Radiation Control Circuit Combining Machine Limits with Target Motion

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current radiation therapy plans struggle to accurately account for the movement of a patient's target volume during treatment, leading to potential exposure of healthy tissues and limitations in the physical capabilities of the treatment platform, which can result in dosimetrically unacceptable outcomes.

Innovation Solution

A control circuit combines machine limitations information with target motion boundary information to assess and adjust radiation treatment plans, ensuring that the treatment platform's physical capabilities align with the target's potential movement, using visual displays and automated adjustments to prevent conflicts and optimize dosimetry.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If radiation treatment plans are optimized using automated incremental methodology with static reference geometry, then treatment planning efficiency is improved, but the ability to account for target volume motion is degraded

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetreatment planning efficiencyVSAvoidtarget motion boundary accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary determination of target motion boundaries before final treatment plan optimization. By pre-calculating the boundaries within which the target volume may move during treatment, the system enables subsequent automated optimization to proceed efficiently while respecting motion constraints, thus resolving the contradiction between planning efficiency and motion accuracy

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system transitions from static reference geometry to dynamic target motion boundaries by determining boundaries that account for target volume movement during treatment. This dynamic approach allows the treatment plan to adapt to motion while maintaining automated optimization efficiency through systematic boundary evaluation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Device complexity

If treatment plans assume static target volume or integrated target volume (ITV), then dosimetric calculation is simplified, but the reachability of acceptable target motion boundary becomes impossible to ensure

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedosimetric calculation complexityVSAvoiddosimetrically acceptable target motion boundary reachability

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system preliminarily determines target motion boundaries and evaluates their reachability against machine limitations before finalizing the treatment plan. This preliminary evaluation ensures that only achievable motion boundaries are used in dosimetric calculations, maintaining both calculation simplicity and boundary reachability reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system incorporates feedback by evaluating whether determined target motion boundaries are actually reachable given machine limitations. This feedback loop ensures that dosimetrically acceptable boundaries are both calculated and verified to be achievable, resolving the contradiction between calculation simplicity and boundary reachability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Ease of operation

If multi-leaf collimator and collimator jaws are set according to specified static target volume, then mechanical component positioning is simplified, but conflicts between machine limitations and target motion boundary arise

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemechanical component positioningVSAvoidmachine capability alignment with target motion

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system determines target motion boundaries that explicitly account for machine limitations such as multi-leaf collimator and collimator jaw positioning capabilities. By dynamically adjusting boundaries to match machine capabilities, the system maintains simplified mechanical positioning while ensuring adaptability to target motion

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameters of target motion boundaries to align with machine limitations. By modifying boundary definitions to reflect actual machine capabilities, the system resolves conflicts between simplified mechanical positioning and adaptability to target motion during treatment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS9155907B2Apparatus and method for combining machine limitations information with target motion boundary information

Publication Date: 2015.10.13 SIEMENS HEALTHINEERS INTERNATIONAL AG

AI summary

A control circuit accesses machine limitations information and target motion boundary information. The control circuit then combines the machine limitations information with the target motion boundary information when acting with respect to a radiation treatment plan. By one approach the control circuit acts with respect to a radiation treatment plan by presenting machine limitation information in combination with target motion boundary information. As another approach, the control circuit acts by combining the foregoing information while developing the radiation treatment plan to use that information to make automatic adjustments to the radiation treatment plan to correct instances where a planned configuration reveals a conflict between the physical limitations of the treatment platform and the target motion boundary.