US-20260124468-A1 - RADIOTHERAPY SYSTEMS WITH POSITION CONTROL AND METHODS OF CONTROLLING RADIOTHERAPY SYSTEMS

US20260124468A1US 20260124468 A1US20260124468 A1US 20260124468A1US-20260124468-A1

Abstract

One or more example embodiments provides a radiotherapy system including a radiation system configured to generate a plurality of radiation beams and emit radiation to a patient, the emitted radiation including the plurality of radiation beams; a detector configured to detect at least a portion of emitted radiation that passes through the patient; and a controller configured to control movement of at least a portion of the radiation system based on the detected radiation.

Inventors

Joerg Freudenberger
Anja Fritzler

Assignees

VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241106

Claims (20)

1 . A radiotherapy system comprising: a radiation system configured to generate a plurality of radiation beams and emit radiation to a patient, the emitted radiation including the plurality of radiation beams; a detector configured to detect at least a portion of emitted radiation that passes through the patient; and a controller configured to detect movement of the patient based on the detected radiation and control movement of at least a portion of the radiation system based on the detected movement of the patient.
2 . The radiotherapy system of claim 1 , wherein the radiation system is configured to generate the plurality of radiation beams to be parallel and emit the plurality of radiation beams in parallel to the patient.
3 . The radiotherapy system of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to control the radiation system such that the plurality of radiation beams deliver a radiation rate of less than 40 grays per second (Gy/s).
4 . The radiotherapy system of claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to control the radiation system such that the plurality of radiation beams emit the radiation to the patient for greater than 2 seconds.
5 . The radiotherapy system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to, reconstruct a first image based on detected radiation at a first instance and reconstruct a second image based on detected radiation at a second instance, determine a difference between the first image and the second image, and control the movement of the portion of the radiation system based on the determined difference.
6 . The radiotherapy system of claim 1 , wherein the detected radiation is separate from the plurality of radiation beams.
7 . The radiotherapy system of claim 1 , wherein the radiation system includes, a radiation source configured to emit a first radiation beam onto a target to form a focal spot on the target, the target configured to convert the first radiation beam into a radiation field, the focal spot being a source of the radiation field; and a collimator configured to convert the radiation field into at least the plurality of radiation beams.
8 . The radiotherapy system of claim 7 , wherein the radiation system further includes, a deflector configured to alter the first radiation beam, wherein the controller is configured to control the deflector based on the detected radiation to change a location of the focal spot.
9 . The radiotherapy system of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to control the radiation system such that the plurality of radiation beams deliver a reduced radiation rate when the location of the focal spot is changing.
10 . The radiotherapy system of claim 7 , wherein the target is a cylinder having a diameter less than 50 cm.
11 . A method of controlling movement of at least a portion of a radiotherapy system, the method comprising: generating a plurality of radiation beams and emitting radiation to a patient, the emitted radiation including the plurality of radiation beams; detecting at least a portion of emitted radiation that passes through the patient; and controlling movement of the portion of the radiotherapy system based on a detected movement of the patient, the controlling the movement of the portion of the radiotherapy system including detecting the movement of the patient based on the detected radiation.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the generating generates the plurality of radiation beams to be parallel and the emitting emits the plurality of radiation beams in parallel to the patient.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the controlling controls the radiotherapy system such that the plurality of radiation beams deliver a radiation rate of less than 40 grays per second (Gy/s).
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the controlling controls the radiotherapy system such that the plurality of radiation beams emit the radiation to the patient for greater than 2 seconds.
15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the controlling includes, reconstructing a first image based on detected radiation at a first instance and reconstructing a second image based on detected radiation at a second instance, determining a difference between the first image and the second image, and controlling the movement of the portion of the radiotherapy system based on the determined difference.
16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the detected radiation is separate from the plurality of radiation beams.
17 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the generating includes, emitting a first radiation beam onto a target to form a focal spot on the target, converting the first radiation beam into a radiation field, the focal spot being a source of the radiation field, and converting the radiation field into at least the plurality of radiation beams.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the controlling includes, altering the first radiation beam using a deflector, and controlling the deflector based on the detected radiation to change a location of the focal spot.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the controlling controls the radiotherapy system such that the plurality of radiation beams deliver a reduced radiation rate during the altering.
20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the target is a cylinder having a diameter less than 50 cm.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Example embodiments relate to radiotherapy systems with position control and methods of controlling the radiotherapy systems. BACKGROUND The use of radiation therapy to treat cancer is well known. Typically, radiation therapy involves directing a beam of high energy proton, photon, ion, or electron radiation (“therapeutic radiation”) into a target or target volume (e.g., a tumor or lesion). FLASH radiation therapy delivers an entire, relatively high therapeutic radiation dose to a target within a single, short period of time. Microbeam radiation therapy (MBT) delivers a plurality of radiation fields (microbeams) that are spaced apart from each other. SUMMARY One or more example embodiments relate to a radiotherapy system including a radiation system configured to generate a plurality of radiation beams and emit radiation to a patient, the emitted radiation including the plurality of radiation beams; a detector configured to detect at least a portion of emitted radiation that passes through the patient; and a controller configured to detect movement of the patient based on the detected radiation and control movement of at least a portion of the radiation system based on the detected movement of the patient. According to one or more example embodiments, the radiation system is configured to generate the plurality of radiation beams to be parallel and emit the plurality of radiation beams in parallel to the patient. According to one or more example embodiments, the controller is configured to control the radiation system such that the plurality of radiation beams deliver a radiation rate of less than 40 grays per second (Gy/s). According to one or more example embodiments, the controller is configured to control the radiation system such that the plurality of radiation beams emit the radiation to the patient for greater than 2 seconds. According to one or more example embodiments, the controller is configured to reconstruct a first image based on detected radiation at a first instance and reconstruct a second image based on detected radiation at a second instance, determine a difference between the first image and the second image, and control the movement of the portion of the radiation system based on the determined difference. According to one or more example embodiments, the detected radiation is separate from the plurality of radiation beams. According to one or more example embodiments, the radiation system includes a radiation source configured to emit a first radiation beam onto a target to form a focal spot on the target, the target configured to convert the first radiation beam into a radiation field, the focal spot being a source of the radiation field; and a collimator configured to convert the radiation field into at least the plurality of radiation beams. According to one or more example embodiments, the radiation system further includes a deflector configured to alter the first radiation beam, wherein the controller is configured to control the deflector based on the detected radiation to change a location of the focal spot. According to one or more example embodiments, the controller is configured to control the radiation system such that the plurality of radiation beams deliver a reduced radiation rate when the location of the focal spot is changing. According to one or more example embodiments, the target is a cylinder having a diameter less than 50 cm. One or more example embodiments relates to a method of controlling movement of at least a portion of a radiotherapy system, the method including generating a plurality of radiation beams and emitting radiation to a patient, the emitted radiation including the plurality of radiation beams; detecting at least a portion of emitted radiation that passes through the patient; and controlling movement of the portion of the radiotherapy system based on a detected movement of the patient, the controlling the movement of the portion of the radiotherapy including detecting the movement of the patient based on the detected radiation. According to one or more example embodiments, the generating generates the plurality of radiation beams to be parallel and the emitting emits the plurality of radiation beams in parallel to the patient. According to one or more example embodiments, the controlling controls the radiotherapy system such that the plurality of radiation beams deliver a radiation rate of less than 40 grays per second (Gy/s). According to one or more example embodiments, the controlling controls the radiotherapy system such that the plurality of radiation beams emit the radiation to the patient for greater than 2 seconds. According to one or more example embodiments, the controlling includes reconstructing a first image based on detected radiation at a first instance and reconstructing a second image based on detected radiation at a second instance, determining a difference between the first image and the second image, and controlli