Shuttle Radiation Delivery for Uniform Dose Under Tumor Motion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tumor motion during radiation therapy leads to uneven dose distribution due to interplay between moving parts in the radiation therapy system and the tumor, making it challenging to deliver the prescribed radiation dose uniformly to the target region.
Innovation Solution
Shuttle mode radiation delivery systems, which include a rotatable gantry, therapeutic radiation source, and a movable patient platform, utilize couch and jaw shuttling to mitigate dose modulation and promote homogeneous dose delivery by adjusting radiation quantities based on real-time imaging data and normalization factors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional radiation delivery is used with moving parts (gantry, MLC, patient platform), then the system can deliver radiation to the target region, but tumor motion causes uneven dose distribution and interplay artifacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements couch shuttling that moves the patient platform back and forth periodically through the treatment region, causing the tumor to pass through the radiation beam plane multiple times. This periodic motion averages out the dose delivery over multiple tumor positions, eliminating dose modulation artifacts and achieving uniform dose distribution despite tumor motion
Solution Approach 2:
The radiation beam is delivered continuously during the entire couch shuttling process, with the beam remaining active as the platform moves back and forth. This continuous delivery ensures that the tumor receives radiation across its full range of motion, preventing under-dosing in any particular region while maintaining treatment efficiency
2Manufacturing precision
If dose painting is used to reduce dose variability, then uniform dose delivery is improved, but treatment time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Couch shuttling employs periodic back-and-forth motion that delivers uniform dose through repeated passes, achieving dose homogeneity without requiring multiple separate treatment sessions or complex repainting procedures, thus avoiding significant treatment time extension
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous radiation beam delivery during uninterrupted couch shuttling allows uniform dose accumulation in a single treatment session, eliminating the need for repeated treatment sessions that would be required by conventional dose painting methods
3Manufacturing precision
If breath hold or respiratory gating is used to limit tumor motion, then dose uniformity is improved, but patient comfort and treatment feasibility decrease
Solution Approach 1:
Couch shuttling achieves dose uniformity by periodically moving the patient platform through the treatment region, allowing the tumor to naturally move within its physiological range while still receiving uniform dose. This eliminates the need for patients to hold their breath or restrict respiratory motion, significantly improving patient comfort and compliance
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for shuttle mode radiation delivery are described herein. One method for radiation delivery comprises moving the patient platform through the patient treatment region multiple times during a treatment session. This may be referred to as patient platform or couch shuttling (i.e., couch shuttle mode). Another method for radiation delivery comprises moving the therapeutic radiation source jaw across a range of positions during a treatment session. The jaw may move across the same range of positions multiple times during a treatment session. This may be referred to as jaw shuttling (i.e., jaw shuttle mode). Some methods combine couch shuttle mode and jaw shuttle mode. Methods of dynamic or pipelined normalization are also described.