43 results about "Hadron" patented technology

An apparatus, method and system for measurement of radiation during or directly following hadron therapy treatment for dose and range verification purposes accomplished through measurement of prompt gamma and other beam-induced radiation. One example includes the measurement of secondary prompt gamma radiation during proton and carbon ion beam irradiation. The measurement can also be made of other beam-induced radiation results. The measurement of gamma radiation or other beam-induced radiation allows for optimization of radiation dose disposition to the target tissue, with improved sparing of surrounding critical structures and normal tissue. Adjustments to a radiation treatment may be made as needed based on actual and measured applied dosages.

An ionization chamber with spatial distribution electrode for monitor hadron beam currents used for therapeutic treatment. Ionization chamber comprises humidity control, environmental sensing and real-time correction thereof. A flexible hermetic seal provide for ambient pressure equalization. X-Y electrode planes measure Gaussian distribution of incident particle beam. Methods described herein are suitable to fabricate highly accurate, low scattering electrodes with high spatial resolutions.

The invention is related to an apparatus and method for charged hadron therapy verification by detecting and/or quantifying prompt gammas produced when irradiating a target (6) with a charged hadron beam. The apparatus comprises a collimator (1) provided with a slit-shaped portion (2) configured to be arranged perpendicularly to the beam line and facing the target, a detection means (3,4) suitable for detecting said prompt gammas and a calculation and representation means. In the apparatus and method of the invention, the slit is configured to allow the passage of prompt gammas emitted from a range of depths in said target (6), said depths being measured in the direction of the charged hadron beam. Furthermore, said detection means is configured to detect prompt gammas emitted from each location within said range, and said calculation and representation means is configured to derive from a detected prompt gamma a value representative of the dose at the location from where said prompt gamma is emitted, and to represent a dose-related distribution for a plurality of locations within said range.

Treatment planning methods are provided that determine the variability of relative biological effectiveness (RBE) along a beam line and calculate, among other things, what intensity of hadron beam such as a proton or a carbon ion beam should be applied to achieve a desired biological dose at treatment site of a patient afflicted with a medical condition. Typically, three or four RBE values at three or four corresponding spacially-dispersed intervals along the beam line are calculated. In one embodiment, two RBE values for the spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) region of the treatment site; one for the proximal section and one for the declining distal section is calculated. A third and different RBE value may be determined for the distal edge region of the SOBP. A fourth value may also be calculated for a pre-SOBP region.

The present invention relates to a device for dosimetry monitoring of a hadron beam, comprising n successive ionization chambers i obtained by a serie or stack of n+1 parallel detector plates separated from each other by a gas filled gap, each detector plates having a collecting part comprising a collecting side insulated from a bias voltage part comprising a bias voltage side and ranged in a such way that the said collecting side is facing the said bias voltage side of a subsequent detector plate or inversely, each detector plate comprising m layers L_k of materials, the resulting assembly of these detector plates forming a plurality of ionization chamber cells, characterised in that: the thicknesses I_k and the choice of the materials of each layer L_k constituting each detector plate as well as the gap of an ionization chamber cell i have been selected in order to satisfy the equation (I) for each ionization chamber i, where l_gi is the gas filled gap distance between two detector plates; I_k is the thickness of the corresponding layer L_k of a detector plate and; WET_k is the water equivalent thickness (WET) of the corresponding layer L_k of a detector plate.

Instrumentation and methodologies are provided that enable the direct measurement of free radicals generated in patients as a result of radiation therapy through the use of proton beams and other forms of ionizing radiation. As a result, in accordance with at least one disclosed embodiment, the instrumentation and methodologies may be used in conjunction with radiation therapy to detect, monitor and/or control generation of free radicals in cancerous tissue during such radiation therapy.

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for mirroring file data. Generally, high availability and disaster recovery (“HADRON”) is achieved within a database management system by detecting which parts of a file have changed and sending the changed parts to secondaries. Adjacent or partially overlapping parts of a file can coalesce to form larger chunks of changed data. Coalescing reduces the overall number of chunks that are tracked.

The present invention relates to a method for obtaining a shielding element for minimizing the penumbra of a beam of hadrons outside a target area, the hadron beam being guided in a longitudinal direction by an irradiation unit, and the beam having a width (σ). The method includes:

• • (i) defining a closed or open contour of said target area;
  • (ii) providing a block having a longitudinal thickness capable of blocking the passage of said beam and having a lateral surface perpendicular to said longitudinal thickness;
  • (iii) forming an aperture of a shape similar to said contour and crossing said longitudinal thickness of said block for letting through said beam, said aperture forming a longitudinal internal surface; and
  • (iv) trimming said block so as to form a longitudinal external surface around said longitudinal internals surface, said longitudinal internal and longitudinal external surfaces delimiting a side wall.

A charged hadron therapy system for delivering charged hadron radiation to a target is provided. The system comprises a target positioning couch for supporting the target being moveable along a translation direction and a beam delivery system comprising a beam scanning means for scanning a hadron pencil beam over said target in a first scanning direction and a second scanning direction being substantially parallel with the translation direction. The beam scanning means is limited for providing a maximum scanning amplitude AY in the second scanning direction. The system comprises an irradiation controller configured for simultaneously and synchronously performing the moving of the couch and the scanning, so as to deliver charged hadron radiation to a target over a target size being larger in the Y direction than the maximum scanning amplitude AY.

A gantry structure (16) designed for pivoting about an axis of rotation (18) and for delivering a hadron beam on a target comprises a beam delivery line (24) receiving the hadron beam in a direction essentially parallel to the axis of rotation (18), deviating it away from said axis of rotation (18) and delivering it so that the axis of the beam intersects the axis of rotation (18). The beam delivery line (24) is a self-supporting structure supported by a pivotable support arm (32) in proximity of the center of gravity of the beam delivery line (24). A counterweight (42) is supported by a support arm extension (40) on the other side of the axis of rotation (18) for compensating the moment of force due to the weight of the beam delivery line (24) and the support arm (32).

The invention is related to a method and apparatus for verifying the beam range in a target irradiated with a charged hadron beam, such as a proton beam. The beam range is the location of the Bragg peak in the target, being the location where the largest portion of the dose is delivered. The method utilizes a prompt gamma camera provided with a slit-shaped opening, so as to be able to produced a 1-dimensional profile of the dose distribution along the beam line. The camera is mounted with the slit oriented perpendicularly to the beam line. The method comprises the steps of calculating a position of the camera with respect to a target, for a plurality of beam energies and spots to be irradiated. The method further comprises the steps of verifying the beam range for said plurality of spots, and delivering a value representative of the difference between the estimated beam range and the actual beam range. The apparatus of the invention is provided with a positioning module for positioning the camera.

It has been discovered that enhancer signatures distinguish enhancer elements from other regulatory elements and that the characteristic enhancer signatures vary in a cell-type specific manner. These discoveries provide the basis for novel methods of predicting, diagnosing and monitoring of diseases, particularly cancer.

It is a battery, but electricity output not from electrochemistry, only ionic current loop and its induced high magnetic field ready for use. The power comes from osmotic pressure without any chemical reaction. Recharging the battery can be done by reverse osmosis, or replacement of liquid media. Electrolyte, 2 or 3 liquid segments, ion-exchange membranes and valves are needed. Only 3-segment system can output electricity by non-electrochemical method. Huge current can be generated in liquid-loop comprising different concentration compartments; it is not the regular invisible lepton electronic current, but pure hadron or baryon ionic current, up to millions amperes that can be far larger than any superconductor's capability. Protons and small anions are preferred, so as to reduce mass transfer & ion hammer effect.

The present invention is related to an apparatus and method for hadron beam verification. The apparatus allows to verify a number of different characteristics in a brief time span. The apparatus comprises at least one main degrader element and associated therewith a multiple thickness degrader element. The latter may comprise a number of patches of beam degrading material, the patches having constant but mutually different thicknesses. Alternatively, it may be a wedge-shaped element. By aiming a pencil beam at the various thicknesses, data points can be obtained which allow to make an estimation of the beam range. In addition to this, the apparatus comprises a zone where no degrader material is present, and where a measurement of the spot size can be obtained, without moving or replacing the apparatus.

The invention discloses a method for quickly optimizing intensity-modulated sub-fields through grouping. The method for quickly optimizing intensity-modulated sub-fields through grouping solves the problems that the prior art needs multiple iterations, and the time is long. The method for quickly optimizing intensity-modulated sub-fields through grouping includes steps that (1) determining a blade needed for forming a field according to the anatomic relationship between the three-dimensional shape of a target region and the related organ at risk, and grouping the blade for forming the field; (2) using a simulated annealing method to judge the blade of each group. The method for quickly optimizing intensity-modulated sub-fields through grouping includes that grouping the blade before performing the simulated annealing, and using a CPU core to carry out optimal computation on each group; judging each sub-group through an independent target function, changing the blade position in the sub-group, calculating the target function, and judging whether the blade change can be accepted according to a solution accepting method. The method for quickly optimizing intensity-modulated sub-fields through grouping reduces the optimizing time based on reducing the sub-field number and monitor unit number and improving the implementation efficiency; the waste is lowered by means of the computation ability of the multi-core CPU.