Geometric aspects of radiation therapy planning and treatment

Abstract

Radiation treatment planning includes determining a number of beams to be directed into a target, determining directions (e.g., gantry angles) for the beams, and determining an energy level for each of the beams. The number of beams, the directions of the beams, and the energy levels are determined such that the beams do not overlap outside the target and the prescribed dose will be delivered across the entire target.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for performing radiation treatment on a target, the system comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to
 access a radiation treatment plan, the radiation treatment plan including a number of beams, a direction of each of the beams, and an energy of each of the beams, wherein the direction of each of the beams is determined such that the beams do not overlap outside the target and overlap inside the target and the energy of each of the beams is determined such that a cumulative dose at sub-volumes inside the target satisfy a prescribed dose; and 
 direct the beams into the target according to the radiation treatment plan. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the beams of the radiation treatment plan include at least one of proton beams or ion beams that each have a Bragg peak. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the direction of each of the beams is configured to position the Bragg peak in a portion of the target at a distal edge of the target. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the radiation treatment plan is generated using an iterative process to determine each of the number of the beams, the direction of each of the beams, and the energy of each of the beams. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the radiation treatment plan is generated by
 accessing a minimum prescribed dose to be delivered into and across the target; and   determining the number of the beams, the direction of each of the beams, and the energy of each of the beams such that the target receives the minimum prescribed dose.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the beams of the radiation treatment plan have paths that are in a same plane. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the beams of the radiation treatment plan have paths that are in different planes. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the beams of the radiation treatment plan includes a plurality of beam segments and the radiation treatment plan is generated by
 determining a maximum beam energy for each of the beams; and   for each of the beams, determining a beam energy for each beam segment of the plurality of beam segments as a percentage of the maximum beam energy.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a gantry configured to direct the beams into the target according to the radiation treatment plan, the gantry configured to direct the beams into the target on a slice-by-slice basis using at least one of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) or tomotherapy.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the beams delivers a dose of at least four grays in less than one second. 
     
     
         11 . A method for performing radiation treatment on a target, the method comprising:
 accessing a radiation treatment plan, the radiation treatment plan including a number of beams, a direction of each of the beams, and an energy of each of the beams, wherein the direction of each of the beams is determined such that the beams do not overlap outside the target and overlap inside the target and the energy of each of the beams is determined such that a cumulative dose at sub-volumes inside the target satisfy a prescribed dose; and   directing the beams into the target according to the radiation treatment plan.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the beams of the radiation treatment plan include at least one of proton beams or ion beams that each have a Bragg peak. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the direction of each of the beams is configured to position the Bragg peak in a portion of the target at a distal edge of the target. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising
 generating the radiation treatment plan using an iterative process to determine each of the number of the beams, the direction of each of the beams, and the energy of each of the beams.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising
 generating the radiation treatment plan by accessing a minimum prescribed dose to be delivered into and across the target; and   determining the number of the beams, the direction of each of the beams, and the energy of each of the beams such that the target receives the minimum prescribed dose.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the beams of the radiation treatment plan have paths that are in a same plane. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the beams of the radiation treatment plan have paths that are in different planes. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each of the beams of the radiation treatment plan includes a plurality of beam segments and the method further includes
 generating the radiation treatment plan by determining a maximum beam energy for each of the beams; and   for each of the beams, determining a beam energy for each beam segment of the plurality of beam segments as a percentage of the maximum beam energy.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein a gantry is configured to direct the beams into the target according to the radiation treatment plan, the gantry configured to direct the beams into the target on a slice-by-slice basis using at least one of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) or tomotherapy. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each of the beams delivers a dose of at least four grays in less than one second.