Neutron Capture Therapy System Position Misalignment Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In neutron capture therapy, patient movement during irradiation can cause misalignment of the irradiation position, leading to suboptimal treatment outcomes.
Innovation Solution
A neutron capture therapy system that includes a position measurement unit to detect misalignment and a radiation dose distribution output unit to adjust the neutron beam dosage accordingly, utilizing pre-stored data for each amount of positional misalignment, ensuring proper therapy planning and execution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a patient is irradiated with a neutron beam during therapy, then cancer cells can be destroyed through boron neutron capture, but patient movement during irradiation causes misalignment of the irradiation position
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates and stores radiation dose distributions for multiple possible patient positions (including misalignment scenarios) before actual therapy. When therapy is delivered, the system simply retrieves the appropriate pre-calculated dose distribution based on the measured patient position, avoiding time-consuming real-time recalculations while ensuring accurate dose delivery despite patient movement
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts the radiation dose distribution during therapy by continuously monitoring patient position and selecting or adjusting the appropriate dose distribution from pre-calculated options. This allows the therapy plan to flexibly respond to patient movement without requiring complete re-planning, maintaining therapy accuracy while accommodating temporal changes in patient position
2Measurement precision
If radiation dose distribution is recalculated in real-time to account for positional misalignment, then therapy accuracy can be maintained, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs radiation dose distribution calculations for various possible patient positions in advance and stores these results. During actual therapy, when patient position is measured, the system quickly retrieves the corresponding pre-calculated dose distribution, achieving both high positional accuracy and fast output speed without real-time calculation overhead
Solution Approach 2:
The system prepares multiple pre-calculated dose distributions that act as a buffer or cushion for handling patient position variations. This pre-prepared set of dose distributions allows the system to quickly respond to measured patient positions without needing to perform time-consuming real-time calculations, thus maintaining both accuracy and productivity
3Productivity
If pre-stored radiation dose distribution data for multiple misalignment amounts is maintained, then prompt output is achieved, but storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system stores pre-calculated radiation dose distributions for specific, discrete misalignment amounts (e.g., 0mm, 5mm, 10mm shifts in various directions) rather than continuously for all possible positions. This selective storage of locally representative dose distributions achieves fast retrieval while limiting storage requirements to only the most clinically relevant position variations
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 effective neutron capture therapy by accounting for positional misalignment, ensuring accurate and safe treatment delivery even with patient movement, and allowing for prompt adjustment of radiation dose distribution.
Implementation Method 1
the position measurement unit 40 measures a position of the patient S placed on the therapy table 3
Implementation Method 2
boron that has been injected into cancer cells in advance is irradiated with a neutron beam so that the cancer cells are selectively destroyed due to dispersion of heavy charged particles generated through the irradiation
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
A neutron capture therapy system includes a therapy table on which an irradiation target is placed, a neutron beam irradiation unit which irradiates the irradiation target placed on the therapy table with a neutron beam, a position measurement unit which measures a position of the irradiation target placed on the therapy table, and a radiation dose distribution output unit which outputs a radiation dose distribution of a neutron beam used for irradiating the irradiation target, based on an amount of positional misalignment of the position of the irradiation target measured by the position measurement unit.