Charged Particle Irradiation System Spot Group Interruption Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In charged particle irradiation systems, failures or respiratory gating signal disruptions during irradiation of a group of spots can lead to inaccurate dose distribution due to misalignment of irradiated spots, resulting in inefficient operation and potential under or over irradiation.
Innovation Solution
The system is designed to interrupt and restart beam extraction only after completing irradiation of all spots within a group, ensuring continuous irradiation of the group without immediate stoppage, thus maintaining a desired dose distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If beam extraction is interrupted immediately when a failure occurs during irradiation of a spot, then system safety is improved, but irradiation accuracy deteriorates due to spot misalignment upon restart
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the irradiation process into spot-level and group-level operations. When a failure occurs, the system determines whether to interrupt at the spot level or allow completion of the entire spot group, creating hierarchical decision-making that balances safety with accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary determination of whether a failure requires immediate spot interruption or can allow group completion before actually interrupting beam extraction. This preliminary assessment prevents premature interruption that would cause misalignment.
2Productivity
If beam extraction is continued after a failure occurs during spot irradiation, then irradiation efficiency is improved, but irradiation accuracy deteriorates due to potential over-irradiation or under-irradiation
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors irradiation progress and failure conditions, using feedback to determine whether to interrupt at spot level or allow group completion. This feedback mechanism ensures dose distribution accuracy while maintaining efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The interruption decision is dynamic rather than fixed - the system adapts its response based on the specific failure condition, spot irradiation progress, and group status, optimizing both efficiency and accuracy for each situation.
3Manufacturing precision
If beam extraction is interrupted at every spot when a failure occurs, then irradiation accuracy is maintained, but treatment time increases due to repeated interruptions and restarts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the interruption decision into spot-level precision control and group-level time optimization, allowing selective interruption that maintains accuracy where needed while minimizing unnecessary stops.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial interruption - not every failure requires spot-level interruption. By selectively allowing some groups to complete despite failures, the system achieves sufficient accuracy without excessive time loss.
4Loss of time
If beam extraction is not interrupted when a failure occurs, then treatment time is reduced, but dose distribution accuracy deteriorates due to spot misalignment and overlap issues
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from failure monitoring and irradiation progress to dynamically determine interruption timing, preventing both premature interruption (which wastes time) and delayed interruption (which compromises accuracy).
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary assessment of failure conditions and irradiation status before deciding on interruption, ensuring that time is not lost to unnecessary interruptions while accuracy is protected when interruptions are truly needed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach ensures accurate and efficient irradiation of spot groups, reducing treatment time and preventing misalignment or overlap issues, thereby improving the system's operational efficiency and safety.
Implementation Method 1
the beam position monitor is operated in such a manner that charges ionized by passing the beam are accumulated in a capacitor
Implementation Method 2
charges ionized by passing the beam are accumulated in a capacitor
Implementation Method 3
Scanning magnets provided in the irradiation unit deflect the charged particle beam for scanning
Data Source
AI summary
A beam extraction process (interruption and restart) is appropriately performed when a failure occurs during irradiation of a spot group. A charged particle irradiation system includes a synchrotron 12 and a scanning irradiation unit 15 that scans an ion beam extracted from the synchrotron over a subject. The extraction of the ion beam from the synchrotron is stopped on the basis of a beam extraction stop command. Scanning magnets 5A and 5B are controlled to change a point (spot) to be irradiated with the ion beam, while the extraction of the ion beam is stopped. The extraction of the ion beam from the synchrotron is restarted after the change of the spot to be irradiated. When a relatively minor failure in which continuous irradiation would be possible occurs during irradiation of a certain spot with the beam, the extraction of the beam is not immediately stopped.