Automatic Base Dose Generation for Radiation Therapy
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current radiation therapy treatment plans are prone to human error due to manual calculation of the base dose, leading to inaccurate dosing and sub-optimal treatment plans, as they fail to efficiently account for both delivered and undelivered radiation dosages from various sources.
Innovation Solution
An automatic control circuit generates a base dose by referencing dosing information from multiple sources, including previous and future treatments, patient images, and deformation information, allowing for weighting and uncertainty indication to optimize radiation therapy plans and limit radiation accumulation in target and untargeted volumes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual calculation of base dose is used, then human judgment and flexibility are applied, but human error and inaccuracy increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical calculation process with an automated computer-based system. The control circuit automatically retrieves dosing information from multiple sources, applies deformation information, and calculates the base dose without human intervention, thereby eliminating human error while maintaining calculation accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically gathering dosing information from multiple sources, processing deformation data, and generating the base dose calculation independently without requiring manual human input or judgment, improving both accuracy and reliability.
2Loss of information
If multiple sources of dosing information are integrated, then comprehensive dosing accounting is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control circuit is designed with multi-functionality to handle various types of dosing information from different sources (previous treatments, future treatments, imaging procedures) and process them through a unified algorithm that incorporates deformation information, achieving comprehensive information integration without proportionally increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces deformation information as an intermediary element that mediates between raw dosing information from multiple sources and the final base dose calculation. This intermediary allows the system to harmonize data from different sources and time points by accounting for anatomical changes, simplifying the integration process.
3Measurement precision
If deformation information is incorporated, then anatomical accuracy is improved, but calculation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by retrieving and storing deformation information in advance before the base dose calculation is performed. This pre-prepared deformation data is then automatically applied during the calculation process, improving anatomical accuracy without adding complexity to the actual calculation step.
Data Source
AI summary
A control circuit forms a radiation therapy treatment plan by automatically generating a base dose that references dosing information from multiple sources and then using that base dose to optimize a radiation therapy treatment plan. That radiation therapy treatment plan is then used to administer radiation therapy to a patient. That automatically generated base dose can represent any or all of earlier radiation therapy treatments for the patient, a same fraction as a dose presently being optimized per the radiation therapy treatment plan, and future planned fractions for the patient.