Radiotherapy Beam Planning With Multi-Angle Deep Tumor Dosing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional radiotherapy methods, such as photon or electron therapy, cause significant harm to normal tissues due to their physical limitations and are ineffective against radio-resistant tumors like glioblastoma and melanoma, while neutron capture therapy faces challenges in neutron concentration distribution and depth-related dose reduction.
Innovation Solution
A radiotherapy system and method using a beam irradiation device, treatment plan module, and control module to optimize irradiation angles and times, dispersing radiation in shallow areas, reducing normal tissue dose, and increasing deep tissue dose uniformly through Monte Carlo simulation and optimization algorithms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional photon or electron therapy is used to irradiate tumor cells, then tumor cells can be killed, but normal tissues on the beam path are also harmed significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of radiation type from photons/electrons to neutrons, which have different interaction characteristics with matter. Neutrons can penetrate deeper and deposit energy more selectively, changing the radiation dose distribution pattern to reduce normal tissue exposure while maintaining tumor cell killing effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces boron-containing drugs as an intermediary substance that accumulates selectively in tumor cells. When neutrons interact with boron-10, they produce high-linear energy transfer (LET) particles that destroy tumor cells from within, creating a two-component system (boron + neutrons) that enables selective tumor targeting while sparing normal tissues
2Reliability
If neutron capture therapy is used to treat radio-resistant tumors, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but neutron concentration decreases at deep tumor positions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from single-direction beam irradiation to multi-angle or multi-directional beam irradiation. By irradiating the tumor from multiple angles, the neutron flux and boron capture reactions occur throughout the entire tumor volume, including deep regions that would be inaccessible from a single direction, thereby achieving uniform dose distribution
3Quantity of substance
If radiation dose is increased to compensate for low neutron concentration at deep position, then deep tumor dose is improved, but normal tissue radiation tolerance is exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates locally different radiation quality through the boron-neutron interaction. In regions where boron has accumulated (tumor cells), high-LET alpha particles and lithium nuclei are produced, delivering concentrated biological damage. In normal tissues without boron accumulation, only low-LET neutron radiation is present, which is less biologically damaging, thus achieving selective tumor destruction with normal tissue protection
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Reduces radiation side-effects on normal tissues and enhances tumor dose uniformity and effectiveness by dispersing shallow radiation and increasing deep tissue dose, ensuring precise neutron capture therapy.
Implementation Method 1
BNCT combines the abovementioned two concepts, for example, boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), and provides a better cancer treatment choice than traditional radioactive rays, by specific aggregation of boron-containing drugs in tumor cells in combination with precise beam regulation and control.
Implementation Method 2
a computer technology is usually required to perform various processing on medical imaging data, so as to establish an accurate lattice model required by Monte Carlo software, and simulation and calculation are carried out in combination with Monte Carlo software
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
Figure 6
AI summary
Disclosed are a radiotherapy system and a treatment plan generation method therefor. The radiotherapy system comprises a beam irradiation device, a treatment planning module and a control module, wherein the beam irradiation device generates a beam for treatment and irradiates same to a body to be irradiated to form an irradiated site, the treatment planning module generates a treatment plan on the basis of parameters of the beam for treatment and medical image data of the irradiated site, and the control module retrieves a treatment plan corresponding to said body from the treatment planning module and controls the beam irradiation device to sequentially irradiate said body according to at least two irradiation angles determined according to the treatment plan generation method and the irradiation time corresponding to each irradiation angle. According to the radiotherapy system and the treatment plan generation method therefor of the invention, the amount of radiation in a shallow part of the irradiated site can be dispersed, and the amount of radiation in a deep part of lesion tissue can be increased, so as to reduce the maximum dose for normal tissue, increase the minimum dose for the lesion tissue, and also ensure the uniform distribution of the dose in the lesion tissue.