Dynamic Partial Volume Registration for Image-Guided Radiotherapy

The patent divides the patient's body into multiple partial volumes or regions of interest along the treatment direction. Instead of performing a single full-body rigid registration, the system performs multiple partial volume registrations on segmented portions of the patient anatomy. This segmentation allows each partial volume to be registered independently, accounting for local anatomical changes and movements that occur during treatment, thereby improving overall registration accuracy without requiring complex full-body tracking.

The patent implements dynamic partial volume registration that is performed iteratively during treatment delivery. The registration process is updated in real-time as the treatment progresses, allowing the system to adapt to changing patient anatomy and movement. This dynamic approach contrasts with static full-body registration performed once before treatment, enabling continuous compensation for anatomical changes while maintaining a manageable process through automated iterative updates.

The patent performs a preliminary full-body rigid registration to establish an initial alignment between the treatment plan and patient anatomy. This preliminary action provides a starting point for more accurate partial volume registrations that follow during treatment. By performing this initial alignment efficiently before treatment begins, the system sets up the framework for subsequent dynamic corrections without requiring extensive manual setup time.

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where partial volume registrations are performed iteratively during treatment delivery based on actual patient anatomy observed at each stage. The registration results from previous partial volumes inform subsequent registrations, creating a continuous feedback loop that corrects for patient movement and anatomical changes. This feedback-driven approach improves dose delivery accuracy by continuously adapting to actual patient conditions while maintaining efficient automated processing.

The patent segments the patient anatomy into multiple partial volumes that can be imaged and registered independently using the radiation beams. This segmentation allows the complex task of full-body dynamic registration to be broken down into manageable partial volume registrations, reducing the computational and system complexity while maintaining high accuracy. Each partial volume can be processed separately, allowing parallel processing and efficient resource utilization.

The patent utilizes the radiation beams for dual purposes: delivering therapeutic radiation and performing imaging for partial volume registration. By making the radiation delivery system multi-functional, the patent avoids adding separate dedicated imaging systems, thereby improving registration accuracy without proportionally increasing system complexity. The same radiation sources and detectors used for treatment are leveraged for imaging and registration functions.