Automated treatment in particle therapy

Abstract

An example particle therapy system includes a particle beam output device to direct output of a particle beam; a treatment couch to support a patient containing an irradiation target, with the treatment couch being configured for movement; a movable device on which the particle beam output device is mounted for movement relative to the treatment couch; and a control system to provide automated control of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch to position at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target for treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam and, following the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam, to provide automated control of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch to reposition at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target for additional treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A particle therapy system comprising:
 a particle beam output device to direct output of a particle beam;   a treatment couch to support a patient containing an irradiation target, the treatment couch being configured for movement;   a movable device on which the particle beam output device is mounted for movement relative to the treatment couch; and   a control system to provide automated control of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch to position at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target for treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam and, following the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam, to provide automated control of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch to reposition at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target for additional treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam.   
     
     
         2 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a scanning system comprising components to move the particle beam relative to the irradiation target;   wherein the control system is configured to provide automated control of one or more of the components to position the particle beam for the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam and, following the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam, to provide automated control of one or more of the components to reposition the particle beam for the additional treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam.   
     
     
         3 . The particle therapy system of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more components comprise one or more scanning magnets. 
     
     
         4 . The particle therapy system of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more components comprise an energy degrader, the energy degrader comprising one or more structures that are movable into, and out of, a path of the particle beam. 
     
     
         5 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to provide the automated control of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch to treat a first part of the irradiation target using a first beam field of the particle beam and, following treatment of the first part of the irradiation target with the particle beam, to provide the automated control of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch to reposition at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target to treat a second part of the target using a second beam field of the particle beam. 
     
     
         6 . The particle therapy system of  claim 5 , wherein the particle beam output device comprises a particle accelerator;
 wherein at an area between the first beam field and the second beam field, the particle beam for the first beam field and the particle beam for the second beam field overlap at least partly; and   wherein the control system is configured to provide automated control of the particle accelerator to control intensities of the particle beam for the first beam field and the particle beam for the second beam field so that cumulative intensities at points of overlap between the particle beam for the first beam field and the particle beam for the second beam field reach a target beam intensity.   
     
     
         7 . The particle therapy system of  claim 5 , wherein the particle beam output device comprises a particle accelerator;
 wherein at an area between the first beam field and the second beam field, the particle beam for the first beam field and the particle beam for the second beam field overlap at least partly; and   wherein the control system is configured to provide automated control of the particle accelerator to control intensities of the particle beam for the first beam field and the particle beam for the second beam field so that cumulative intensities at points of overlap between the particle beam for the first beam field and the particle beam for the second beam field do not deviate from a target beam intensity by more than a defined amount.   
     
     
         8 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to control the treatment couch to implement translational motion. 
     
     
         9 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to control the treatment couch to implement rotational motion. 
     
     
         10 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an imaging system to capture images of the irradiation target during treatment;   wherein the control system is configured to control the imaging system to capture one or more first images of the patient after positioning the at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target for the treatment and before the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam, and the control system is configured to control the imaging system to capture one or more second images of the patient after repositioning the at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target for the additional treatment and before the additional treatment.   
     
     
         11 . The particle therapy system of  claim 10 , wherein the control system is configured to use the first image to identify a first location of the irradiation target in a treatment space of the particle therapy system, and the control system is configured to use the second image to identify a second location of the irradiation target in the treatment space. 
     
     
         12 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to receive a treatment plan from a treatment planning system, and to interpret the treatment plan to implement the control of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch, the treatment plan containing information identifying positions of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch during treatment. 
     
     
         13 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to provide automated control of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch independent of an isocenter defined in the particle therapy system. 
     
     
         14 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein automated control of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch is implemented absent human intervention. 
     
     
         15 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the particle beam output device comprises a particle accelerator;
 wherein the control system is configured to provide automated control of an operation of the particle accelerator to position at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target for treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam and, following the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam, to provide automated control of the operation of the particle accelerator to reposition at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target for the additional treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam.   
     
     
         16 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the particle beam output device comprises a synchrocyclotron having a superconducting electromagnetic structure. 
     
     
         17 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the particle beam output device comprises a variable-energy synchrocyclotron having a superconducting electromagnetic structure. 
     
     
         18 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the particle beam output device comprises a beam spreader. 
     
     
         19 . The particle therapy system of  claim 18 , wherein the beam spreader comprises one or more scanning magnets or one or more scattering foils. 
     
     
         20 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a configurable collimator between the particle beam output device and the patient, the configurable collimator comprising leaves that are controllable to define an edge to block a first part of the particle beam from reaching the patient while collimating a second part of the particle beam that passes to the patient, the configurable collimator being controllable to trim an area as small as a single spot size of the particle beam.   
     
     
         21 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to provide automated control over movement of the particle beam output device to implement translational movement of the particle beam output device from a first location to a second location to position the particle beam for treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam and, following the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam, to provide automated control over further movement of the particle beam output device to implement translational movement of the particle beam output device from the second location to a third location to reposition the particle beam for treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam. 
     
     
         22 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to provide automated control over movement of the particle beam output device to pivot the particle beam output device from a first orientation to a second orientation to position the particle beam for treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam and, following the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam, to provide automated control over further movement of the particle beam output device to pivot the particle beam output device from the second orientation to a third orientation to reposition the particle beam for treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam. 
     
     
         23 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a scanning system comprising components to move the particle beam relative to the irradiation target, at least some of the components being mounted for movement towards, and away from, the irradiation target;   wherein the control system is configured to provide automated control of the at least some of the components to position the particle beam for the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam and, following the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam, to provide automated control of the at least some of the components to reposition the particle beam for the additional treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam.   
     
     
         24 . The particle therapy system of  claim 23 , further comprising:
 a carriage on which the at least some of the components are mounted, the carriage being mounted to at least one track to enable movement along a path of the particle beam.   
     
     
         25 . The particle therapy system of  claim 24 , wherein the carriage is controllable to move along the at least one track to control a size of a spot produced by the particle beam. 
     
     
         26 . The particle therapy system of  claim 24 , wherein the carriage is controllable to move along the at least one track in coordination with movement of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch. 
     
     
         27 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the movable device comprises a rotatable gantry. 
     
     
         28 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , wherein the movable device comprises one or more robotic arms. 
     
     
         29 . The particle therapy system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a scanning system comprising components to move the particle beam relative to the irradiation target, the scanning components being mounted on a carriage that is movable along a beamline of the particle beam;   wherein the control system is configured to provide automated control of the carriage to position the particle beam for the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam and, following the treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam, to provide automated control of the carriage to reposition the particle beam for the additional treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam.   
     
     
         30 . A method comprising:
 supporting a patient containing an irradiation target on a treatment couch, the treatment couch being configured for movement;   mounting a particle beam output device on a movable device for movement relative to the treatment couch, the particle beam output device for directing output of a particle beam to treat the irradiation target; and   providing automated control of at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch to position at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target for treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam and, following treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam, providing automated control at least one of the movable device or the treatment couch to reposition at least one of the particle beam or the irradiation target for additional treatment of the irradiation target with the particle beam.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the particle beam is a proton beam. 
     
     
         32 . A particle therapy system comprising:
 a treatment couch to support a patient containing an irradiation target, the treatment couch being configured for movement;   a particle beam output device to direct output of a particle beam, the particle beam output device being arranged for movement relative to the treatment couch; and   a control system to control positioning of the particle beam output device and the treatment couch using degrees of freedom that exceed isocentric rotation of the particle beam output device and the treatment couch.   
     
     
         33 . The particle therapy system of  claim 32 , wherein the particle beam output device comprises scanning components to scan the particle beam relative to the irradiation target, the scanning components comprising one or more scanning magnets; and
 wherein the control system is configured to control a position of the particle beam by controlling operation of one or more of the scanning components   
     
     
         34 . The particle therapy system of  claim 32 , wherein the control system is configured to control positioning of the particle beam output device and the treatment couch absent user intervention. 
     
     
         35 . The particle therapy system of  claim 32 , wherein the control system is configured to control positioning of the particle beam output device and the treatment couch automatically for multiple beam fields. 
     
     
         36 . The particle therapy system of  claim 32 , wherein the particle beam output device is controllable to move linearly between a first position and a second position. 
     
     
         37 . The particle therapy system of  claim 32 , wherein the particle beam output device is controllable to pivot relative to the treatment couch. 
     
     
         38 . The particle therapy system of  claim 32 , wherein the particle beam output device is controllable to rotate relative to the treatment couch. 
     
     
         39 . The particle therapy system of  claim 32 , wherein the particle beam output device comprises a particle accelerator. 
     
     
         40 . The particle therapy system of  claim 32 , wherein the particle beam output device is configured to produce a beam field of 30 cm by 30 cm or less. 
     
     
         41 . A particle therapy system comprising:
 a treatment couch to support a patient containing an irradiation target, the treatment couch being configured for movement;   an apparatus to direct output of a particle beam;   a movable device on which the apparatus is mounted to move the apparatus relative to the treatment couch, the apparatus being mounted relative to the treatment couch to produce a beam field of 30 cm by 30 cm or less; and   a control system to provide automated positioning of at least one of the apparatus or the treatment couch for treatment of a first part of the irradiation target with the particle beam and, following the treatment of the first part of the irradiation target with the particle beam, to provide automated repositioning at least one of the apparatus or the treatment couch for treatment of a second part of the irradiation target with the particle beam.   
     
     
         42 . The particle therapy system of  claim 41 , wherein at least one of the automated positioning or the automated repositioning includes translational movement. 
     
     
         43 . The particle therapy system of  claim 41 , wherein the apparatus comprises a beam spreader to deliver the particle beam via a transmission channel. 
     
     
         44 . The particle therapy system of  claim 41 , wherein the apparatus comprises a particle accelerator configured to generate the particle beam. 
     
     
         45 . The particle therapy system of  claim 41 , wherein the apparatus is mounted to produce a beam field of 20 cm by 20 cm or less. 
     
     
         46 . The particle therapy system of  claim 41 , wherein the apparatus comprises a synchrocyclotron having a weight that is within a range of 5 tons to 30 tons and that occupies a volume of less than 4.5 cubic meters. 
     
     
         47 . The particle therapy system of  claim 41 , further comprising:
 a collision avoidance system to detect positions of one or more components of the particle therapy system and to provide information about positions to the control system;   wherein the control system is configured to control operation of the one or more components based on the information.   
     
     
         48 . The particle therapy system of  claim 41 , wherein the control system is configured to provide automated control of the particle beam to control intensities of the particle beam so that cumulative intensities at points of overlap between a particle beam for a first beam field and a particle beam for a second beam field remain within a range of a target beam intensity.