Radiation terminal based on a complex rotating beamline and its use.

Abstract

The present invention relates to a radiation irradiation terminal based on a composite rotating beamline and its use. The radiation irradiation terminal includes a composite rotating beamline, a rotating supporter, and an operation room. The composite rotating beamline includes a rotating device beamline, a horizontal beamline, and an inclined beamline that forms a certain angle with the ground, and can realize irradiation at different angles. The composite rotating beamline is installed on the rotating supporter, and the rotating supporter rotates one composite beamline from 0 to 360 degrees to realize beam transportation to multiple operation rooms with different azimuth angles. By combining multiple rotating beamlines, multi-angle beam irradiation can be realized in one operation room. The present invention is a comprehensive and inexpensive ion radiation irradiation terminal design proposal that solves the difficult problems in the application and popularization of radiation irradiation equipment, has the outstanding advantages of a large number of operation rooms, many irradiation angles, low construction cost, and small installation area, and greatly improves treatment efficiency and reduces treatment costs.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a radiation delivery terminal based on a complex rotating beamline and its use, and is related to the fields of medicine and radiation delivery. [Background technology]

[0002] Ion beam radiotherapy and radiation irradiation research have been widely applied in fields such as medicine, industry, and agriculture. Radiotherapy is currently a technological tool that has attracted considerable attention and is being applied in tumor treatment worldwide, and the ions most commonly used in ion-based cancer therapy are protons and carbon ions. Carbon ions have significant advantages in linear energy density, biological effectiveness, and side scattering, and can generate DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) that are difficult to repair, making them the preferred choice for cancer treatment.

[0003] The most time-consuming stages in radiation therapy and radiation irradiation research are pre-irradiation positioning and post-irradiation dose attenuation, and increasing the number of control rooms is key to improving irradiation efficiency. In current radiation therapy terminals, a single beam corresponds to a single control room, and multi-angle irradiation within a single control room is achieved by multiple fixed beams or rotating gantry technology. While this solution increases treatment efficiency by adding control rooms, it incurs significant costs. Adding control rooms to the current internationally accepted system of 3 to 5 control rooms significantly increases the cost of treatment equipment, hindering its widespread adoption and application.

[0004] When using ion beams to treat cancer, if only one irradiation direction is used, normal tissue between the skin and tumor will receive at least one-third of the tumor radiation dose, resulting in some damage. To reduce this damage, the tumor / normal tissue radiation dose ratio must be increased. Therefore, during a single treatment course, irradiation must be performed from different directions, dividing the total radiation dose into multiple directions, significantly reducing the radiation dose received by normal tissue. Horizontal, 45-degree, and vertical terminals are commonly used. For example, China's first domestically produced heavy ion model device (the Wuwei Carbon Ion Therapy Device) extracts the beam from the plane of acceleration using a circular accelerator, passes it through a single beam transmission line, and then uses a relatively large bending magnet to raise and lower the beam transmission line, achieving a four-room solution: one vertical control room, one horizontal control room, and one horizontal and vertical control room. The terminal's beamline length reaches 140 meters, and it requires a lot of equipment, occupies a large amount of vertical space, is pulled up to a height of nearly 20 meters, requires a large horizontal installation area, and is expensive to build.

[0005] To achieve multi-angle irradiation, rotating gantry technology can be used, but the high magnetic rigidity of carbon ions makes the rotating gantry extremely large. For example, the heavy-ion rotating gantry developed by the Heidelberg Heavy Ion Research Center in Germany weighs 630 tons, of which the rotating section weighs 570 tons. Furthermore, its large volume makes processing and rotation costs very high. Even superconducting carbon-ion rotating gantries currently under development around the world weigh more than 200 tons. The magnetic rigidity of proton therapy systems is only one-third that of carbon ions, significantly reducing the weight and volume of the gantry. Conventional proton cancer treatment systems typically use rotating gantries to irradiate patients from multiple angles. The beam delivery system requires multiple functions, resulting in complex terminal beamlines. This makes the rotating gantry heavy, reaching the hundreds of tons, and the manufacturing costs of the entire rotating gantry extremely high. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] To address the above technical challenges, the present invention provides a radiation irradiation terminal based on a complex rotating beamline and its use. The terminal includes a complex rotating beamline, which, compared to conventional fixed beamline terminals, allows for more control rooms to be arranged in the horizontal circumferential direction of the complex rotating beamline's horizontal and 45-degree (or other) beamlines. The control rooms are arranged on two levels, significantly increasing the number of control rooms. By fixing one complex rotating beamline to a single rotating supporter, multiple control rooms can be arranged, significantly improving treatment efficiency. By fixing multiple complex rotating beamlines to at least two rotating supports, simultaneous irradiation using treatment beds at multiple angles (vertical + horizontal, or 45-degree + horizontal) can be achieved in a single control room. This solves the problem of a significant increase in beamlines due to the arrangement of terminal control rooms with different irradiation angles, while reducing installation space and beamline capital investment, meeting the requirements for compact treatment terminal systems, and facilitating widespread use and application. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention utilizes the following technical solutions:

[0008] The irradiation terminal based on a complex rotating beamline is a compound rotating beamline fixed to a first rotating supporter and including a rotator beamline and a terminal beamline, the terminal beamline including a horizontal beamline and an inclined beamline forming a certain angle with the ground, the horizontal beamline and the inclined beamline being branches of the rotator beamline; a first rotation supporter including two main beams arranged in parallel and two end beams arranged in gaps at both ends of the two main beams to connect the two main beams; a plurality of first operation rooms that are uniformly arranged in a circumferential direction of the rotation of the horizontal beam line to form a working room on the first floor, each of the first operation rooms having a mounting hole in the wall; a plurality of second operation rooms that are uniformly arranged in a circumferential direction in which the inclined beam line rotates to form a working room on a second floor, each of the second operation rooms having a mounting hole in its wall; a plurality of irradiation heads that are installed in one-to-one correspondence with the first operation room and the second operation room, respectively, and that receive the ion beam transmitted by the composite rotating beam line through the mounting holes and irradiate the patient or sample with the ion beam; and a drive mechanism that is operably connected to the first rotating supporter and drives the first rotating supporter to rotate 0 to 360 degrees along the circular rail, thereby making the composite rotating beamline a beamline that can rotate 0 to 360 degrees.

[0009] In the irradiation terminal, preferably, the terminal beamline further includes a first vertical beamline and a second vertical beamline, both of which are branches of the rotator beamline.

[0010] In the radiation irradiation terminal, preferably, a first vacuum membrane window is attached to the flanges of the ion beam output ends of the horizontal beam line, the inclined beam line and the second vertical beam line, and a second vacuum membrane window is attached to the receiving end flange of the irradiation head, and the first vacuum membrane window and the second vacuum membrane window realize vacuum sealing between the composite rotating beam line and the irradiation head.

[0011] In the radiation irradiation terminal, the size of the gap between the first vacuum membrane window and the second vacuum membrane window is preferably 5 to 200 mm.

[0012] In the radiation irradiation terminal, the first vertical beam line is preferably mechanically coupled to the first rotation supporter via a thrust bearing.

[0013] In the radiation irradiation terminal, the main beam preferably includes a vertical beam, a horizontal beam, and two inclined beams connecting the vertical beam and the horizontal beam, the horizontal beams of the two main beams are connected to each other by a connecting shaft and a connecting plate, and a composite rotating beam line is attached within a cavity formed by the two main beams.

[0014] In the radiation irradiation terminal, preferably, the radiation irradiation terminal further comprises a motion assembly including an interconnected slider and a connecting member, the slider being slidably connected to the annular rail, and the connecting member being transmission-connected to the drive mechanism.

[0015] In the radiation irradiation terminal, preferably, the rotation device beam line realizes rotation by a rotation structure including a rotating cylinder, a gear, a gear shaft, and a positioning shaft, the gear shaft and the positioning shaft are each fastened and connected to a rotating supporter, the gear is connected to the positioning shaft via a transition flange and a bearing, meshes with the gear shaft, and is fastened and connected to the rotating cylinder, the rotating cylinder fixes the rotating beam line, and the rotating cylinder, the positioning shaft, and the rotating supporter are all provided with through holes through which the rotating beam line passes.

[0016] In the radiation irradiation terminal, the rotator beamline preferably rotates in the same direction as the terminal beamline, the rotation angle is half the rotation angle of the terminal beamline, and the phase shift of the rotator beamline in the x direction is an even multiple of π and the phase shift in the y direction is an odd multiple of π, so that the terminal beamline does not optically fluctuate during rotation.

[0017] In the radiation irradiation terminal, preferably, the number of rotating supports is at least one. If the number of rotating supports is two, the two rotating supports are respectively a first rotating supporter and a second rotating supporter arranged coaxially, the first vertical beam line passes through a deflection dipole magnet to become a second horizontal beam line, the second horizontal beam line is fixed to the second rotating supporter, and the irradiation head of the second horizontal beam line and the irradiation head of the second vertical beam line are located in the same operation room, forming vertical and horizontal double-angle irradiation.

[0018] In the radiation irradiation terminal, preferably, the number of rotating supports is at least one. If the number of rotating supports is two, the two rotating supports are respectively a first rotating supporter and a second rotating supporter arranged coaxially, the first vertical beam line passes through a deflection dipole magnet to become a second horizontal beam line, the second horizontal beam line is fixed to the second rotating supporter, and the irradiation head of the tilted beam line and the third horizontal irradiation head of the second horizontal beam line are located in the same operation room, forming tilted and horizontal double-angle irradiation.

[0019] The radiation irradiation terminal is preferably designed with an irradiation head and a complex rotating beam line either integrally or separately.

[0020] A third aspect of the present invention further relates to the use of the above-mentioned irradiation terminal in irradiation therapy and industrial irradiation.

[0021] The present invention employs the above technical means and therefore has the following advantages.

[0022] 1. The composite rotating beamline of the present invention extracts a beam using any type of accelerator and deflects it vertically. It then combines a horizontal beamline, a first vertical beamline, a second vertical beamline, and a 45-degree (or other angle) beamline to transport the beam at different irradiation angles. Furthermore, by combining and rotating the beamlines, it is possible to transport the beam to multiple operation rooms at different azimuth angles. This composite rotating beamline has a compact structure, and the beamline length can be reduced by 90% compared to conventional fixed beamlines.

[0023] 2. In conventional treatment terminals, one beamline corresponds to one control room, and four beamlines are required to transport beams to four control rooms, resulting in a total length of nearly 200 meters. According to the present invention, a single beamline of approximately 30 meters can be used to transport beams to eight or more control rooms, thereby reducing not only the cost of process equipment such as magnets, vacuum, and power supplies, but also the size and cost of associated auxiliary equipment, thereby significantly reducing the operating costs of the device's treatment process.

[0024] 3. According to the present invention, a single rotating beamline can realize beam transport to multiple operation rooms. The rotating beamline can be a single-angle or a multi-angle composite beamline. The number of operation rooms in a single-angle rotating beamline can reach eight or more. Based on this, a multi-angle composite rotating beamline can be constructed, which not only expands the treatment angle but also further increases the number of operation rooms. Furthermore, based on the above, the rotating beamline can be a multi-stage composite structure, and each stage of the multi-angle rotating beamline can correspond to multiple operation rooms, thereby greatly improving treatment efficiency.

[0025] 4. A single treatment of a tumor patient often requires multi-angle irradiation to reduce damage to normal tissue along the beam path. According to the present invention, by rotating the beamline multiple times, multi-angle irradiation treatment can be achieved within a single operating room. For example, a two-stage rotation can achieve double-angle irradiation at 45 degrees and horizontal, or vertical and horizontal. In this way, tumor patients can receive the multi-angle irradiation required within a single operating room. Furthermore, by combining such multiple rotations, multiple multi-angle operating rooms can be realized at low cost, significantly further improving treatment efficiency.

[0026] 5. This invention adopts a separate design and utilizes vacuum membrane window technology to design the composite rotating beam line and the irradiation head as separate units, further reducing the rotation radius, reducing the processing and installation costs of the rotating parts, and improving the accuracy of the movement and positioning of the rotating beam line. A vacuum membrane window is used between the composite rotating beam line and the irradiation head to achieve vacuum sealing and physical space separation, allowing the ion beam to pass from the composite rotating beam line through the first vacuum membrane window, the atmosphere, and the second vacuum membrane window without loss to the irradiation head. The composite rotating beam line and the irradiation head are designed as separate units, further reducing the rotation radius by 50%, simplifying the rotation structure, reducing processing and installation costs, and making it easier to ensure accuracy.

[0027] 6. Because the beam extracted from the synchrotron has high asymmetry in the horizontal (substitute for the x-direction when rotation is later involved) and vertical (substitute for the y-direction when rotation is later involved) directions, ensuring irradiation accuracy requires that the terminal beam spot not change during rotation. This invention uses a rotating machine to ensure that the optical parameters of the terminal beamline do not change during rotation, significantly reducing the difficulty of controlling the terminal target during rotation. The rotating device adopts a compact design with a total length of only 2.5 m, much smaller than the 9-10 m of conventional devices worldwide. This significantly reduces the vertical space required by the device and reduces the difficulty and cost of construction. Multi-angle beamlines on the same rotating device beamline present a challenging optical design challenge. By optimizing the position and strength of the magnet elements, this invention achieves a beam spot size within ±16 mm across the entire line, significantly reducing the size and manufacturing costs of magnets, power supplies, beam diagnostics, and vacuum elements, as well as the price of corresponding auxiliary equipment.

[0028] 7. Because the beam extracted from the synchrotron has high asymmetry in the horizontal (substitute for x-direction when rotation is later involved) and vertical (substitute for y-direction when rotation is later involved) directions, ensuring irradiation accuracy requires that the terminal beam spot remain constant during rotation. The present invention utilizes a rotator to ensure that the optical parameters of the terminal beamline do not change during rotation, significantly reducing the difficulty of controlling the terminal target during rotation. Another distinct advantage of this rotator optical design is that it can accommodate any-angle terminal beamline, such as the present invention's horizontal, vertical, and 45-degree composite rotating beamline, while maintaining a small beam spot size throughout the line, while simultaneously maintaining constant optical parameters for multiple terminal beamlines of any angle during rotation. The rotator adopts a compact design with a total length of only 2.5 m, significantly smaller than conventional rotators measuring 9-10 m worldwide. This significantly reduces the vertical space required for the device and reduces the difficulty and cost of construction.

[0029] 8. The radiation irradiation terminal of the present invention can be connected to any type of accelerator, providing lower-cost beam transport to multiple angles and multiple operation rooms, further reducing the installation area of ​​the device, reducing capital investment, and improving treatment efficiency. It can be applied to not only heavy ion devices but also proton devices, and can be used not only for radiation therapy but also for industrial radiation irradiation, making it a versatile solution in the fields of radiation therapy and radiation irradiation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0030] [Figure 1a] This is a schematic diagram of a beam being extracted horizontally from a particle accelerator and deflected vertically downward to the terminal. [Figure 1b] This is a schematic diagram of deflection vertically upward to the terminal. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of a compound rotating beamline fixed to a rotating supporter, provided by one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is a cross-sectional view of an irradiation system provided by an embodiment of the present invention, in which a compound rotating beam line is fixed to one rotating supporter. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram of a compound rotating beamline fixed to a rotating supporter, provided by an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 5] 1 is a schematic diagram of a compound rotating beamline fixed to a rotating supporter, provided by an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] 1 is a schematic diagram of a compound rotating beamline fixed to a rotating supporter, provided by an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a composite rotating beamline fixed to a rotating supporter provided by an embodiment of the present invention, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 5. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a compound rotating beamline fixed to two rotating supports, provided by another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 1-1 and 2-2 in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] 9A and 9B are cross-sectional views taken along the lines 3-3 and 4-4 in FIG. 8. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a plan view of a compound rotating beamline fixed to two rotating supporters, provided by a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 12A and 12B are cross-sectional views taken along the lines 5-5 and 6-6 in FIG. 11. [Figure 13] 12A and 12B are cross-sectional views taken along the lines 7-7 and 8-8 in FIG. 11. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a compound rotating beamline fixed to two rotating supports, provided in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a compound rotating beamline fixed to two rotating supports, provided in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. 4, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 11, and FIG. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a partial enlarged view of B in FIG. 9. [Figure 18] FIG. 2 is an optical parameter diagram of the first horizontal terminal of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing optical parameters of the first 45-degree terminal of the present invention. [Figure 20] FIG. 2 is a diagram of optical parameters of the first vertical terminal of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a diagram of optical parameters of the second horizontal terminal of the present invention. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is an optical parameter diagram of the third horizontal terminal of the present invention. [Figure 23] FIG. 2 is a beam envelope diagram of the first horizontal terminal of the present invention. [Figure 24] FIG. 1 is a beam envelope diagram of a first 45-degree terminal of the present invention. [Figure 25] FIG. 2 is a beam envelope diagram of a first vertical terminal of the present invention. [Figure 26] FIG. 10 is a beam envelope diagram of a second horizontal terminal of the present invention. [Figure 27]FIG. 10 is a beam envelope diagram of a third horizontal terminal of the present invention.

[0031] [Explanation of symbols] 1 Rotating Device Beamline 2. First horizontal beamline 3 First vertical beamline 4 45 degree beamline 5. Second vertical beamline 6 First rotary dynamic sealing device 7 Second rotary dynamic sealing device 8 First Rotation Supporter 9 Second Rotation Supporter 91 Main beam 92 End beam 93 Connecting shaft 94 Movement Assembly 95 Circular Rail 96 Drive Mechanism 97 Connecting Plate 10 Thrust bearing 11 Vertical irradiation head 12 45 degree irradiation head 13 First horizontal irradiation head 14 Third rotary dynamic sealing device 15 Second horizontal beamline 16 Second horizontal irradiation head 17 Third horizontal irradiation head 18 Treatment Beds 19 Rotation axis 20 First vacuum membrane window 21 Second vacuum membrane window 22 Rotating membrane window axis 23 Irradiation head membrane window axis 24 Circular Contact Wire 25 Mounting holes 26~29 Horizontal control rooms 1 to 4 30~33 1st to 4th 45 degree + horizontal control room 34~37 1st to 4th vertical and horizontal control rooms 38 Irradiation Preparation Room 39 Rotating Structure 391 Rotating Cylinder 392 Gear 393 Gear shaft 394 Positioning axis 395 Motor 396 Fixed Supporter 397 Bearings 398 First Bolt 399 Second Bolt 3910 Transition Flange 40 quadrupole magnet 41 45 degree two-pole magnet. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] In order to make the purpose, technical means and advantages of the present invention clearer, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical means of the present invention. It is clear that the described embodiments are not all of the embodiments of the present invention, but only some of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments that can be obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] Unless otherwise defined, technical or scientific terms used herein should have their ordinary meanings as understood by a person of ordinary skill in the field to which this invention belongs. The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and similar terms used herein do not denote any order, number, or importance, but are used only to distinguish different components. Similar terms such as "comprise" or "comprise" mean that the element or thing appearing after the term encompasses the element or thing appearing before the term and its equivalents, but do not exclude other elements or things. Similar terms such as "connected" and "interconnected" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect.

[0034] In recent years, with the continuous development of accelerator technology, accelerator devices have become smaller and more compact, and the installation area of ​​the device itself is becoming smaller. To this end, the methods of extracting beams from accelerators and the arrangement of beamlines are being devised.

[0035] As shown in Figures 1a and 1b, the particle accelerator may be a room-temperature or superconducting accelerator, such as a synchrotron, cyclotron, FFAG (Fixed-Field Alternating Gradient Accelerator), or linear accelerator. The beam in the particle accelerator may be extracted horizontally from inside or outside the accelerator, and the extracted beam may be deflected vertically downward through beam transmission line 1 to beam transmission line 2 and then transmitted to the terminal, or may be deflected vertically upward through beam transmission line 1 to beam transmission line 2 and then transmitted to the terminal. In the particle accelerator, the beam may be extracted vertically from inside or outside through a Lambertson (iron septum magnet) septum magnet.

[0036] The most time-consuming stages in radiation therapy are pre-irradiation positioning and post-irradiation dose attenuation, so increasing the number of control rooms is key to improving treatment efficiency. In current radiation therapy terminals, a single beam corresponds to a single control room, and multi-angle treatment within a single control room is achieved by using multiple fixed beams or rotating gantry technology. While this solution increases treatment efficiency by adding control rooms, it incurs significant costs. Adding control rooms to the current internationally accepted system of 3 to 5 control rooms significantly increases the cost of treatment equipment, hindering its widespread adoption and application.

[0037] According to the present invention, a single rotating beamline can realize beam transport to multiple operation rooms. The rotating beamline can be a single-angle or a multi-angle composite beamline. The number of operation rooms in a single-angle rotating beamline can reach eight or more. Based on this, a multi-angle composite rotating beamline can be constructed, which not only expands the treatment angle but also further increases the number of operation rooms. Furthermore, based on the above, the rotating beamline can be a multi-stage composite structure, and each stage of the multi-angle rotating beamline can correspond to multiple operation rooms, thereby greatly improving treatment efficiency.

[0038] The radiation irradiation terminal based on the compound rotating beamline provided by the present invention extracts the beam from any accelerator in any way and then deflects it vertically (upward or downward), thereby providing a multi-angle, multi-operation room, and single-room multi-angle terminal irradiation system, which can further reduce the installation area of ​​the equipment, reduce capital investment, and improve treatment efficiency.

[0039] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 2, the composite rotating beamline provided by the present invention includes a rotating device beamline 1, a first horizontal beamline 2 consisting of a normal magnet, a superconducting magnet, a superconducting coil, or any combination thereof, a first vertical beamline 3, a 45-degree (or other angle) beamline 4, and a second vertical beamline 5, and a first rotating dynamic sealing device 6 and a second rotating dynamic sealing device 7 that connect the rotating device beamline 1 and the first vertical beamline 3 and maintain a vacuum during rotation.

[0041] Figures 3 to 7 show a single composite rotating beamline terminal irradiation system (in which the beamline is fixed to one rotating supporter), and the single composite rotating beamline can be arbitrarily combined depending on the bending magnet. This invention lists only a few typical embodiments, and any remaining composite beamline is also included in the present invention. The composite rotating beamline is fixed to the rotating supporter, and its rotation is realized by a drive mechanism 96. The control room is also divided into two floors, with the upper floor being the horizontal control room and the lower floor being the 45-degree control room and the vertical control room. As shown in Figure 4, according to this embodiment, the beam inside the accelerator is extracted in an arbitrary manner, deflected vertically, and after one deflection, the composite terminal beamline is formed. A significant advantage of this structure is that the height of the entire system can be reduced. The bending magnet and the composite terminal beamline are fixed to the rotating supporter, and control rooms with different irradiation angles are arranged around the circumference of the rotation. Similarly, preferably, 12 control rooms may be provided, but of course, more control rooms may be provided depending on the treatment plan. The composite beamline may be designed as a symmetrical structure, as shown in Figure 7. In this case, all irradiation angles can be achieved by simply rotating the rotary supporter by 180 degrees or less, which contributes to further shortening treatment waiting times and improving treatment efficiency.

[0042] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the control room of the radiation irradiation terminal fixed to a single rotating supporter based on the complex rotating beamline provided by the present invention is divided into two floors, upper and lower. The upper floor is a horizontal control room arranged in the horizontal circumferential direction around which the first horizontal beamline 2 rotates. Obviously, the irradiation preparation room 38 on the first floor can also be a horizontal control room, so eight horizontal control rooms can be evenly arranged. On the lower floor, four 45-degree (or other angle) control rooms are arranged in the horizontal circumferential direction around which the 45-degree (or other angle) beamline 4 rotates. Four vertical control rooms are arranged in the circumferential direction around which the second vertical beamline 5 rotates. Preferably, the vertical control rooms and the 45-degree control rooms are arranged with a stagger. According to this complex rotating beamline, preferably, 16 control rooms can be arranged.

[0043] In practice, a single tumor treatment often requires multiple irradiation angles to reduce damage to normal tissue along the beam path. According to the present invention, however, by rotating the beamline multiple times, multiple irradiation angles can be achieved within a single operating room. For example, a two-stage rotation can achieve double-angle irradiation (45-degree and horizontal, vertical and horizontal). This allows tumor patients to receive the required multiple irradiation angles within a single operating room, eliminating the need to move between single-angle operating rooms and reducing travel and preparation time. Furthermore, by combining multiple rotation stages, multiple multi-angle operating rooms can be realized at low cost, significantly improving treatment efficiency.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 9 , two complex rotating beam lines are fixed to a first rotating supporter 8 and a second rotating supporter 9, which are vertically and coaxially arranged. The first rotating supporter 8 includes two parallel "gantry-type" main beams and two end beams located in the gaps between the two main beams and mechanically connecting them. The second rotating supporter 9 includes two parallel "human-shaped" main beams 91 and two end beams 92 located in the gaps between the two main beams and mechanically connecting them. The main beams 91 distribute the gravity of the complex rotating beam lines to the end beams 92, and a motion assembly 94 is provided below the end beams 92. The motion assembly 94 includes sliders connected to each other and connecting members electrically connected to a drive mechanism 96. The sliders are slidably connected to an annular rail 95 that guides and restrains the sliders. The connecting shaft 93 connects the vertical and horizontal beams of the two main beams 91. The connecting plate 97 is welded to the main beam 91 to form a box girder bridge structure, which is lightweight, has excellent bending strength in the vertical cross section, and has a large load-bearing capacity. The four drive mechanisms 96 are capable of synchronous transmission and are attached to the end beams 92. By frictionally transmitting with the circular rails 95, the composite rotating beam line and the rotating supporter can rotate from 0 to 360 degrees in the horizontal plane, forming two composite rotating terminal beam lines.

[0045] As shown in Figures 9-10 and 12-15, the present invention provides several cross-sectional views of a complex rotating beamline fixed to two rotating supports. Specifically, as shown in Figure 9, a first rotating supporter 8 and a second rotating supporter 9 are vertically and coaxially arranged, with the second rotating supporter 9 located below the first rotating supporter 8. The complex rotating beamline on the first rotating supporter 8 can be branched to form a horizontal beamline, a vertical beamline, a 45-degree beamline, or a beamline of any other angle. To simultaneously irradiate a patient or sample at two angles within a single operation room, the beam extracted from the first vertical beamline 3 passes through a deflection dipole magnet to become the second horizontal beamline 15, which is fixed to the second rotating supporter 9. 12 and 13, the second horizontal beam line 15 is vacuum-connected to the first vertical beam line 3 via a third rotary dynamic sealing device 14, thereby ensuring vacuum maintenance during relative rotation. The first vertical beam line 3 is connected to the first rotary supporter 8 via a thrust bearing 10, and is kept stationary by the thrust bearing 10 under the action of gravity when the first rotary supporter 8 rotates.

[0046] As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the second horizontal beamline 15 is attached to the second rotating supporter 9 and rotates from 0 to 360 degrees together with the second rotating supporter 9. The second rotating supporter 9 and the first rotating supporter 8 rotate coaxially, and the two may rotate independently or synchronously. The second horizontal irradiation head 16 is attached to the first to fourth vertical and horizontal operation rooms 34-37 on the second floor via mounting holes 25 and forms two irradiation angles within the same operation room together with the vertical irradiation head 11 (the vertical irradiation head 11 is a vertical irradiation head installed corresponding to the vertical beamline branching from the 45-degree beamline fixed to the first rotating supporter 8). The 45-degree operation room 30 and the vertical operation room 34 on the second floor are offset from each other. In this way, the third horizontal irradiation head 17 that forms two irradiation angles within the same operation room as the 45-degree irradiation head 12 can be installed in the first to fourth 45-degree + horizontal operation rooms 30-33 on the second floor.

[0047] As shown in Figures 9-10 and 12-15, reference numerals 11-13 and 16-17 denote separate irradiation heads with different angles, which are fixedly attached to the operation chamber via mounting holes 25 in the operation chamber. The rotating supporter receives power via a circular trolley wire 24, and under the action of a drive mechanism 96, rotates the composite rotating beam line from 0 to 360 degrees. A first vacuum membrane window 20 and a second vacuum membrane window 21 are used to achieve vacuum sealing and physical space isolation between the composite rotating beam line and the irradiation heads 11-13 and 16-17 attached at fixed angles. As shown in Figure 16, the ion beam can pass from the composite rotating beam line through the first vacuum membrane window 20, the atmosphere, and the second vacuum membrane window 21 in order without loss before reaching the irradiation heads. Compared with a fixed beamline terminal treatment system, the terminal treatment system of the present invention, in which the composite rotating beamline is fixed to two rotating supporters, can accommodate more operation rooms, preferably up to 12. The length of the beamline is only about 10% of that of a conventional beamline, and the treatment angle covers all treatment angles of the conventional beamline arrangement, and eight double-angle operation rooms can be provided. Of course, the irradiation head and the terminal beamline in the present invention can also be fixedly connected, that is, it is possible to arrange multiple operation rooms in the terminal treatment system without installing a vacuum membrane window between the irradiation heads 11-13, 16-17 and the terminal beamline.

[0048] Specifically, as shown in Figures 8 to 15, several multi-complex rotating beamline terminal irradiation systems (beamlines fixed on two rotating supporters) are provided. Of course, any other beamline combination that can achieve this irradiation effect is also possible, and detailed explanations are omitted here. This multi-complex rotating beamline terminal irradiation system can provide four 45-degree + horizontal irradiation angles, four vertical + horizontal irradiation angles, and four horizontal irradiation angles, allowing tumor patients to receive multiple irradiation angles they require at once in one operation room, further improving treatment efficiency. More operation rooms as described above may be installed depending on the layout of the operation rooms and treatment needs.

[0049] Furthermore, based on the composite rotating beamline, more single composite rotating beamlines or multiple composite rotating beamlines can be provided to form a rotating beamline group. Multiple composite rotating beamlines are arranged coaxially, and the multiple rotating beamlines can rotate independently or synchronously. These rotating beamlines can not only expand the number of operation rooms and the irradiation angle, but can also be overlapped with each other to form a layout with multiple irradiation angles within one operation room.

[0050] As shown in Figures 2 and 17, the rotating device beamline 1 of the present invention is connected to the first rotating supporter 8 or the second rotating supporter 9 via a rotating structure 39. The rotating structure 39 includes a rotating cylinder 391 to which multiple quadrupole magnets on the rotating device beamline 1 are attached and fixed, a gear 392 connected to the rotating cylinder 391 via a first bolt 398, a gear shaft 393 meshing with the gear 392, and a positioning shaft 394 fastened and connected to the first rotating supporter 8 or the second rotating supporter 9 by a second bolt 399, and the gear 392 and positioning shaft 394 are connected via a transition flange 3910 and a bearing 397. Some quadrupole magnets on the rotating device beamline 1 are fixedly attached inside the rotating cylinder 391 via fixed supports 396. The rotating cylinder 391, the positioning shaft 394, and the rotating supporter all have through-holes through which the rotating device beamline 1 passes. A motor 395 drives a gear shaft 393 to drive a gear 392, which in turn drives a rotating cylinder 391 to rotate the multiple quadrupole magnets on the rotating device beamline 1. The rotating structure 39 and the rotating device beamline 1 form a rotating body that eliminates the effect of beamline rotation on the terminal beam spot. The rotating device rotates in the same direction as the terminal beamline, and its rotation angle is half that of the terminal beamline. The multiple quadrupole magnets in the rotating device adopt a mirror-symmetric optical design.

[0051] The present invention proposes a compact optical design to realize a compound rotating beamline, which includes a rotator beamline 1 and multiple terminal beamlines. The rotator beamline 1 is a common beamline for all terminal beamlines (terminal beamlines include the first horizontal beamline 2, the 45-degree beamline 4, the first vertical beamline 3, the second vertical beamline 5, etc.).

[0052] The rotator beamline 1 is a key component in realizing a composite rotating beamline, eliminating the effect of beamline rotation on the terminal beam spot. In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the rotator beamline 1 is composed of seven quadrupole magnets 40, as shown in Figure 18. During rotation, the rotator beamline 1 rotates in the same direction as the terminal beamline, with a rotation angle that is half that of the terminal beamline. The rotator beamline 1 employs a mirror-symmetric optical design. That is, the seven quadrupole magnets are arranged in mirror symmetry with the remaining six quadrupole magnets 40 centered on the fourth quadrupole magnet 40. At the intermediate position (the position of the fourth quadrupole magnet), the x- and y-directional α functions of the beam are both zero. The most notable feature of this portion of the beamline is that the phase shift in the x- and y-directions is 2π and π, respectively, and the optical parameters (twiss parameters) at the entrance and exit are mirror-symmetric. To shorten the length of the rotator beamline 1, preferably, all quadrupole magnets 40 are superconducting magnets, with a normalized integrated gradient of 2-20 / m and a total length of only 2.5 m. A room-temperature magnet design may also be employed, with a corresponding total length of 10-20 m. The quadrupole magnets 40 can also be implemented with a combination of 5-10 magnets. Another distinct advantage of this rotator optical design is that it can accommodate arbitrary angle terminal beamlines, such as the horizontal, vertical, and 45-degree composite rotating beamline of the present invention, while maintaining a small beam spot size throughout the line, while simultaneously realizing that the optical parameters of multiple arbitrary angle terminal beamlines can be kept constant during rotation.

[0053] The terminal beamlines (including the first horizontal beamline 2, the 45-degree beamline 4, the first vertical beamline 3, the second vertical beamline 5, etc.) distribute the beams transmitted from the rotating device beamline 1 to different terminals, and match them according to the target size and scanning area required by the terminals.

[0054] In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the optical design of the first horizontal beamline 2 includes two 45-degree dipole magnets 41 (shown as black blocks) symmetrically arranged about the horizontal axis (abscissa) in the figure, and five quadrupole magnets 40 (shown as black blocks) distributed on both sides of the horizontal axis (abscissa). The black blocks above the horizontal axis represent converging quadrupole magnets, and the black blocks below the horizontal axis represent diverging quadrupole magnets. The two 45-degree dipole magnets 41 deflect the beam horizontally and form a de-diverging structure with the quadrupole magnet 40 (the first quadrupole magnet from left to right on the abscissa). The second through fifth quadrupole magnets 40 are used to align the terminal beam spot. The normalized integrated gradient of the quadrupole magnets 40 is 0.5-5 / m. The first horizontal beamline 2 has a compact design with a total length of less than 15 m and a beam envelope as shown in Figure 23, with a lateral beam size of less than ±15 mm across the entire line.

[0055] The dotted curve in the upper half of the first horizontal beamline 2 in Figure 18 represents the y-direction β function, and the solid curve represents the x-direction β function. These represent the relationship between the size of the beam in the x and y directions when it is stably transmitted through the first horizontal beamline 2. The dotted curve in the lower half represents the y-direction dispersion function, which represents the fluctuation of the superimposed y-direction motion trajectory of the beam due to the influence of momentum dispersion. In this embodiment of the present invention, the x-direction dispersion function of the first horizontal beamline 2 is always zero. From the optical diagram, it can be determined that the transition of the β function is smooth, ensuring the stability of the optical structure. Similar conclusions to those in Figure 18 can also be drawn from the optical diagrams in Figures 19 to 22.

[0056] In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the optical design of the 45-degree beamline 4 includes one 45-degree dipole magnet 41 for deflecting the beam in a 45-degree direction, and seven quadrupole magnets 40 for aligning the terminal beam spot and reducing the terminal dispersion to zero, as shown in FIG. 19. The quadrupole magnets 40 have a normalized integrated gradient of 0.5-5 / m. The terminal beamline adopts a compact design with a total length of less than 20 m, a beam envelope as shown in FIG. 24, and a lateral beam size (x and y directions) of less than ±15 mm throughout the line.

[0057] In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the optical design of the second vertical beamline 5 includes two 45-degree dipole magnets 41 and five quadrupole magnets 40, as shown in FIG. 20. The two 45-degree dipole magnets 41 with opposite deflection directions deflect the beam vertically. The quadrupole magnets 40 form a de-dispersion structure with the 45-degree dipole magnets 41 and are used to align the terminal beam spot. The normalized integrated gradient of the quadrupole magnets 40 is 0.5-5 / m. The terminal beamline adopts a compact design with a total length of less than 18 m and a beam envelope as shown in FIG. 25, with a transverse beam size of less than ±15 mm throughout the line.

[0058] In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the optical design of the second horizontal beamline 15 includes four quadrupole magnets 40 of the first vertical beamline 3 for beam alignment with the second horizontal beamline 15, two 45-degree dipole magnets 41 and one quadrupole magnet 40 of the second horizontal beamline 15 for forming a de-dispersion structure, and a second horizontal illumination head 16 as a drift segment for beam alignment, as shown in Figure 21. The normalized integrated gradient of the quadrupole magnets 40 is 0.5-5 / m, and the terminal beamline adopts a compact design with a total length of less than 20 m and a beam envelope as shown in Figure 26, with a lateral beam size of less than ±16 mm across the entire line.

[0059] In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the optical design of the third horizontal beamline, as shown in Figure 22, includes beamlines 1, 3, and 15, which are common to the second horizontal beamline 15, and a third horizontal illumination head 17, which includes three quadrupole magnets 40 for target beam alignment. The normalized integrated gradient of the quadrupole magnets 40 is 0.5-5 / m. The terminal beamline adopts a compact design with a total length of less than 25 m and a beam envelope as shown in Figure 27, with a lateral beam size of less than ±15 mm across the entire line.

[0060] Furthermore, the horizontal size of the beam is less than ±16 mm across the horizontal + vertical double irradiation angle beamline consisting of the first vertical beamline 3 and the second horizontal beamline 15, the horizontal + 45 degree double irradiation angle beamline consisting of the 45 degree beamline 4 and the third horizontal beamline, and all other lines. This allows for significant reductions in the size and manufacturing costs of the magnet elements, as well as the prices of the corresponding power supplies and associated auxiliary equipment.

[0061] The upper half of Figure 23 shows the change in the beam size in the x direction on the first horizontal beamline 2, and the lower half shows the change in the beam size in the y direction on the first horizontal beamline 2. The beam size determines the size of the magnet and vacuum elements, and therefore the manufacturing cost of the hardware system. The first horizontal beamline 2 adopts a compact design, with the beam size in both the x and y directions being less than ±15 mm, a significant reduction compared to the conventional beam size of ±30 mm, significantly reducing the manufacturing cost of the hardware system. Similar conclusions to those in Figure 23 can be drawn from the optical diagrams in Figures 24 to 27.

[0062] The second aspect of the present invention further provides a method of operating an irradiation terminal, comprising the steps of:

[0063] When it is necessary to irradiate a tumor patient or a sample, the motor 395 drives the rotating device beamline 1 to rotate, which affects the deflection direction of the beam and distributes the beam to different beamline terminals, and the drive mechanism 13 rotates the composite rotating beamline around the rotation axis 22 so that the axis 22 of the rotating membrane window coincides with the axis 23 of the irradiation head membrane window.

[0064] After the patient or sample is positioned, the required ion beam passes through the rotating device beamline 1, the horizontal beamline 2 and the tilted beamline in sequence, then passes through the first vacuum membrane window 20 and the second vacuum membrane window 21, and finally the irradiation head receives the ion beam and irradiates the patient or sample.

[0065] When irradiating using the first vertical beamline 3, the ion beam is transported directly to the corresponding vertical treatment (irradiation irradiation) head without passing through the vacuum membrane window. When irradiating using the 45-degree (or other angle) beamline 4, the second vertical beamline 5, or the horizontal beamline 2, the required ion beam passes through the rotating device beamline 1, passes through the first rotating dynamic sealing device 6, and reaches the terminal beamline fixed to the rotation system. By rotating the rotating supporter, the axis 22 of the rotating membrane window and the axis 23 of the irradiation head membrane window are made to coincide, and the ion beam passes through the vacuum membrane window between them to reach the treatment (irradiation irradiation) head and is irradiated.

[0066] A third aspect of the present invention relates to the use of the above-described irradiation terminal in irradiation therapy and industrial irradiation.

[0067] The above examples are used only to explain the cases where the accelerator of the present invention is extracted vertically downward or extracted horizontally and then deflected vertically downward, and all structures of the present invention are also applicable to the cases where the accelerator of the present invention is extracted vertically upward or extracted horizontally and then deflected vertically upward, and it is clear that both cases are included within the scope of the present invention.

[0068] Finally, the above embodiments are only used to explain, not to limit, the technical means of the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood that those skilled in the art can modify the technical means described in each of the above embodiments or equivalently replace some technical features thereof, and these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical means to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical means of each embodiment of the present invention.

Claims

1. 1. A complex rotating beamline-based irradiation terminal, comprising: a compound rotating beamline fixed to a rotating supporter and including a rotator beamline and a terminal beamline, the terminal beamline including a horizontal beamline and an inclined beamline forming a certain angle with the ground, the horizontal beamline and the inclined beamline being branches of the rotator beamline; The rotation supporter includes two main beams arranged in parallel, and two end beams arranged in gaps at both ends of the two main beams and connecting the two main beams; a plurality of first operation rooms that are uniformly arranged in a circumferential direction of rotation of the horizontal beam line to form a working room on a first floor, each of the first operation rooms having a mounting hole in a wall; a plurality of second operation rooms that are uniformly arranged in a circumferential direction of rotation of the inclined beam line to form a working room on a second floor, each of the second operation rooms having a mounting hole in a wall; a plurality of irradiation heads installed in one-to-one correspondence with the first operation room and the second operation room, the plurality of irradiation heads receiving the ion beam transmitted by the composite rotating beam line through the mounting holes and irradiating the ion beam onto a patient or a sample; a driving mechanism that is operatively connected to the rotating supporter and drives the rotating supporter to rotate 0 to 360 degrees along a circular rail, thereby making the composite rotating beamline a beamline that can rotate 0 to 360 degrees; Including, the rotating device beam line realizes rotation by a rotating structure including a rotating cylinder, a gear, a gear shaft, and a positioning shaft, the gear shaft and the positioning shaft are respectively fastened and connected to the rotating supporter, the gear is connected to the positioning shaft via a transition flange and a bearing, meshes with the gear shaft, and is fastened and connected to the rotating cylinder, the rotating cylinder fixes the rotating device beam line, the rotating cylinder, the positioning shaft, and the rotating supporter are all provided with a through hole through which the rotating device beam line passes, the rotator beamline rotates in the same direction as the terminal beamline, and the rotation angle is 1 / 2 of the rotation angle of the terminal beamline; the phase shift of the rotator beamline in the x-direction is an even multiple of π, and the phase shift of the rotator beamline in the y-direction is an odd multiple of π, so that the terminal beamline does not optically fluctuate during rotation; Radiation terminal based on a complex rotating beamline.

2. 2. The radiation delivery terminal of claim 1, wherein the terminal beamline further comprises a first vertical beamline and a second vertical beamline, both of which are branches of the rotator beamline.

3. a first vacuum membrane window is attached to flanges at the ion beam output ends of the horizontal beam line, the inclined beam line and the second vertical beam line, and a second vacuum membrane window is attached to a receiving end flange of the irradiation head, and the first vacuum membrane window and the second vacuum membrane window realize a vacuum seal between the composite rotating beam line and the irradiation head; The radiation irradiation terminal according to claim 2 .

4. The size of the gap between the first vacuum membrane window and the second vacuum membrane window is 5 to 200 mm. The radiation irradiation terminal according to claim 3 .

5. the first vertical beam line is mechanically coupled to the rotary supporter via a thrust bearing; The radiation irradiation terminal according to claim 2 .

6. the main beam includes a vertical beam, a horizontal beam, and two inclined beams connecting the vertical beam and the horizontal beam, the horizontal beams of the two main beams are connected to each other by a connecting shaft and a connecting plate, and the composite rotating beam line is attached within a cavity formed by the two main beams; The radiation irradiation terminal according to claim 1 .

7. the radiation irradiation terminal further comprises a motion assembly including an interconnected slider and a coupling member, the slider slidably coupled to the annular rail, and the coupling member transmission-coupled to the drive mechanism; The radiation irradiation terminal according to claim 1 .

8. the number of the rotating supporter is at least one, and when the number of the rotating supporters is two, the two rotating supporters are a first rotating supporter and a second rotating supporter arranged coaxially, the first vertical beam line passes through a deflection dipole magnet to become a second horizontal beam line, the second horizontal beam line is fixed to the second rotating supporter, the irradiation head of the second horizontal beam line and the irradiation head of the second vertical beam line are located in the same operation room, and vertical and horizontal double angle irradiation is formed. The radiation irradiation terminal according to claim 2 .

9. the number of the rotating supporter is at least one, and when the number of the rotating supporters is two, the two rotating supporters are a first rotating supporter and a second rotating supporter arranged coaxially, the first vertical beam line passes through a deflection dipole magnet to become a second horizontal beam line, the second horizontal beam line is fixed to the second rotating supporter, the irradiation head of the tilted beam line and a third horizontal irradiation head of the second horizontal beam line are located in the same operation room, and tilted and horizontal double angle irradiation is formed. The radiation irradiation terminal according to claim 2 .

10. The irradiation head and the composite rotating beam line are designed as an integrated or separate entity. The radiation irradiation terminal according to claim 1 .

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