Radiation Dose Calculation for Circulating Blood in Radiotherapy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods fail to accurately calculate the radiation dose received by circulating blood cells during external beam radiotherapy, which is crucial due to its association with lymphopenia and immunosuppression, as circulating blood has not been considered an organ at risk in radiation therapy.
Innovation Solution
A system and method using medical imaging data and subject-specific variables to calculate the radiation dose received by circulating blood, involving a computer-readable storage medium with instructions to determine the radiation dose based on target volume size, radiation treatment technique, dose rate, total dose, treatment time, and blood speed, generating a three-dimensional dose grid and dose volume histograms to quantify the radiation received by circulating blood.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If radiation therapy is administered to treat malignant glioma, then tumor control is improved, but treatment-induced lymphopenia and immunosuppression worsen due to radiation exposure to circulating blood cells
Solution Approach 1:
The system calculates radiation dose to circulating blood in real-time during treatment planning and delivery, using the calculated doses as feedback to optimize treatment parameters. This allows clinicians to adjust treatment plans to maintain tumor control while minimizing lymphopenia by monitoring and responding to dose calculations throughout the treatment course
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables modification of treatment parameters (dose rate, fractionation, beam arrangement) based on calculated blood dose. By changing these parameters, clinicians can deliver effective tumor doses while reducing the integrated dose to circulating blood cells, thereby mitigating lymphopenia and immunosuppression
2Reliability
If circulating blood is considered an organ at risk and dose calculation is implemented, then patient outcomes can be improved by mitigating lymphopenia, but treatment planning complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system integrates multiple functions into a single treatment planning platform: standard treatment planning capabilities plus automated blood dose calculation and mitigation optimization. This multi-functionality allows clinicians to address both tumor control and blood dose management within one unified system, improving patient outcomes without requiring separate complex systems
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs automated blood dose calculations and provides optimization suggestions without requiring manual intervention. The automated calculation engine processes treatment parameters and generates blood dose assessments automatically, reducing the planning burden on clinicians while enabling comprehensive patient outcome optimization
3Measurement precision
If multiple subject-specific variables are collected and processed, then radiation dose calculation accuracy to circulating blood is improved, but data processing time and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system collects and processes subject-specific variables (anatomy, blood flow characteristics, treatment parameters) during the initial treatment planning stage before radiation delivery begins. By performing these calculations preliminarily, the system establishes accurate blood dose predictions in advance, enabling real-time optimization without delays during actual treatment delivery
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention discloses systems and methods for calculating the radiation doses received by circulating blood cells. The present method may be applicable for calculating the radiation doses by circulating blood cells through any site in a patient. The present invention also discloses computer systems for calculating radiation doses received by circulating blood cells in a patient.