Particle Beam Transport Segmentation for Low-Downtime Facility Renewal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing particle beam treatment systems require significant downtime for facility additions or replacements, disrupting operations and increasing financial burdens due to the need to maintain vacuum conditions during construction and testing.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating vacuum valves outside treatment rooms to branch particle beams, allowing facilities to be added or replaced while maintaining vacuum, thereby reducing downtime and enabling continuous operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a new irradiation device is added to an existing particle beam treatment system, then the treatment capacity is improved, but the apparatus stop time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The beam transportation system is divided into separate vacuum chambers (first vacuum chamber and second vacuum chamber) that can be independently sealed off using vacuum valves. This segmentation allows one chamber to undergo construction or maintenance while the other remains operational, enabling parallel operations that reduce overall apparatus stop time.
Solution Approach 2:
Vacuum valves serve as intermediary components that control the isolation between different vacuum chambers and the beam transportation path. These valves act as gatekeepers, allowing the system to maintain vacuum conditions in operational areas while permitting construction activities in isolated areas, thereby minimizing disruption to treatment operations.
2Reliability
If an old irradiation device is replaced with a new one, then new technology is applied, but the apparatus stop time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The replacement process is facilitated by segmenting the beam transportation system into isolated vacuum chambers. The old irradiation device can be removed and the new device installed in one chamber while vacuum valves maintain isolation, allowing the replacement work to proceed without affecting the vacuum integrity or operation of other system components.
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum valve infrastructure is pre-installed and positioned to enable rapid isolation of chambers during device replacement. This preliminary preparation allows for quick switching between old and new devices without requiring time-consuming vacuum system reconfiguration, thus reducing apparatus stop time while enabling technology updates.
3Ease of manufacture
If construction work is performed in the beam transportation path, then facility renewal is completed, but vacuum conditions cannot be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The beam transportation system is segmented into separate vacuum chambers that can be independently sealed. When construction or facility renewal work is needed, only the specific chamber requiring work needs to be isolated from the vacuum system, while other chambers maintain their vacuum conditions and continue normal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Vacuum valves act as intermediary components that selectively isolate specific chambers from the vacuum system during construction activities. These valves allow construction work to be performed on one chamber without compromising the vacuum integrity of other chambers, enabling facility renewal while maintaining overall system reliability.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3(1)~3(2)
AI summary
To provide a particle beam treatment system and a method for renewing facilities of the particle beam treatment system with which the facilities can be renewed efficiently. A particle beam treatment system 1 includes a charged particle beam generation device 2 that generates a charged particle beam Bm, a first irradiation device 4(1) that irradiates the charged particle beam to a predetermined irradiation target, a first beam transportation device 3(1) that transports the charged particle beam from the charged particle beam generation device 2 to the first irradiation device 4(1), and a first vacuum valve 33(1) that is arranged in the first beam transportation device 3(1).