Mobile Radiotherapy Unit for Preclinical Animal Studies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current radiotherapy vaults in clinical centers are inadequately equipped for preclinical studies using therapeutic particle beams due to high costs and limited availability, as they are primarily designed for human treatment, necessitating radical adaptations that reduce clinical treatment capacity and require transferring animals for irradiation, which is inefficient and impractical.
Innovation Solution
A mobile unit equipped with a therapeutic particle beam source and CT scanning capabilities, featuring a movable platform with adjustable tables and robotic arms, allowing for precise irradiation and imaging within existing radiotherapy vaults without altering the existing equipment or space, enabling simultaneous therapeutic particle beam irradiation and CT scanning of animals without disrupting patient treatments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If existing radiotherapy vaults are adapted for preclinical studies, then preclinical research capability is improved, but clinical treatment capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into separate functional modules: a mobile platform for animal positioning, a particle beam delivery system, and a CT scanning system. This segmentation allows the preclinical research equipment to be independently deployed and removed, preventing conflict with clinical treatment operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile platform and positioning equipment are designed to be dynamically adjustable and movable, allowing flexible configuration for different preclinical experiments while maintaining the radiotherapy vault's primary clinical function. The system can be moved out of the way when not in use.
2Adaptability or versatility
If particle accelerators are purchased for preclinical studies, then research capability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The particle accelerator is designed to serve dual purposes: clinical radiotherapy treatment and preclinical research. By implementing a universal system that can handle both human and animal subjects, the need for separate expensive particle accelerators is eliminated, significantly reducing overall costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes the existing radiotherapy vault infrastructure, power supply, and support systems to serve preclinical research needs, eliminating the requirement for duplicate expensive infrastructure and reducing operational costs.
3Adaptability or versatility
If animals are transferred for irradiation, then experimental flexibility is improved, but measurement precision is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The CT scanning system and particle beam irradiation system are merged into a single integrated platform. The animal remains stationary on the mobile platform throughout the entire process, allowing continuous, precise positioning and measurement without transfer-induced errors, while still enabling flexible experimental designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated CT scanning provides real-time feedback on animal positioning and anatomical structure, allowing for precise adjustment and verification before and during irradiation. This closed-loop feedback system ensures high measurement precision while maintaining experimental flexibility.
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
Enables efficient and precise preclinical studies within existing radiotherapy vaults without the need for radical adaptations, maintaining clinical treatment capacity and reducing costs by utilizing existing infrastructure, allowing for comprehensive research without transferring animals, thus improving measurement and irradiation precision.
Implementation Method 1
A method of treatment where cancer tissue is destroyed by targeted irradiation by a therapeutic beam of ionizing radiation
Implementation Method 2
The incident beam of the therapeutic ionizing radiation releases energy into the irradiated tissue that leads to irreversible damage to the tissue cells
Implementation Method 3
By the detection of the therapeutic beam of ionizing radiation passing through the irradiated object in different directions and by the analysis of changes in this beam due to transmission through the object
Implementation Method 4
detection of the therapeutic beam of ionizing radiation passing through the irradiated object
Implementation Method 5
by the detection of e.g. fluorescent ionizing radiation or scattered ionizing radiation or back-scattered ionizing radiation
Implementation Method 6
scattered ionizing radiation or back-scattered ionizing radiation
Data Source
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AI summary
The unit (1) according to the invention is intended for the irradiation of the object by the therapeutic beam (2) of particles from the external source (3) along with the concurrent CT scanning of the object using at least one scanning pair consisting of the source (4) of the scanning ionizing radiation and of the imaging detector (5) arranged on the opposite side. The unit is intended for radiotherapeutic preclinical studies on animals inside the existing radiotherapy vaults. The unit comprises the mobile platform (6) equipped with the adjustable table (7) and with a load-bearing means supporting a scanning pair with movable installation as to the adjustable table (7), where the load-bearing means, scanning pair and adjustable table (7) delimit the free working space (8) for unshielded travel of the therapeutic beam (2) of particles through the unit (1).