Adaptive Radiation Therapy Dose Evaluation via Image-Guided Feedback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current radiation therapy techniques face challenges in ensuring accurate delivery of the treatment dose due to uncertainties such as patient setup errors, physiological changes, and motion, which can lead to inadequate treatment quality and potential harm to healthy tissues.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of adaptive radiation therapy with feedback loops for quality assurance, utilizing image-guidance, deformation techniques, and real-time dose calculation to validate and adjust treatment plans based on patient images and motion data, ensuring accurate delivery of the intended radiation dose.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If standard radiation therapy with fixed margins is used, then treatment coverage is ensured, but treatment precision deteriorates due to uncertainties in target location and patient motion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback loops where patient images are acquired during treatment, compared to reference images, and used to adjust the treatment plan in real-time. This closed-loop system continuously monitors and corrects for target motion and setup errors, allowing the system to maintain both reliable coverage and high precision by adapting to actual patient anatomy and motion patterns throughout the treatment course
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the static treatment plan into a dynamic system that adapts to changing patient conditions. By using deformation techniques to register images taken at different time points and adjusting delivery parameters based on observed motion, the system dynamically responds to physiological changes, respiratory motion, and setup variations, thereby maintaining precision without sacrificing coverage reliability
2Manufacturing precision
If adaptive radiation therapy with real-time image guidance and dose recalculation is implemented, then treatment precision is improved, but system complexity and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the adaptive radiation therapy system into modular functional components: image acquisition module, image registration module using deformation techniques, dose calculation module, and treatment delivery module. Each module performs a specific function and can be independently optimized or replaced. This segmentation manages system complexity by creating discrete, well-defined subsystems that work together to achieve high treatment precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating deformation fields and dose distributions for various anatomical configurations and motion scenarios. Reference images and treatment plans are prepared in advance, and deformation algorithms are pre-computed to enable rapid adaptation during treatment. This preliminary preparation reduces the computational burden during actual treatment delivery, managing real-time system complexity while maintaining high precision
3Reliability
If larger margins are used to account for target motion and setup errors, then treatment coverage is maintained, but damage to healthy tissues increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses real-time feedback from patient imaging to dynamically adjust treatment margins. Instead of applying fixed large margins to account for all possible variations, the system monitors actual patient position and anatomy throughout treatment and adapts the delivery accordingly. This feedback-driven approach maintains reliable coverage of the moving target while reducing unnecessary radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissues by eliminating the need for excessive static margins
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of treatment margins from fixed static values to dynamic values that adapt to actual patient conditions. By using deformation techniques to track anatomical changes and adjusting margin sizes in real-time based on observed motion and setup accuracy, the system optimizes the balance between coverage reliability and healthy tissue protection, applying larger margins only when and where actually needed
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method of evaluating a radiation dose delivered to a patient receiving radiation therapy. The method includes the acts of generating a time-based series of patient images, collecting a time-based series of data indicating patient motion, and evaluating a radiation dose delivered to the patient based upon the time-based series of patient images and the time-based series of data.