Particle Therapy Spot Trajectory Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current radiation therapy techniques face challenges in effectively sparing healthy tissue, particularly when delivering ultra-high dose rates, as they often result in degraded treatment plan quality and inadequate protection of healthy tissues during particle therapy.
Innovation Solution
The systems and techniques optimize temporal and spatial dose heterogeneity by optimizing spot trajectories and weights, using existing devices, to minimize healthy tissue exposure while maintaining treatment plan quality, incorporating methods like FLASH and GRID radiotherapy to achieve maximum tissue sparing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional radiation therapy techniques are used to deliver ultra-high dose rates, then tumor control is achieved, but healthy tissue is inadequately protected and normal tissue toxicities increase
Solution Approach 1:
The treatment beam is segmented into multiple spot trajectories that are delivered sequentially. Each spot trajectory targets a specific region of the tumor, allowing the system to distribute the ultra-high dose rate treatment across multiple discrete paths rather than a single continuous beam, thereby sparing healthy tissues between the spots.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different dose rates and trajectory patterns to different spatial regions. Ultra-high dose rates are concentrated within the tumor volume through optimized spot trajectories, while healthy tissues receive lower or fractionated doses. This local differentiation of dose quality achieves tumor control while protecting surrounding healthy structures.
2Productivity
If ultra-high dose rates are delivered to the entire target, then treatment time is reduced, but healthy tissue exposure increases and treatment plan quality degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic spot trajectory optimization where the beam path, spot positions, and weights are continuously adjusted during treatment. This dynamic approach allows the system to deliver ultra-high dose rates efficiently to tumor regions while adaptively avoiding or minimizing exposure to healthy tissues, maintaining both treatment efficiency and tissue sparing.
Solution Approach 2:
The treatment delivers radiation in periodic pulses through sequential spot trajectories rather than continuous exposure. Each spot trajectory represents a periodic action that concentrates dose delivery in discrete temporal and spatial intervals, allowing healthy tissues to receive reduced cumulative exposure while maintaining high dose rates within the tumor during active treatment periods.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods may be used for protecting healthy tissue in particle therapy. For example, a method may include defining a particle arc range for a radiotherapy treatment of a patient. The method may include generating a spot selection for an arc sequence, including a trajectory for delivering the radiotherapy treatment, for example, based on a temporal dose heterogeneity parameter or a spatial dose heterogeneity parameter. The method may include optimizing fluence of the arc sequence for the radiotherapy treatment, for example, based on an applied temporal dose heterogeneity specific cost function or an applied spatial dose heterogeneity specific cost function.