BGM Dose Servo Control for Flash Radiotherapy Pulses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing radiation therapy systems face challenges in accurately delivering ultra-high dose rates of radiation with minimal latency and variance between pulses, particularly in Flash radiotherapy, due to communication latency between control systems and radiation delivery components.
Innovation Solution
A beam generation and monitoring (BGM) board with a dose servo algorithm, such as a PID algorithm, is integrated within the radiation therapy machine to control radiation pulses on a pulse-by-pulse basis, using pulse width modulation (PWM) to adjust each pulse based on previous pulses and a nominal dose percentage, ensuring accurate delivery of the prescribed radiation dose.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional radiotherapy control systems are used, then system complexity is reduced, but latency and variance between pulses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the beam generation control and dose monitoring functions into a single integrated BGM board. This merging eliminates communication latency between separate control systems and radiation delivery components, enabling real-time pulse-by-pulse feedback control while maintaining system reliability. The integration directly addresses the contradiction by consolidating control functions to reduce latency without significantly increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the BGM board monitors the actual radiation dose delivered by each pulse and uses this information to adjust subsequent pulses. The dose servo algorithm continuously compares delivered dose with prescribed dose and makes real-time corrections, ensuring accurate pulse delivery. This feedback loop resolves the contradiction by enabling precise control through integrated monitoring and adjustment.
2Manufacturing precision
If integrated BGM board with dose servo algorithm is used, then pulse delivery accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The BGM board performs self-monitoring and self-adjustment of radiation pulse parameters. The dose servo algorithm automatically detects dose delivery variations and corrects them without external intervention, enabling precise dose control. This self-service capability improves manufacturing precision while limiting complexity growth, as the system manages its own control functions internally rather than requiring additional external control components.
3Manufacturing precision
If real-time pulse-by-pulse control is implemented, then dose accuracy is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The BGM board is pre-configured with the treatment plan and dose parameters before treatment begins. The dose servo algorithm has pre-loaded correction factors and adjustment rules that enable immediate response to dose variations without requiring real-time calculation or external processing. This preliminary preparation allows rapid pulse-by-pulse control that improves dose accuracy without adding significant processing time to the treatment.
Data Source
AI summary
A radiation treatment system includes a radiation therapy machine configured to output radiation pulses to provide a radiation dose to a patient and a beam generation and monitoring (“BGM”) board including a dose servo algorithm. The BGM board is configured to execute the dose servo algorithm in accordance with a treatment plan to control the radiation dose on a pulse-by-pulse basis according to the treatment plan.