Radiation safety control systems for medical facilities

Abstract

The present invention relates to a radiation safety control system for a medical facility. The system includes a radiation detection device (10) installed in the medical facility (1) for collecting environmental radiation doses in each predetermined area within the medical facility (1), and an alarm device (20) installed in the medical facility (1) for issuing an alarm and displaying a message based on the collected environmental radiation doses. The medical facility (1) has at least a first state, a second state, and a third state. When no radiation is generated within the medical facility (1), the medical facility (1) is in the first state. When radiation is generated in one or more predetermined areas within the medical facility (1) and the environmental radiation dose is below a predetermined threshold, the area where the radiation is generated is in the second state and the other predetermined areas are in the first state. When the environmental radiation dose in one or more predetermined areas is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, the medical facility (1) is in the third state. The present invention accurately notifies relevant personnel in each area of ​​the medical facility (1) of the operating status of various devices in the facility at any time, allowing the relevant personnel to take appropriate action.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of safety control, and in particular to a radiation safety control system for a medical facility. [Background technology]

[0002] With the development of atomic science, radiation therapy using, for example, cobalt-60, linear accelerators, and electron beams has become one of the main methods of cancer treatment. However, conventional photon and electron beam therapy are limited by the physical properties of the radiation itself. While killing tumor cells, they also damage a large amount of normal tissue in the beam path. Furthermore, because tumor cells have different sensitivities to radiation, conventional radiation therapy often has poor therapeutic effects on malignant tumors with a certain degree of radiation resistance (e.g., glioblastoma multiforme and malignant melanoma).

[0003] To reduce radiation damage to normal tissues surrounding tumors, the concept of targeted chemotherapy is applied to radiation therapy. For tumors with high radiation resistance, active development of radiation sources with high relative biological effectiveness (RBE), such as proton therapy, heavy ion therapy, and neutron capture therapy, is currently underway. Among these, neutron capture therapy combines the above two concepts. For example, boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) offers a better cancer treatment option than conventional radiation by precisely controlling the neutron beam and specifically targeting boron-containing drugs in tumor cells.

[0004] While conventional proton and carbon ion beam therapy equipment is well-developed and in use at several facilities in China, BNCT technology is a novel treatment technology. The neutrons used in BNCT have different radiation characteristics than protons, carbon ions, and other particles, making radiation shielding more difficult and measurement more challenging. Commercially available BNCT equipment requires an accelerator-based neutron source to provide a stable and controllable neutron beam. This neutron source is installed in a dedicated building with radiation shielding capabilities, and when the neutron source is activated, radiation safety for everyone in the facility must be ensured, necessitating the development of a corresponding safety control system. However, conventional safety control systems cannot be directly applied to BNCT facilities that use neutron beams as the treatment beam, and conventional technology does not have a safety control system that can be applied to BNCT facilities. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a highly safe radiation safety control system for medical facilities that can be applied to BNCT treatment facilities in response to the above technical issues.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a radiation safety control system for a medical facility including a treatment system having a radiation generating unit and an irradiation unit, wherein the radiation generating unit generates a radiation beam and the irradiation unit outputs and irradiates the radiation beam, the radiation safety control system comprising: a radiation detection device installed within the medical facility for collecting environmental radiation doses in each predetermined area within the medical facility; an alarm device installed within the medical facility for issuing an alarm and displaying an alert based on the collected environmental radiation doses; and a server connected to the radiation detection device to receive data values ​​collected by the radiation detection device, connected to the alarm device to output an alarm command, and connected to the treatment system to control operation of the treatment system, wherein the medical facility includes at least a first state, a second state, and a third state, wherein the medical facility is in the first state when no radiation is generated within the medical facility; the medical facility is in the second state when radiation irradiation is occurring in at least one predetermined area within the medical facility and the environmental radiation dose is less than a predetermined threshold; and the medical facility is in the third state when the environmental radiation dose in at least one predetermined area is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold.

[0007] In one embodiment, the predetermined area includes a treatment room and a treatment monitoring room corresponding to the treatment room, and the alarm device: a first alarm unit provided in the treatment room and configured to output at least two types of alarm signals; and a second alarm unit provided in the treatment monitoring room for outputting at least three types of alarm signals.

[0008] In one embodiment, when the medical facility is in a first state, the first alarm unit and the second alarm unit both issue a safety signal; when at least one of the treatment rooms is in a second state, the first alarm unit in the treatment room in the second state issues an evacuation signal, the second alarm unit in the corresponding treatment monitoring room issues an evacuation signal, and the second alarm units in the other treatment monitoring rooms issue caution signals; when the medical facility is in a third state, the first alarm unit and the second alarm unit both issue evacuation signals.

[0009] In one embodiment, the predetermined area further includes a non-treatment area, and the alarm device comprises a third alarm unit disposed in the non-treatment area and configured to output at least two types of alarm signals, wherein the third alarm unit issues a safety signal when the medical facility is in a first state, issues an evacuation signal when the medical facility is in a third state, or issues a caution signal indicating the state of the treatment room when the medical facility is in a second state, and the signal issued by the third alarm unit can provide information about the treatment room in which the beam is currently being emitted.

[0010] In one embodiment, the alarm device comprises an alarm lamp and / or a speaker that outputs different information.

[0011] In one embodiment, the predetermined area includes at least one treatment room, and before irradiation in the treatment room, a beam emission notification signal is output by the speaker, and when irradiation in the treatment room begins, an audio notification is output by the speaker to notify personnel in the medical facility that the irradiation unit is operating.

[0012] In one embodiment, the treatment room, the treatment monitoring room, and the non-treatment area each include at least one shielded space, and the shielded space is provided with a shielded door for shielding radiation, and the shielded door is provided with a fourth alarm unit that outputs at least three types of alarm signals.

[0013] In one embodiment, when the medical facility is in a first state, the fourth alarm unit outputs a safety signal; when at least one of the shielded spaces is in a second state, the fourth alarm unit installed on the shielded door of the shielded space in the second state outputs a caution signal; and when the medical facility is in a third state, the fourth alarm unit outputs an evacuation signal.

[0014] In one embodiment, the treatment system is a neutron capture therapy system and the radiation detection device detects environmental radiation content of neutrons or gamma rays within the medical facility.

[0015] In one embodiment, the radiation safety control system further comprises a display device connected to the server for displaying operating parameters of the medical facility and alarm status of the alarm device.

[0016] In a second aspect, the present invention further provides a method for controlling a radiation safety control system of a medical facility described above, comprising the steps of detecting an amount of environmental radiation in real time, comparing the amount of environmental radiation detected in real time with a predetermined threshold in a server to determine the status of the medical facility, and an alarm device outputting a signal according to the status of the medical facility.

[0017] In one embodiment, the real-time detected environmental radiation dose is compared with the threshold value, and if there is no radiation occurring within the medical facility, the medical facility is in a first state; if the environmental radiation dose is less than the threshold value and the medical facility includes at least one area where radiation is being irradiated, the area where radiation is being irradiated is in a second state; and if the environmental radiation dose is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the medical facility is in a third state.

[0018] In one embodiment, when the medical facility is in a first state, alarm units within the medical facility issue a safe signal, alarm units within an area in a second state issue an evacuation signal, alarm units within the remaining areas issue a caution signal, and when the medical facility is in a third state, alarm units within the medical facility issue an evacuation signal.

[0019] By providing radiation detection devices, alarm devices, and a server, the present invention can accurately notify relevant personnel in each area of ​​the medical facility of the operating status of various equipment in the facility in real time, allowing relevant personnel to clearly understand the radiation safety conditions in their environment and take appropriate action. The radiation safety control system of the present invention adopts a redundant design, with multiple alarm units jointly providing alarms and notifications for each operating status of the medical facility, thereby improving system reliability. By differentiating between the functions and personnel responsibilities of each area within the facility, the standardization of normal system operation can be improved and the incidence of radiation safety accidents can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a radiation safety control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a treatment system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a structural schematic diagram of the first floor of a medical facility according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of the second floor of a medical facility according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer and easier to understand, the present application will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings and examples. It should be understood that the specific examples described herein are merely for the purpose of interpreting the present application, and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 1, a structural schematic diagram of a radiation safety control system 100 installed in a medical facility 1 is shown. The radiation safety control system 100 includes a radiation detection device 10, an alarm device 20, and a server 30. The medical facility 1 further includes a treatment system 200 including at least a radiation generation unit 210, an irradiation unit 220, a positioning unit 230, and a treatment planning unit. In this embodiment, the treatment system 200 is a boron neutron capture therapy system. The radiation detection device 10 is installed in the medical facility 1 and is used to collect environmental radiation doses in each predetermined area within the medical facility. When the treatment system 200 is a boron neutron capture therapy system, the radiation detection device detects the environmental radiation content of neutrons or gamma rays within the medical facility 1. The alarm device 20 is installed in the medical facility 1 and issues an alarm and notification according to the collected environmental radiation dose. The server 30 is connected to the radiation detection device 10 and receives data values ​​collected by the radiation detection device 10. The server 30 is connected to the alarm device 20 and outputs an alarm command. The server 30 is connected to the treatment system 200 and controls the operation of the treatment system 200.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 2 , the radiation generation unit 210 is used to generate a therapeutic neutron beam N. The treatment planning unit performs dose simulation calculations based on medical image data of the area to be irradiated to create an initial treatment plan, which includes the irradiation dose, irradiation position, irradiation angle, and irradiation time. After the irradiated object is positioned at the irradiation position determined in the treatment plan, the irradiation unit 220 performs irradiation treatment according to the treatment plan. The positioning unit 230 is used to accommodate the irradiated object, which makes it easy to change the position of the irradiated object so that the irradiated object receives the neutron beam N relatively stably, and the position of the irradiated object can be adjusted automatically or passively. Furthermore, the positioning unit 230 may be a treatment bed, a treatment chair, or the like, and may be connected to an adjustment mechanism such as a robot arm for automatically adjusting the position of the positioning unit 230.

[0024] The main principle of boron neutron capture therapy is to irradiate the subject S with boron ( B- 10) After the boron-containing drug is administered or injected, the boron-containing drug selectively accumulates in tumor cells and B- 10) Taking advantage of the large capture cross section of the contained drug for thermal neutrons, 10 B(n,α) 7 by Li neutron capture and fission reactions 4 He and 7 Two 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 combined range of the two particles is approximately the size of a single cell, so radiation damage to the living body is limited to the cellular level, achieving the goal of locally killing tumor cells without causing significant damage to normal tissue.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the radiation generating unit 210 includes an accelerator 211, a beam delivery device, and a target T. The accelerator 211 accelerates charged particles (e.g., protons, deuterons, etc.) to generate a charged particle beam P such as a proton beam, which is irradiated onto the target T and interacts with the target T to generate a neutron beam (neutron beam) N, and the target T is preferably a metal target material. An appropriate nuclear reaction is selected depending on the desired neutron yield and energy, the energy and current magnitude of the accelerated charged particles that can be provided, the physicochemical properties of the metal target material, and other characteristics. Frequently discussed nuclear reactions include: 7 Li(p,n) 7 Be and 9 Be(p,n) 9B, both of which are endothermic reactions. The energy thresholds of the two nuclear reactions are 1.881 MeV and 2.055 MeV, respectively. The desired neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy is epithermal neutrons at the keV energy level. In theory, bombarding a metallic lithium target with protons slightly higher than the threshold energy generates relatively low-energy neutrons, eliminating the need for multiple moderation processes for clinical use. However, because the cross section of the reaction between the two target materials, lithium (Li) and beryllium (Be), and protons at the threshold energy is not large, the nuclear reaction is usually initiated with high-energy protons to generate a sufficiently large neutron flux. A desirable target material should have the following characteristics: a high neutron yield, an energy distribution of the generated neutrons close to the energy range of epithermal neutrons, not excessive generation of strong penetrating radiation, safety, low cost, ease of handling, and high-temperature resistance. However, in practice, no nuclear reaction that meets all of these requirements has been found. Therefore, in embodiments of the present invention, a metallic lithium target is preferably used. However, as known to those skilled in the art, the material of the target T may be formed of a metal material other than lithium and beryllium, such as tantalum (Ta) or tungsten (W). The target T may be disk-shaped, may have another solid shape, or may be a liquid (liquid metal). The accelerator 211 may be a linear accelerator, a cyclotron, a synchrotron, or a synchrocyclotron, and the radiation generating unit 210 may be a nuclear reactor without employing an accelerator and a target material.

[0026] Whether the neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy is a nuclear reactor or an accelerator, resulting from the nuclear reaction between charged particles and target material, the actual radiation field generated is a complex radiation field, i.e., the beam contains low-energy and high-energy neutrons and photons. In boron neutron capture therapy for deep-seated tumors, the higher the content of non-epithermal neutron radiation, the greater the proportion of non-selective dose delivered to normal tissues, which causes unnecessary dose delivery. The irradiation unit 220 is used to adjust the beam quality of the neutron beam generated by the radiation generation unit 210 for irradiation, reduce unnecessary dose delivery, and focus the neutron beam for high targeting during treatment.

[0027] Specifically, the irradiation unit 220 has a beam shaper 221 for adjusting the beam quality of the neutron beam and a beam outlet 222 for focusing the neutron beam. The neutron beam N generated by the radiation generating unit 210 passes through the beam shaper 221 and the beam outlet 222 in this order, and is irradiated onto the irradiation target on the positioning unit 230. The beam shaper 221 can adjust the beam quality of the neutron beam N generated by the radiation generating unit 210, and the beam outlet 222 may be an outlet to which a collimator is attached, and is used to focus the neutron beam N so that the neutron beam N has high targetability during treatment. It can be understood that in this embodiment, a collimator is not provided, and the beam may be irradiated directly onto the irradiation target on the positioning unit 230 after emerging from the beam shaper 221.

[0028] The beam shaper 221 further includes a reflector 2211, a moderator 2212, a thermal neutron absorber 2213, a radiation shield 2214, and a beam channel 2215. Since the neutrons generated by the radiation generating unit 210 have a wide energy spectrum, it is necessary to reduce the content of other types of neutrons and photons as much as possible other than epithermal neutrons that meet the needs of treatment and to avoid damage to the operator or the irradiated object. Therefore, the neutrons emitted from the target T pass through the moderator 2212 so that the energy of the fast neutrons (>40 keV) is adjusted to the energy range of epithermal neutrons (0.5 eV to 40 keV) and the thermal neutrons (<0.5 eV) are reduced as much as possible. The moderator 2212 is made of a material that has a large cross section with fast neutrons and a small cross section with epithermal neutrons. In a preferred embodiment, the moderator 2212 is made of a material that has a large cross section with fast neutrons and a small cross section with epithermal neutrons. TM, CaF2, Li2CO3, MgF2, and Al2O3. The reflector 2211 surrounds the moderator 2212 and reflects neutrons that have passed through the moderator 2212 and scattered around back into the neutron beam N, improving neutron utilization efficiency. The reflector 2211 is made of a material with strong neutron reflection ability, and in a preferred embodiment, the reflector 2211 is made of at least one of Pb and Ni. At the rear of the moderator 2212, there is one thermal neutron absorber 2213 made of a material with a large cross section with thermal neutrons. In a preferred embodiment, the thermal neutron absorber 2213 is made of Li-6. The thermal neutron absorber 2213 absorbs thermal neutrons that have passed through the moderator 2212 to reduce the content of thermal neutrons in the neutron beam N and is used to avoid excessive doses to superficial normal tissues during treatment. It can be understood that the thermal neutron absorber 2213 may be integrated with the moderator, and that the material of the moderator includes Li-6. The radiation shielding body 2214 is used to block neutrons and photons leaking from portions other than the beam channel 2215, and the material of the radiation shielding body 2214 includes at least one of a photon-shielding material and a neutron-shielding material. In a preferred embodiment, the material of the radiation shielding body 2214 includes lead (Pb), which is a photon-shielding material, and polyethylene (PE), which is a neutron-shielding material. The beam outlet 222 is provided at the rear of the beam channel 2215, and the epithermal neutron beam emerging from the beam outlet 222 is irradiated to the irradiated body, passes through superficial normal tissue, and is then slowed down to thermal neutrons to reach tumor cells in the affected area M.

[0029] It is understood that the beam shaper 221 may have other structures as long as it can obtain the epithermal neutron beam required for treatment. For convenience of explanation, when a collimator is not provided, the beam outlet 222 is the outlet of the beam channel 2215, and when a collimator is provided, the beam outlet 222 is the outlet of the collimator.

[0030] The medical facility 1 further includes a treatment room 101 and a beam generating room 102, where the irradiated subject 200 on the positioning unit 230 is treated by irradiation with a neutron beam N in the treatment room 101, and the beam generating room 102 at least partially houses the accelerator 111 and the beam delivery device, and the beam shaper 221 is at least partially housed within a partition between the treatment room 101 and the beam generating room 102. It can be understood that the partition may completely separate the treatment room 101 and the beam generating room 102, or may partially separate the treatment room 101 and the beam generating room 102 so that they communicate with each other. There may be one or more targets T, and the charged particle beam P may selectively act on one or some of the targets T, or may act on multiple targets T simultaneously, to generate one or more therapeutic neutron beams N. Depending on the number of targets T, the number of beam shapers 221, beam outlets 222, and positioning units 230 may be one or more, and multiple positioning units may be provided in the same treatment room, or one independent treatment room may be provided for each positioning unit. The treatment room 101 and the beam generation room 102 are spaces surrounded by concrete walls W (including partitions), and the concrete structure can block neutrons and other radiation leaking during operation of the radiation therapy system 200.

[0031] In this embodiment, the medical facility 1 includes a radiation safety control system 100, a treatment system 200, a building housing the radiation safety control system 100 and the treatment system 200, and a spatial area covering the radiation safety control system 100, the treatment system 200, and the building. This embodiment is described using one of the above-mentioned embodiments as an example, and the predetermined areas included in the medical facility 1 are several independent rooms. The spatial area provided in the medical facility 1 includes a treatment room, a treatment monitoring room, and a non-treatment area. In the embodiment disclosed in the present invention, the non-treatment area includes areas such as a corridor, an accelerator room, an accelerator control room, an electrical room, a beam conversion and storage room, a positioning simulation room, a water cooling room, and an auxiliary equipment room. In this embodiment, the medical facility 1 includes a building with at least two floors, and the treatment room 101, the treatment monitoring room 103, and the non-treatment area are located in different rooms distributed on each floor. The treatment monitoring room 103 is used to monitor the irradiation process in the treatment room 101. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in this embodiment, a first floor area and a second floor area are shown.

[0032] The treatment room 101 includes a horizontal irradiation room 101a and a vertical irradiation room 101b, and the horizontal irradiation room 101a includes two irradiation rooms. The horizontal irradiation room 101a receives a neutron beam emitted horizontally and is provided with a first treatment monitoring room 103a corresponding thereto, while the vertical irradiation room 101b receives a neutron beam emitted vertically and is provided with a second treatment monitoring room 103b corresponding thereto. The horizontal irradiation room 101a and the vertical irradiation room 101b are provided on different floors or at different heights in the medical facility 1. The treatment monitoring room 103 is used to monitor each process of radiation therapy and is generally provided near the treatment room 101.

[0033] The beam generating chamber 102 includes an accelerator chamber 102a. The accelerator chamber 102a includes at least two accelerator chambers that are provided on different floors or at different heights in the medical facility 1 so as to be compatible with the corresponding irradiation chambers.

[0034] The alarm device 20 comprises a first alarm unit 21, a second alarm unit 22, and a third alarm unit 23. The first alarm unit 21 is installed in a treatment room and outputs at least three types of alarm signals. The second alarm unit 22 is installed in a treatment monitoring room and outputs at least three types of alarm signals. The third alarm unit 23 is installed in a non-treatment area and outputs at least three types of alarm signals. The alarm device 20 may be installed on a wall inside or outside the room depending on the specific use of different rooms, and can instruct personnel inside the room to evacuate or alert people outside the room to move away.

[0035] The medical facility 1 includes at least a first state, a second state, and a third state. The medical facility 1 is in the first state when there is no radiation generation within the medical facility 1, i.e., when no environmental radiation dose is detected in any area within the medical facility 1. The medical facility 1 is in the second state when radiation irradiation is performed in at least one predetermined area within the medical facility 1 and the environmental radiation dose is less than a predetermined threshold. The medical facility 1 is in the third state when the environmental radiation dose in at least one predetermined area is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. Specifically, in this embodiment, the first state may be a standby safe state indicating that the treatment system 200 is not operating at this time. The second state may be a beam emitting state indicating that the treatment system 200 is operating at this time and the environmental radiation dose is less than the predetermined threshold. The third state may be an abnormal state indicating that the environmental radiation dose is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0036] When the medical facility 1 is in a first state, the first alarm unit 21, the second alarm unit 22, and the third alarm unit 23 all issue a first signal. When the medical facility 1 is in a second state, the first alarm unit 21 in the treatment room where irradiation and beam emission are occurring issues a third signal, the second alarm unit 22 in the corresponding treatment monitoring room issues a third signal, the first alarm units 21 in other treatment rooms issue a second signal, the second alarm units 22 in the corresponding other treatment monitoring rooms issue a second signal, and some of the third alarm units 23 issue a second signal. When the medical facility 1 is in a third state, the first alarm unit 21, the second alarm unit 22, and the third alarm unit 23 all issue a third signal. Furthermore, the first signal is a safety signal, the second signal is a caution signal, and the third signal is an evacuation signal.

[0037] In this embodiment, at least two of the three types of alarm signals output from the first alarm unit 21 are the same type but with some differences. In other embodiments, the three types of alarm signals may be different types, but as long as there is a clear difference, this is not a limitation. As shown in FIG. 4 , taking the accelerator room 102a on the second floor as an example, the first alarm unit 21 includes first alarm lamps 21a, 21b, and 21c installed in multiple treatment rooms. The first alarm lamps 21a, 21b, and 21c can output two types of alarm signals, for example, red and green lights. The green lamp indicates that the medical facility 1 is currently in a standby safe state, and the red lamp indicates that the current treatment room 101 is in a beam emission state, that anyone other than the patient should evacuate the current treatment room 101 and that entry is prohibited, and that anyone in other treatment rooms 101 should be careful of the treatment room 101 that is in a beam emission state. Furthermore, in addition to the two alarm signals mentioned above, the flashing of both the red and green lights is a third alarm signal in this embodiment. The flashing of the red and green lights can indicate that the medical facility 1 is in an abnormal state and that everyone should evacuate. In another embodiment, the first alarm unit 21 further includes a speaker for broadcasting the content of the alarm signal, which includes instructions to safety or evacuate.

[0038] In this embodiment, the three types of alarm signals output from the second alarm unit 22 are the same type, but with some differences. In other embodiments, the three types of alarm signals may be different types, but as long as there is a clear difference, this is not a limitation. As shown in FIG. 3, taking the treatment monitoring room 103 in this embodiment as an example, the treatment monitoring room 103 includes a first treatment monitoring room 103a and a second treatment monitoring room 103b, each located on a different floor. The second alarm unit 22 includes second alarm lamps 22a, 22b, and 22c, respectively, located in the first treatment monitoring room 103a and the second treatment monitoring room 103b. The second alarm lamps 22a and 22b are located corresponding to the two horizontal treatment rooms 101a. The second alarm lamps 22a, 22b, 22c output light of three colors, for example, red, yellow, and green, and when the green lamp is lit, it indicates that the medical facility 1 is currently in a standby safe state, when the yellow lamp is lit, it indicates that a beam is being emitted in the treatment room 101 corresponding to the treatment monitoring room 103, and urges people in the room to be careful, and when the red lamp is lit, it indicates that the medical facility 1 is currently in an abnormal state and everyone should evacuate. In another embodiment, the second alarm unit 22 further includes a speaker for broadcasting the content of the alarm signal, and the content of the alarm signal may include content to instruct safety, caution, or evacuation, and may further include presenting the status of the medical facility 1 or the next status of the medical facility.

[0039] Furthermore, just before an irradiation treatment is to be performed in the treatment room 101 of this embodiment, the first alarm unit 21, the second alarm unit 22, and the third alarm unit 23 all output a beam discharge notification signal, particularly outputting the signal via a speaker, to indicate that irradiation will soon begin in the current treatment room 101. After irradiation treatment is started in the treatment room 101 of this embodiment, the second alarm unit 22 outputs a beam discharge completion notification signal, particularly outputting the signal via a speaker, to indicate that beam discharge has been completed and irradiation treatment is being performed in the current treatment room 101. The signal indicating that beam discharge will soon begin or that beam discharge has been completed can be generated by the operator inputting a corresponding command or by the server 30 transmitting a corresponding command to the alarm unit 20. When all treatment rooms 101 are in the process of performing irradiation treatment, i.e., when the medical facility 1 is in the second state, the second alarm unit 22 installed in the treatment monitoring room 103 issues a warning signal.

[0040] In this embodiment, the at least three types of alarm signals output from the third alarm unit 23 are the same type but with some differences. In other embodiments, the at least three types of alarm signals may be different types, but as long as there is a clear difference, this is not a limitation. As shown in FIG. 3 , the third alarm unit 23 includes third alarm lamps 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d, 23e, 23f, and 23g installed in the corridor or other rooms near the treatment room 101. The third alarm lamps are particularly installed near the horizontal irradiation room 101a and the vertical irradiation room 101b. The third alarm lamps 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d, 23e, 23f, and 23g output two colors of light, for example, green and yellow. There may be only one green lamp, and the number of yellow lamps corresponds to the number of treatment rooms 101. The green lamp indicates that the medical facility 1 is currently in a safe standby state. The yellow lamps correspond one-to-one to the treatment rooms 101. When one of the treatment rooms 101 is emitting a beam and performing irradiation treatment, the corresponding yellow lamp of the third alarm lamp 23a lights up to alert relevant personnel, while the yellow lamp corresponding to the treatment room not emitting a beam remains off. When all of the third alarm lamps 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d, 23e, 23f, and 23g are flashing, it indicates that the medical facility 1 is in an abnormal state and everyone should evacuate. In another embodiment, the third alarm unit 23 further includes a speaker for broadcasting the content of the alarm signal. The content of the alarm signal may include instructions for safety, caution, or evacuation, and may further include an indication of the status of the medical facility 1 or the next status of the medical facility. 3, the third alarm unit 23 further includes fourth alarm lamps 23h, 23i, 23j, 23k, and 23l that are installed relatively far away from the treatment room 101. It can be understood that in addition to the third alarm lamp installed near the treatment room 101, fourth alarm lamps are also installed in other parts of the non-treatment area. The fourth alarm lamps, for example, output two colors of light, red and green, and when the green lamp is lit, it indicates that the medical facility 1 is currently in a standby safe state, and when the red lamp is lit, it indicates that the medical facility 1 is in an abnormal state and everyone should evacuate.

[0041] Furthermore, the evacuation signals emitted from the first alarm unit 21, the second alarm unit 22, and the third alarm unit 23 may be a type of signal different from the safety signal or the caution signal, so as to clearly distinguish the third state from the first state and the second state. For example, in this embodiment, the alarm unit includes an alarm lamp, and the safety signal or the caution signal is the lighting of a lamp displayed in a different color, and the evacuation signal is the flashing effect of the lamp or the lighting of a lamp in a different color different from the safety signal and the caution signal.

[0042] The treatment room, treatment monitoring room, and non-treatment area each include at least one shielded space, and the shielded space is provided with a shielding door 110 for shielding against radiation. In this embodiment, the shielded space is surrounded by a radiation-shielding wall, for example, a concrete partition wall with neutron shielding capability. Specifically, the shielding door 110 is provided at a communication point between the treatment room 101 and another room or area. The shielding door 110 may also be provided at a communication point between the accelerator room 102a and another area, or may be provided at a communication point between the beam conversion / storage room and another area. The shielding door 110 is provided with a fourth alarm unit 24 that outputs at least three types of alarm signals. The fourth alarm unit 24 includes a fifth alarm lamp (not shown) provided on the door frame of the shielding door 110. The fifth alarm lamp outputs light of three colors, for example, green, yellow, and red, where the green light is a safety signal indicating that the medical facility 1 is in a standby safe state, the yellow light is a caution signal indicating that the shielded space is currently in a beam emission state, and the red light is an evacuation signal indicating that the medical facility 1 is in an abnormal state.

[0043] The server 30 further includes a display device 33, a client host 31, and a server host 32. The server 30 may be constructed based on MUCs (Micro-controller Units). The client host 31 is connected to the treatment system 200 and is used to receive user input, store and process data for the treatment system 200 and the radiation safety control system 100, and control the operation of the treatment system 200 within the medical facility 1. The display device 33 is connected to the server host 32 and the client host 31 and is used to display data information related to the treatment system 200 and the radiation safety control system 100, including operating parameters of the medical facility 1, environmental radiation doses detected by the radiation detection device 10, and alarm statuses of the alarm device 20. The server host 32 is connected to the display device 33 and the client host 31 via a bus and consolidates all data information. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the client host 31 and the display device 33 are installed in the treatment monitoring room 103, and the horizontal irradiation room 101a and the vertical irradiation room 101b each have a corresponding client host 31 and display device 33.

[0044] In other embodiments, the radiation safety control system 100 of the above-described embodiments may be used to monitor the safety of other radiation therapy systems, such as proton therapy systems, heavy ion therapy systems, etc. The radiation safety control system 100 may also be used to monitor the safety of diagnostic medical equipment, such as x-ray diagnostic systems, PRT / CT diagnostic systems, etc. Accordingly, the radiation detection device 10 detects the environmental radiation content of x-rays or other radioactive particles within the medical facility 1.

[0045] Another embodiment of the present invention comprises: Step S100 of detecting the amount of environmental radiation in real time; Step S200: comparing the detected environmental radiation dose in real time with a predetermined threshold value in the server to determine the state of the medical facility; a step S300 in which an alarm unit issues a signal in response to a condition of the medical facility; There is further provided a method for radiation safety control in a medical facility, including:

[0046] Furthermore, the control method is Step S201: comparing the environmental radiation dose detected in real time with a threshold value; if the environmental radiation dose is less than the threshold value and no radiation is generated within the medical facility, the medical facility is in a first state; if the environmental radiation dose is less than the threshold value and the medical facility includes at least one area where radiation irradiation treatment is being performed, the medical facility is in a second state; and if the environmental radiation dose is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the medical facility is in a third state; The method further includes step S301, in which, when the medical facility is in a first state, an alarm unit in the facility issues a safety signal; when the medical facility is in a second state, an alarm unit in the area where radiation therapy is being performed issues an evacuation signal, and alarm units in the remaining areas issue caution signals; and, when the medical facility is in a third state, an alarm unit in the facility issues an evacuation signal.

[0047] It should be understood that although the steps in the flowcharts according to the above-described embodiments are illustrated in the order indicated by the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise clearly stated in the present specification, there are no strict order restrictions on the execution of these steps, and these steps may be executed 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 may not necessarily be executed at the same time but may be executed at different times. These steps or stages may not necessarily be executed sequentially but may be executed alternately or in conjunction with other steps or at least some of the steps or stages of other steps.

[0048] Those skilled in the art will understand that a computer program may instruct relevant hardware to complete all or part of the processes in the methods of the above-described embodiments. The computer program may be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, the computer program may include the processes of the above-described method embodiments. The storage modules, databases, or other media used in the embodiments provided herein may include at least one of non-volatile memory and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, optical memory, high-density embedded non-volatile memory, resistive random access memory (ReRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM®), phase change memory (PCM), graphene memory, etc. Volatile memory may include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory, etc. The RAM may be in several forms, such as, but not limited to, static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The database according to each embodiment provided herein may include at least one of a relational database and a non-relational database. The non-relational database may include, but is not limited to, a distributed database based on a blockchain. The processing module according to each embodiment provided herein may be, but is not limited to, a general-purpose processor, a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic device, a data processing logic device based on quantum computing, etc.

[0049] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way, and for the sake of simplicity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments have been described, but combinations of these technical features should be considered to be within the scope described in this specification, unless they are inconsistent.

[0050] The above examples merely illustrate some embodiments of the present invention, and although the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be understood as limiting the scope of the claims. It should be noted that a person skilled in the art may make some modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and all such modifications and improvements shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the patent protection scope of the present invention should be governed by the appended claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1. Medical facilities 100 Radiation Safety Control System 200 Treatment Systems 101 Treatment room 101a Horizontal irradiation room 101b Vertical irradiation room 102 Beam Generation Room 102a Accelerator room 103 Treatment monitoring room 110 Shielding Door 10 Radiation detection device 20 Alarm device 30 servers 21 First Alarm Unit 22 Second Alarm Unit 23 Third Alarm Unit 21a, 21b, 21c First alarm lamp 22a, 22b, 22c Second alarm lamp 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d, 23e, 23f, 23g 3rd alarm lamp 23h, 23i, 23j, 23k, 23l 4th alarm lamp 31 client hosts 32 Server Host 33 Display equipment 210 Radiation Generating Unit 220 Irradiation Unit 230 Positioning Unit 211 Accelerator 221 Beam Shaper 222 Beam Exit 2211 Reflector 2212 Reducer 2213 Thermal Neutron Absorber 2214 Radiation shielding 2215 Beam Channel

Claims

1. A radiation safety control system for a medical facility including a treatment system including a radiation generating unit and an irradiation unit, wherein the radiation generating unit generates a radiation beam and the irradiation unit outputs and irradiates the radiation beam, a radiation detection device installed in the medical facility for collecting environmental radiation doses in each predetermined area within the medical facility; an alarm device that is installed in the medical facility and that issues an alarm and displays an indication in accordance with the collected environmental radiation dose; a server connected to the radiation detection device to receive data values ​​collected by the radiation detection device, connected to the alarm device to output an alarm command, and connected to the treatment system to control the operation of the treatment system; A radiation safety control system for a medical facility, characterized in that the medical facility includes at least a first state, a second state, and a third state, wherein the medical facility is in the first state when no radiation is generated within the medical facility, the medical facility is in the second state when radiation irradiation is being performed in at least one specified area within the medical facility and the environmental radiation dose is less than a specified threshold, and the medical facility is in the third state when the environmental radiation dose in at least one specified area is equal to or greater than the specified threshold.

2. The predetermined area includes a treatment room and a treatment monitoring room corresponding to the treatment room, and the alarm device a first alarm unit provided in the treatment room and configured to output at least two types of alarm signals; 2. The radiation safety control system for a medical facility according to claim 1, further comprising: a second alarm unit provided in the treatment monitoring room and configured to output at least three types of alarm signals.

3. 3. The radiation safety control system of claim 2, wherein when the medical facility is in a first state, the first alarm unit and the second alarm unit both issue a safety signal; when at least one of the treatment rooms is in a second state, the first alarm unit in the treatment room in the second state issues an evacuation signal, the second alarm unit in the corresponding treatment monitoring room issues an evacuation signal, and the second alarm units in other treatment monitoring rooms issue caution signals; and when the medical facility is in a third state, the first alarm unit and the second alarm unit both issue evacuation signals.

4. 3. The radiation safety control system for a medical facility according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined area further includes a non-treatment area, and the alarm device comprises a third alarm unit provided in the non-treatment area and outputting at least two types of alarm signals, wherein the third alarm unit issues a safety signal when the medical facility is in a first state, issues an evacuation signal when the medical facility is in a third state, or issues a caution signal indicating the state of the treatment room when the medical facility is in a second state.

5. 3. The radiation safety control system for a medical facility according to claim 2, wherein the alarm device comprises an alarm lamp and / or a speaker that outputs different information.

6. 6. The radiation safety control system of claim 5, wherein the warning lamp includes at least two colors, and the operating states of the warning lamp include at least one of lighting, flashing, and off.

7. 6. The radiation safety control system for a medical facility according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined area includes at least one treatment room, and before irradiation in any one of the treatment rooms, a beam emission notification signal is output by the speaker, and when irradiation in any one of the treatment rooms is started, an audio notification is output by the speaker to notify personnel in the medical facility that an irradiation unit is operating.

8. 5. The radiation safety control system of claim 4, wherein the treatment room, the treatment monitoring room, and the non-treatment area each include at least one shielded space, the shielded space is provided with a shielded door for shielding radiation, and the shielded door is provided with a fourth alarm unit that outputs at least three types of alarm signals.

9. 9. The radiation safety control system for a medical facility according to claim 8, wherein when the medical facility is in a first state, the fourth alarm unit outputs a safety signal, when at least one of the shielded spaces is in a second state, the fourth alarm unit provided on a shielding door of the shielded space in the second state outputs a caution signal, and when the medical facility is in a third state, the fourth alarm unit outputs an evacuation signal.

10. 2. The radiation safety control system for a medical facility according to claim 1, wherein the treatment system is a neutron capture therapy system, and the radiation detection device detects environmental radiation content of neutrons or gamma rays within the medical facility.

11. 2. The radiation safety control system of claim 1, further comprising a display device connected to the server for displaying operating parameters of the medical facility and alarm status of the alarm device.

12. 12. The radiation safety control system of claim 11, further comprising a client host and a server host, the client host being connected to a treatment system and used to store and process data of the treatment system and the radiation safety control system and to control the operation of the treatment system, and the server host being connected to a display device and the client host.

13. detecting an amount of environmental radiation in real time using a radiation detection device; comparing the detected environmental radiation dose in real time with a predetermined threshold in the server to determine the state of the medical facility; controlling, by the server, an alarm device to output an alarm signal in response to a state of the medical facility; A method for controlling a radiation safety control system in a medical facility, comprising:

14. 14. The control method for a radiation safety control system in a medical facility according to claim 13, wherein the environmental radiation dose detected in real time is compared with the threshold value, and if no radiation is generated within the medical facility, the medical facility is in a first state; if the environmental radiation dose is less than the threshold value and the medical facility includes at least one area where radiation irradiation is being performed, the area where radiation irradiation is being performed is in a second state; and if the environmental radiation dose is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the medical facility is in a third state.

15. 15. The method for controlling a radiation safety control system in a medical facility according to claim 14, wherein when the medical facility is in a first state, an alarm device in the medical facility issues a safety signal; when the medical facility is in a second state, an alarm device in an area where radiation irradiation is being performed issues an evacuation signal, and an alarm device in a remaining area where radiation irradiation is not being performed issues a caution signal; and when the medical facility is in a third state, an alarm device in the medical facility issues an evacuation signal.

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