Imaging Observation Timing for Radiation Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current radiation treatment methods are invasive, costly, and restrictive, often requiring multiple x-rays and marker implantation, which can be uncomfortable for patients and expose them to excessive radiation, while also failing to account for patient movement beyond breathing motions and requiring expensive equipment calibration.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses imaging elements to generate observations of a volume of interest (VOI) within a patient's body, determining its positioning based on these observations and allowing for non-invasive tracking of the VOI's location across different patient positions, enabling movement during treatment and compensating for beam positioning errors through predictive modeling and adaptive imaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple x-rays are taken during treatment to update VOI position, then measurement precision is improved, but patient radiation exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary imaging scans at multiple different patient positions before treatment to establish a comprehensive mapping model. This pre-acquired positional data is stored and later used to determine VOI location without requiring additional x-rays during treatment, thus resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and radiation exposure.
2Measurement precision
If markers are implanted surgically to provide VOI location, then measurement precision is improved, but patient comfort and safety deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the need for invasive marker implantation by using non-invasive imaging scans to capture patient anatomy at multiple positions. The system processes these images to create a mapping model that tracks VOI position without requiring any surgical markers, thereby eliminating patient discomfort and surgical risks while maintaining measurement precision.
3Measurement precision
If patient is restricted to specified position during treatment, then measurement precision is maintained, but patient comfort and versatility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary imaging scans at multiple different patient positions and orientations before treatment begins. These pre-acquired data from various positions are used to build a comprehensive mapping model that can determine VOI location regardless of patient position during treatment, thereby eliminating position restrictions while maintaining tracking accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The mapping model is designed to be dynamic and adaptive, capable of processing imaging data from varying patient positions and orientations. This dynamic capability allows the system to track VOI position accurately even when the patient moves or changes position during treatment, providing both measurement precision and patient versatility.
4Manufacturing precision
If expensive equipment with high calibration tolerance is used, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where imaging observations from multiple patient positions are continuously processed to update and refine the mapping model. This feedback loop allows the software to compensate for equipment positioning variations and calibration tolerances, achieving high beam positioning accuracy without requiring extremely precise or complex equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the approach from relying on hardware precision to using software-based parameter adjustment. By acquiring imaging data at multiple positions and using computational algorithms to determine VOI location, the system compensates for equipment tolerances through parameter changes in the mapping model rather than requiring high-precision hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and apparatuses are provided for targeting diseased tissue with a radiation beam. One system includes an imaging element configured to generate a first observation of an object, the first observation generated at a first time, the object associated with a volume of interest (VOI), the VOI comprising a volume within a body of a patient. The system further includes one or more processors configured to determine a first positioning of the VOI based at least in part on the first observation of the object determine a second time for the imaging element based at least in part on a positioning parameter associated with the first positioning of the VOI, and generate a second observation of the object at the second time.