Radiation Treatment Plan Evaluation Workspace for Patient Volume Trade-Offs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current radiation treatment plans lack an efficient method to discriminate between target volumes and adjacent tissues, often requiring extensive user exploration and trial-and-error to achieve optimal therapeutic results while minimizing collateral effects.
Innovation Solution
A control circuit facilitates a plan evaluation workspace that visually presents patient volume quality metrics and clinical goal fulfillment, allowing for iterative adjustments to optimize radiation treatment plans by graphically displaying fulfillment and solution spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multi-criteria optimization approaches are used to generate radiation treatment plans, then the therapeutic result and avoidance of collateral effects are improved, but the complexity of information presentation and user selection process increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary evaluation system that acts as a mediator between the optimization algorithm and the user. This evaluation system automatically assesses treatment plans against clinical goals and constraints, translating complex optimization results into understandable evaluations. The intermediary layer filters and prioritizes plan options, reducing the cognitive load on users while maintaining the benefits of multi-criteria optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the evaluation results of treatment plans are fed back into the optimization process. This allows iterative refinement of treatment plans based on clinical goal fulfillment. The feedback loop enables the system to learn from evaluation outcomes and automatically adjust optimization parameters, reducing the need for users to manually explore numerous plans while achieving reliable therapeutic results.
2Manufacturing precision
If extensive optimization calculations are performed to achieve optimal treatment plans, then the quality of treatment plan is improved, but the time required for plan generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining clinical goals, constraints, and evaluation criteria before the optimization process begins. Treatment plans are pre-evaluated against these predetermined standards during the optimization process, allowing for rapid assessment without requiring extensive post-generation analysis. This preliminary setup enables faster iteration through plan options while maintaining high quality standards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by dynamically adjusting optimization parameters based on preliminary evaluations and clinical priorities. The system identifies key parameters that have the greatest impact on treatment quality and focuses computational resources on optimizing those specific parameters. This selective parameter optimization reduces overall calculation time while maintaining treatment plan quality.
Data Source
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AI summary
A control circuit (101) accesses (202) a plurality of radiation treatment plans and clinical goals that correspond to radiation treatment planning for a particular patient. The control circuit (101) then utilizes the plurality of radiation treatment plans and the clinical goals within a plan evaluation workspace. The control circuit (101) then presents on a user interface a plan evaluation workspace display (300). This plan evaluation workspace can include, by one approach, both a first area (301) and a second area (302). The first area (301) can discretely present each of a plurality of patient volumes. The second area (302) can graphically present both an extent to which at least one of the clinical goals is fulfilled for each of the plurality of patient volumes by a currently considered radiation treatment plan (113) as well as an available clinical goal-fulfillment solution space that is provided by the plan evaluation workspace for at least some of the plurality of patient volumes.