Prioritizing Normal Tissue Voxel Weights in Radiation Therapy Planning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for planning dose distribution in radiotherapy or radiosurgery fail to selectively optimize tissue indices outside the target region, leading to unwanted irradiation of normal tissue.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that analyzes medical image data to assign priorities to voxels representing normal tissue based on their dose contribution, using tissue indices like conformity and gradient indices to optimize the irradiation dose distribution and minimize normal tissue irradiation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a known approach penalizing irradiation of normal tissue based on distance to target region is used, then normal tissue irradiation is reduced, but selective optimization of tissue indices is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent assigns different priority weights to different voxels of normal tissue based on their individual contribution to tissue indices. Instead of uniform penalization, each voxel receives a customized weight that reflects its specific impact on dose distribution quality, enabling selective optimization of different regions according to their local importance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces priority weights as adjustable parameters that modify the optimization objective function. By changing these weight parameters based on voxel-specific contributions to tissue indices, the system enables selective optimization of different normal tissue regions while maintaining overall dose distribution quality
2Object-affected harmful factors
If uniform penalization of normal tissue is applied, then normal tissue irradiation is minimized, but tissue index quality optimization is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements voxel-specific priority weighting where each normal tissue voxel is assigned a unique weight based on its contribution to tissue indices. This local differentiation allows precise control over dose distribution quality in different regions, optimizing the balance between minimizing normal tissue irradiation and maintaining dose distribution precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent calculates the contribution of each voxel to tissue indices and uses this information to adjust priority weights in the optimization process. This feedback mechanism ensures that the penalization strategy adapts to the actual impact of each voxel on dose distribution quality, achieving both normal tissue protection and dose precision
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a computer-implemented medical data processing method for determining a dose distribution for use in a medical procedure involving irradiation of an anatomical structure of a patient's body with ionizing radiation. A processor acquires medical image data describing a medical image of the anatomical structure. The processor acquires dose distribution data describing an irradiation dose distribution spatially defined in the reference system of the medical image of the anatomical structure. Prioritization data is determined that describes, for each image unit of the medical image describing non-target tissue, a priority of that image unit for consideration during an optimization of the irradiation dose distribution described by the dose distribution data. Based on the dose distribution data and the prioritization data, changed dose distribution data is determined that describes a changed irradiation dose distribution spatially defined in the reference system of the medical image of the anatomical structure.