound, and the sliding sound is generated. The driving sound of the roller is, for example, the noise generated when the roller 25 rotates. The braking sound is, for example, the noise generated as the braking unit 40 applies a braking force to the rotary gantry 13. The sliding sound is, for example, the noise generated as the ring members 22A and 22B slide with respect to the roller 25. The rotary gantry 13 is set to have, for example, a diameter of 6 m and a length of 8 m, and is a large structure. Therefore, the noise associated with the driving of the rotary gantry 13 may be, for example, 70 to 80 dB. Thus, the roller 25, the braking unit 40, etc. become the noise generation source 70.

[0024] As shown in Figure 3, the charged particle beam therapy apparatus 100 has a noise reduction unit 60. The noise reduction unit 60 reduces noise reaching the treatment table 7 by outputting an inverse phase signal to the noise generated in conjunction with the driving of the rotating gantry 13. The noise reduction unit 60 reduces at least one of the following noises: roller driving noise, brake noise, and sliding noise. The configuration of the noise reduction unit 60 is not particularly limited, but may be composed of a known noise canceller. The noise canceller may, for example, be equipped with a microphone and a speaker. The noise canceller acquires sounds that can be acquired in place using the microphone. The noise canceller cancels the noise by outputting an inverse phase signal to the noise from the speaker. In this embodiment, the noise reduction unit 60 reduces noise reaching the patient P's ear by canceling the noise in place without performing any processing to identify the position of the patient P's ear.

[0025] The noise reduction unit 60 is installed on a structure 151 in the building 150. The noise reduction unit 60 is positioned between the noise source 70 and the treatment table 7. In this embodiment, the noise reduction unit 60 is installed on the structure 151 via a mounting member 61. The base end of the mounting member 61 is fixed to the stepped surface 41. The noise reduction unit 60 enters the rotating gantry 13 from the treatment room 31 side through the opening 36. The mounting member 61 of the noise reduction unit 60 extends from the stepped surface 41 on the treatment room 31 side of the rotating gantry 13 toward the machine room 33 side. As a result, the mounting member 61 is inserted into the rotating gantry 13 through the opening 36. The noise reduction unit 60 is supported by the tip of the mounting member 61. Therefore, the noise reduction unit 60 is positioned inside the rotating gantry 13. The noise reduction unit 60 targets the noise sources 70, which are the rollers 25 and braking unit 40 of the roller device 23B.

[0026] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the noise reduction unit 60 is positioned between the moving floor 35 and the noise source 70. That is, the noise reduction unit 60 is positioned in the space below the moving floor 35 within the rotating gantry 13. The noise reduction unit 60 is positioned in the space below the moving floor 35, spaced downward from the moving floor 35 and upward from the inner circumferential surface of the rotating gantry 13. Also, as shown in Figure 4, a center line CL1 extending in the vertical direction is set when the rotating gantry 13 is viewed from the axial direction. In this case, the noise reduction unit 60 is positioned on the center line CL1. However, the position of the noise reduction unit 60 is not particularly limited and may be offset from the center line CL1. In addition, multiple noise reduction units 60 may be provided to the left and right of the center line CL1.

[0027] The location and number of noise reduction units 60 are not particularly limited. For example, as shown in Figure 3, a noise reduction unit 60A, indicated by a dashed line, may be provided between the movable floor 35 and the treatment table 7. The noise reduction unit 60A may be fixed at the floor surface 31a and extend from that position into the rotating gantry 13 through the opening 36. In addition, such a noise reduction unit 60A may be provided in addition to, or in place of, the noise reduction unit 60, indicated by a solid line. Furthermore, in addition to the noise reduction unit 60, a noise reduction unit 60B, indicated by a dashed line, may be provided. The noise reduction unit 60B reduces noise generated from the rollers 25 of the roller device 23B.

[0028] Next, the operation and effects of the charged particle beam therapy apparatus 100 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0029] The charged particle beam therapy apparatus 100 includes a noise reduction unit 60 that reduces noise reaching the treatment table 7 by outputting an inverse phase signal in response to noise generated by the driving of the rotating gantry 13. Therefore, even if noise is generated due to the driving of the rotating gantry 13, the noise reduction unit 60 can cancel out the noise with the inverse phase signal. Here, the position of the treatment table 7 during treatment and the position of the noise source 70 are fixed. In contrast, the noise reduction unit 60 is installed on a structure 151 in the building. In this case, the position of the noise reduction unit 60 is fixed regardless of the rotation of the rotating gantry 13. That is, it is possible to fix the noise reduction unit 60 in a position suitable for noise reduction between the noise source 70 and the treatment table 7. Therefore, even if the position of the patient P on the treatment table 7 is not strictly fixed, the noise reduction unit 60 can reduce the noise reaching the patient P. As a result, it is possible to reduce the noise reaching the patient P during treatment.

[0030] The noise reduction unit 60 may be positioned between the noise source 70 and the treatment table 7. In this case, the noise reduction unit 60 can reduce the noise from the source 70 before it reaches the patient P on the treatment table 7.

[0031] The rotating gantry 13 has an opening 36 that opens on the treatment room 31 side, and the noise reduction unit 60 may extend from the treatment room 31 side through the opening 36 into the rotating gantry 13. In this case, the noise reduction unit 60 can be installed in the structure 151 of the building 150 with a simple structure.

[0032] The rotating gantry 13 has a movable floor 35, and the noise reduction unit 60 may be positioned between the movable floor 35 and the noise source 70. The components constituting the movable floor 35 are arranged around the treatment table 7. Therefore, when noise passes through the movable floor 35, the noise may spread by transmitting through the components of the movable floor 35. In response to this, the noise reduction unit 60 can reduce the noise at the stage when the noise passes through the movable floor 35.

[0033] The noise reduction unit 60 may reduce at least one of the following noises: the driving noise of the rollers 25, the braking noise, and the sliding noise. This makes it possible to reduce noises that are particularly loud when driving the rotating gantry 13.

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.

[0035] For example, the configuration of the particle beam therapy apparatus shown in Figures 1 to 4 is merely an example, and the arrangement and other aspects may be changed as appropriate, and the components may be changed or omitted as appropriate. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0036] 7...Treatment table (mounting unit), 13...Rotating gantry (gantry), 31...Treatment room, 36...Opening, 60...Noise reduction unit, 70...Generator, 100...Charged particle beam therapy device (particle beam therapy device), 150...Building, 151...Structure, P...Patient (irradiated body).

Claims

1. A particle beam therapy device that irradiates an object with a particle beam, A mounting section on which the object to be irradiated is placed, A gantry that can rotate around the mounting portion, The noise reduction unit reduces the noise that reaches the position of the aforementioned mounting part by outputting an inverse phase signal to the noise generated in conjunction with the driving of the gantry, The noise reduction unit is a particle beam therapy device installed in a structure within a building.

2. The particle beam therapy apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction unit is disposed between the noise source and the previously described unit.

3. The gantry has an opening that opens on the treatment room side, The particle beam therapy apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction unit extends from the treatment room side through the opening into the gantry.

4. The gantry has a movable floor, The particle beam therapy apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the noise reduction unit is disposed between the moving bed and the source.

5. The particle beam therapy apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction unit reduces at least one of the following noises: roller driving noise, brake noise, and sliding noise.

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