129 results about "Particle therapy" patented technology

A particle therapy system, as one example of a particle beam irradiation system, comprises a charged particle beam generator and an irradiation field forming apparatus. An ion beam from the charged particle beam generator is irradiated to a diseased part in the body of a patient through the irradiation field forming apparatus. A scattering compensator and a range modulation wheel (RMW) are disposed on the upstream side in a direction of beam advance and are movable along a beam axis. The movement of the scattering compensator and the RMW adjusts a size of the ion beam entering a scatterer device, whereby a change in scattering intensity of the ion beam in the scatterer device is adjusted. As a result, a penumbra in dose distribution is reduced and a more uniform dose distribution in a direction perpendicular to the direction of beam advance is obtained in the diseased part.

The invention comprises a charged particle beam acceleration and / or extraction method and apparatus used in conjunction with charged particle beam radiation therapy of cancerous tumors. Novel design features of a synchrotron are described. Particularly, turning magnets, edge focusing magnets, and extraction elements are described that minimize the overall size of the synchrotron, provide a tightly controlled proton beam, directly reduce the size of required magnetic fields, directly reduces required operating power, and allow continual acceleration of protons in a synchrotron even during a process of extracting protons from the synchrotron.

The invention relates generally to treatment of solid cancers. More particularly, the invention relates to a multi-field imaging and / or a multi-field charged particle cancer therapy method and apparatus coordinated with patient respiration via use of feedback sensors used to monitor and / or control patient respiration. Preferably, the multi-field imaging, such as X-ray imaging, and the charged particle therapy are performed on a patient in a partially immobilized and repositionable position. X-ray and / or proton delivery is timed to patient respiration via control of charged particle beam injection, acceleration, extraction, and / or targeting methods and apparatus.

The invention comprises an X-ray system that is orientated to provide X-ray images of a patient in the same orientation as viewed by a proton therapy beam, is synchronized with patient respiration, is operable on a patient positioned for proton therapy, and does not interfere with a proton beam treatment path. Preferably, the synchronized system is used in conjunction with a negative ion beam source, synchrotron, and / or targeting method apparatus to provide an X-ray timed with patient respiration and performed immediately prior to and / or concurrently with particle beam therapy irradiation to ensure targeted and controlled delivery of energy relative to a patient position resulting in efficient, precise, and / or accurate noninvasive, in-vivo treatment of a solid cancerous tumor with minimization of damage to surrounding healthy tissue in a patient using the proton beam position verification system.

A particle therapy system is provided which can simply and quickly correct a beam orbit. In a particle therapy system provided with an irradiation facility comprising a first beam transport system for receiving a beam and transporting the beam to the patient side, and an irradiation nozzle for forming an irradiation field of the beam, the particle therapy system comprises first beam position monitors for detecting a position upstream of the irradiation nozzle at which the beam passes, second beam position monitors for detecting a position downstream of the irradiation nozzle at which the charged-particle beam passes, and first and second steering magnets. Correction bending amounts for causing the beam to be coincident with a predetermined orbit after the correction are determined in accordance with detected results from the first and second beam position monitors, and first and second steering magnets are excited under control so that the determined correction bending amounts are obtained.

The invention comprises an X-ray tomography method and apparatus used in conjunction with multi-axis charged particle or proton beam radiation therapy of cancerous tumors. In various embodiments, 3-D images are generated from a series of 2-D X-rays images; the X-ray source and detector are stationary while the patient rotates; the 2-D X-ray images are generated using an X-ray source proximate a charged particle beam in a charged particle cancer therapy system; and the X-ray tomography system uses an electron source having a geometry that enhances an electron source lifetime, where the electron source is used in generation of X-rays. The X-ray tomography system is optionally used in conjunction with systems used to both move and constrain movement of the patient, such as semi-vertical, sitting, or laying positioning systems. The X-ray images are optionally used in control of a charged particle cancer therapy system.

A particle therapy gantry for delivering a particle beam to a patient includes a beam tube having a curvature defining a particle beam path and a plurality of fixed field magnets sequentially arranged along the beam tube for guiding the particle beam along the particle path. In a method for delivering a particle beam to a patient through a gantry, a particle beam is guided by a plurality of fixed field magnets sequentially arranged along a beam tube of the gantry and the beam is alternately focused and defocused with alternately arranged focusing and defocusing fixed field magnets.

A particle therapy system for irradiating a volume of a patient to be irradiated with high-energy particles is provided. The system includes a radiation outlet of a radiation delivery and acceleration system from which a particle beam exits in order to interact with the patient positioned in an irradiation position; an imaging device for verifying the position of the volume to be irradiated in relation to the particle beam; and a patient-positioning device with which the patient can be brought into the irradiation position for irradiation. The imaging device checks the position of the volume to be irradiated in an imaging position of the patient that is spatially remote from the irradiation position, and the patient-positioning device automatically changes position between imaging position and irradiation position.

The invention relates to a gantry system for a particle therapy facility, having a beam guidance gantry which has elements for beam guidance, and having a measurement gantry which has a device for beam monitoring. The measurement gantry and beam guidance gantry are thus of a mutually independent design and are, in particular, arranged in a mutually concentric manner. A gantry system of this kind is inter alia less susceptible to mechanical deviations during rotation of the beam guidance gantry.

A particle therapy gantry for delivering a particle beam to a patient includes a beam tube having a curvature defining a particle beam path and a plurality of fixed field magnets sequentially arranged along the beam tube for guiding the particle beam along the particle path. In a method for delivering a particle beam to a patient through a gantry, a particle beam is guided by a plurality of fixed field magnets sequentially arranged along a beam tube of the gantry and the beam is alternately focused and defocused with alternately arranged combined function focusing and defocusing fixed field magnets.

The present embodiments relate to a control device for controlling an irradiation procedure, which is designed in such a way that a target volume is irradiated by at least two irradiation procedures. In each irradiation procedure, an energy of a particle beam is varied in such a way that the target volume is irradiated layer-wise in layers that are spatially arranged one behind another. A sequence in which the layers of the target volume are irradiated in one of the irradiation procedures is varied from irradiation procedure to irradiation procedure, in terms of a direction of incidence of the particle beam.

A particle therapy gantry for delivering a particle beam to a patient includes a beam tube having a curvature defining a particle beam path and a plurality of superconducting, variable field magnets sequentially arranged along the beam tube for guiding the particle beam along the particle path. In a method for delivering a particle beam to a patient through a gantry, a particle beam is guided by a plurality of variable field magnets sequentially arranged along a beam tube of the gantry and the beam is alternately focused and defocused with alternately arranged focusing and defocusing variable field magnets.

The present invention relates to a device and method for monitoring and verification of the quality of a radiation treatment beam in conformal radiation therapy, and in particular for IMPT (Intensity Modulated Particle Therapy) applications. The device comprises a 2D electronic detector measuring 2D responses to the delivered treatment beam. These 2D responses are compared with predicted 2D responses and differences in responses are signalled. Based on the measured 2D responses the effectively delivered 3D dose distribution in the target can be reconstructed.

A charged particle beam reduces treatment time in the uniform scanning or in the conformal layer stacking irradiation. In the uniform scanning, an optimum charged particle beam scan path for uniformly irradiating a collimator aperture area is calculated. In the conformal layer stacking irradiation, an optimum charged particle beam scan path for uniformly irradiating a multi-leaf collimator aperture area of each layer for each of the layers obtained by partitioning the target volume is calculated. Alternatively, a minimum irradiation field size that covers the multi-leaf collimator aperture area of each layer is calculated, and a scan path corresponding to the irradiation field size, prestored in a memory of a particle therapy control apparatus, is selected. The charged particle beam scan path is optimally changed in the lateral directions in conformity with the collimator aperture area in the uniform scanning or in each layer in the conformal layer stacking irradiation.

The present embodiments relate to a gantry for the beam guidance of a particle beam with at least one beam guidance element. A carrier device is rotatably mounted in such a way that the particle beam can be directed by a rotation of the carrier device with the beam guidance element from various angles on to an object to be irradiated. At least one moveable actuating element may adjust a spatial position of the beam guidance element.

A particle therapy system, as one example of a particle beam irradiation system, comprises a charged particle beam generator and an irradiation field forming apparatus. An ion beam from the charged particle beam generator is irradiated to a diseased part in the body of a patient through the irradiation field forming apparatus. A scattering compensator and a range modulation wheel (RMW) are disposed on the upstream side in a direction of beam advance and are movable along a beam axis. The movement of the scattering compensator and the RMW adjusts a size of the ion beam entering a scatterer device, whereby a change in scattering intensity of the ion beam in the scatterer device is adjusted. As a result, a penumbra in dose distribution is reduced and a more uniform dose distribution in a direction perpendicular to the direction of beam advance is obtained in the diseased part.

New techniques for radiotherapy and radiosurgery are provided. In some aspects of the invention, multiple sources of radiation with a frequency, phase and polarization that are projected to constructively interfere at a treatment target are provided. In other aspects, hardware directs multiple radiation sources from the same side of a treatment target, and focuses the initiation of substantial interference on a leading structure in the target. In other aspects, refractive models updated by live feedback are used to improve dosage distribution by, among other things, optimizing the number, length, superposition overlap, angle and nature of radiation beams. In additional aspects, interstitial beacons and radiation path diversion structures are inserted to improve dosage distribution to a target and avoid critical neighboring structures. In particle therapy, regionally actuable external magnetic fields are also provided, to improve dosage accuracy and avoid collateral damage.