Optimal Respiratory Phase Determination for Radiotherapy Dose Distribution
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current radiotherapy techniques, such as stereotactic body radiation therapy, rely heavily on subjective physician judgment for tumor localization and treatment phase selection, leading to potential errors and toxicity in surrounding normal tissues due to inaccuracies in radiation delivery.
Innovation Solution
An automated system and method for determining optimal treatment phases based on patient respiration motion, using deformation parameters to calculate dose distributions and identify the phase with the minimum total dose for target regions, thereby reducing errors and optimizing organ-at-risk sparing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If automated determination of optimal treatment phase is implemented, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/subjective system of physician judgment with an automated computational system that uses deformation parameters and dose distribution calculations to objectively determine optimal treatment phases, thereby improving precision while managing complexity through algorithmic processing
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms the treatment planning process by introducing deformation parameters that quantify organ motion and uses these parameters to calculate dose distributions across multiple phases, enabling automated optimization based on quantitative metrics rather than subjective assessment
2Measurement precision
If deformation parameters are applied to calculate dose distribution, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations by determining deformation parameters from 4D CT data and using these parameters to predict dose distributions across multiple phases, allowing the optimal treatment phase to be identified in advance without requiring time-consuming iterative simulations during treatment planning
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates simplified representations of the complex 4D dose distribution by using deformation parameters to generate representative dose maps for different respiratory phases, enabling accurate comparison and selection of optimal phases without processing the full complexity of all phase data
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems and computer-readable storage media relate to determining optimal treatment information. The methods may include determining a dose distribution for one or more target regions by applying a deformation parameter to a treatment plan dose distribution for a subset of a plurality of phases. The method may also include determining one or more dose parameters based on the dose distribution for the subset of the plurality of phases. The one or more dose parameters may represent a motion of the dose distribution over the plurality of phases for each region. The method may further include determining optimal treatment information based on the one or more dose parameters. The optimal treatment information may include optimal phase and associated dose distribution and the optimal phase may be a phase having a minimum total dose for the one or more target regions.