4D Oncology Workflow Integration for Respiratory Motion Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional imaging systems face challenges in accurately identifying tumors and managing radiation therapy due to organ movement during breathing cycles, leading to blurred images and increased radiation risks to healthy organs, with cumbersome workflows and limited flexibility in treatment planning across different respiratory phases.
Innovation Solution
An integrated treatment planning system that includes a treatment planning component for 4D CT files, a four-dimensional integration component for respiratory-motion files, and a multi-modality component to generate and register multi-modality images from CT, PET, MRI, and other modalities, allowing for flexible definition and redefinition of images based on separation parameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional CT and PET scanners are used to acquire images at consecutive table positions, then image acquisition is performed, but images correspond to different respiratory phases causing blurred regions and staged effects that reduce image quality and make organ edge identification difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the continuous respiratory cycle into discrete phases (inhalation, pause, exhalation, pause) and acquires images at each phase separately. This segmentation allows clear identification of organ edges at each respiratory phase without blurring, while still providing comprehensive coverage of the full respiratory cycle through multi-phase imaging.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs periodic image acquisition synchronized with the respiratory cycle, capturing images at specific intervals corresponding to different respiratory phases. This periodic action ensures that images are acquired at consistent, identifiable points in the breathing cycle, enabling reliable organ edge detection and reducing blurred regions.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a considerable margin is added around the target volume to compensate for organ movements during breathing, then radiation safety to surrounding healthy organs is improved, but the efficiency of radiation dose delivery to the tumor is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic treatment planning that adapts to the patient's respiratory cycle. By acquiring images at multiple respiratory phases and tracking organ movement dynamically, the system can adjust radiation beam targeting in real-time or plan dynamic treatment arcs that follow organ motion, maintaining tumor coverage while reducing margins around stationary healthy tissues.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies asymmetric margin adjustments based on respiratory phase and organ motion patterns. Rather than applying uniform margins in all directions, the patent calculates phase-specific margins that are larger in directions of greater motion and smaller where organs are more stable, optimizing the balance between tumor coverage and healthy tissue protection.
3Reliability
If conventional oncology workflow is used for multi-phase imaging, then the process can be completed, but the workflow is cumbersome and complicated requiring a considerable number of steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple previously separate functions into a unified treatment planning system. The system combines respiratory phase detection, multi-phase image acquisition, image registration, contouring, and treatment planning into a single integrated workflow, eliminating the need to switch between multiple applications and reducing the number of manual steps required.
Solution Approach 2:
The treatment planning system is designed with universal multi-functionality to handle various imaging modalities (CT, PET, MRI) and respiratory phases within a single platform. This multi-functional design allows the system to perform diverse tasks including image loading, spatial matching, contouring, and treatment plan generation without requiring separate specialized applications for each function.
4Adaptability or versatility
If conventional TPS systems are used, then only CT images and RTSS objects with reference to a single series can be loaded, but the system cannot support CT/PET scanners, 4D PET images, or multi-modality imaging
Solution Approach 1:
The treatment planning system implements universal multi-functionality to support multiple imaging modalities including CT, PET, MRI, and their combinations (CT/PET, 4D PET). The system can load and process images from various scanners and formats, performing spatial matching and integration across modalities to improve tumor detection accuracy through multi-modality fusion.
Data Source
AI summary
A non-transitory computer-accessible medium having executable instructions capable of directing a processor to generate a spatio-temporal maximum-intensity projection from a respiratory phase separated series of images; generate a phase separated four-dimension series of images of various modalities, generate a radiation therapy structure set, and generate a radiation therapy plan, store the spatio-temporal maximum-intensity projection, the respiratory phase separated series of images, the phase separated four-dimension series of images of various modalities, the radiation therapy structure set, and the radiation therapy plan in a memory, receive a selection of a custom range of phase separated series, display a four-dimension phase cine of the custom range of phase separated series having the spatio-temporal maximum-intensity projection, identify a desired phase series for diagnosis and treatment planning, and store the radiation therapy structure set and the radiation therapy plan in the memory.