The present invention relates to a particle beam therapy facility that is provided with a particle beam therapy system and a method of constructing the particle beam therapy facility and, in particular, relates to a particle beam therapy facility in which a layout of multiple treatment rooms is well thought out.
Particle beam therapy systems are quite large systems, so that, in particular in Japan whose national land is small, how to downsize the system itself and how to reduce the ground-floor area of its installation place have been thought out.
In Patent Document 1, there is described a charged-particle beam irradiation apparatus (particle beam therapy system) that is provided with: plural second transport lines for transporting a charged particle ray (charged particle beam) to respective irradiation rooms; and a line switching means by which the second transport line for a guiding destination can be selectively switched. The charged-particle beam irradiation apparatus of Patent Document 1 is provided with: a first transport line (common transport line) for transporting the charged particle beam sent out from an accelerator; and the plural second transport lines (individual transport lines) each provided for each of the multiple irradiation rooms, for further transporting the charged particle beam transported by the first transport line, to each of the irradiation rooms; wherein the line switching means is provided between the first transport line and the second transport lines, by which the charged particle beam from the first transport line is guided to any one of the second transport lines and the second transport line for a guiding destination can be selectively switched. The multiple irradiation rooms are arranged radially around the line switching means, and the line switching means includes an electromagnet for guiding the charged particle beam and a rotation mechanism for rotating the electromagnet, and switches between the second transport lines for respective guiding destinations by rotating the electromagnet.
Meanwhile, in Patent Document 2, there is described an accelerated particle irradiation facility in which plural irradiation apparatuses are placed in a manner horizontally shifted to each other, and are each placed on a floor different to a floor on which a particle accelerator is placed. A guide line in the accelerated particle irradiation facility of Patent Document 2 includes an extraction passage that is connected to and extending horizontally from the particle accelerator and is then bent into the vertical direction. At a position after passing through the extraction passage, the guide line branches into two lines so that angles of 0° and 90°, angles of 45° and −45°, or angles of 45° and 135° are established in planer view, respectively between the line before branching and the two lines after branching, thus providing an angle of 90° in a horizontal plane as the difference between a connection direction toward one irradiation apparatus and a connection direction toward the other irradiation apparatus.
It is acknowledged that the ground-floor area of the installation place for the particle beam therapy system is reduced to some extent when, as described in Patent Document 1, the multiple irradiation rooms are arranged radially or when, as described in Patent Document 2, the angles of 45° and −45° or the like by which an angle of 90° is provided therebetween are established in planar view, respectively between the line before branching and the two lines after branching.
However, actually in many cases, the installation place that the hospital side can get ready for the particle beam therapy system is restricted, so that the shape and the ground-floor area of the installation place are given in an unintentional manner. Meanwhile, when, as described in Patent Document 2, the angles of 45° and −45° or the like by which an angle of 90° is provided therebetween are established in planar view, respectively between the line before branching and the two lines after branching, whether this provides an efficient layout or not depends on the shape and size of a rotary gantry and the shape and size of the installation place. The rotary gantry is a rotatable device for radiating the charged particle beam to a patient from an arbitrary direction, and, though depending on the shape and size of the rotary gantry and the shape and size of the installation place, inherently, there may be cases where such an arrangement can not be achieved that establishes the angles of 45° and −45° or the like by which an angle of 90° is provided therebetween.
As described above, according to the heretofore-proposed techniques, although stereotypical handling methods are shown that reduce, to some extent, the ground-floor area of the installation place for the particle beam therapy system, there is a problem that it is unable to differentially make handling in consideration of the shape and size of the rotary gantry and the shape and size of the installation place.
This invention has been made in view of the above problem, and an object thereof is to provide a method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility in which the layout of the multiple treatment rooms is well thought out and a method of constructing the particle beam therapy facility, by taking into consideration the shapes and sizes of the rotary gantry and the treatment room, such as a gantry room, including a treatment region adjacent to the rotary gantry, and the shape and size of the installation place for the treatment rooms.
A method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility according to the invention comprises: a treatment-room model preparation step of preparing a treatment-room model that is a three-dimensional model of each of the treatment rooms; a treatment-room model arrangement step of arranging the multiple treatment-room models, at initial positions in a model space corresponding to a target space for arrangement; a local-concave region calculation step of calculating: a volume of a local concave region which is a concave region between two treatment-room models among the multiple treatment-room models, that are arranged most adjacent to each other; or a projected area which is developed when the local concave region is two-dimensionally projected toward a floor; a concave-region calculation-result display step of displaying the volume or projected area of the local concave region calculated in the local-concave region calculation step, on a display device of a design assisting device; and a treatment-room model displacement step of displacing the treatment-room model in the model space in response to a displacement instruction for that treatment-room model, when an operation-termination instruction is not issued after the concave-region calculation-result display step; wherein the local-concave region calculation step, the concave-region calculation-result display step and the treatment-room model displacement step are repeated until the operation-termination instruction is issued. The local concave region according to the invention is a region composed of a set of points on lines that connect to each other, mutually-facing outer peripheries of the two treatment-room models arranged most adjacent, or, in the case where a shield wall is placed between the two treatment-room models arranged most adjacent, a region composed of a set of object points that are points on lines that connect to each other, mutually-facing outer peripheries of the two treatment-room models in that case, except for points in the shield wall.
By the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility according to the invention, the volume or projected area of the concave region between two treatment-room models among the multiple treatment-room models, that are arranged most adjacent to each other, is calculated and displayed on the display device. This allows the calculation result of the area or volume of the concave region to be displayed according to the arranged positions of the treatment-room models, so that the layout of the multiple treatment rooms can be optimized so as to reduce the concave region as much as possible.
The role of the beam transport system 59 is to communicate between the accelerator 54 and the particle beam irradiation apparatuses 58a, 58b. The beam transport system 59 is partly placed in the rotary gantry 24a and is provided with, at that part, a plurality of bending electromagnets 55a, 55b, 55c. The beam transport system 59 is partly placed in the rotary gantry 24b and is provided with, at that part, a plurality of bending electromagnets 55d, 55e, 55f. The part of the beam transport system 59 placed in the rotary gantry 24a is a rotary-gantry mounting portion 56a, and the part of the beam transport system 59 placed in the rotary gantry 24b is a rotary-gantry mounting portion 56b.
The charged particle beam generated by the ion source, that is a particle beam such as a proton beam, etc. is accelerated by the pre-accelerator 53 and injected into the accelerator 54 through an injection device 46. The accelerator 54 is a synchrotron, for example. The charged particle beam is accelerated up to a given energy. The charged particle beam emitted from an emission device 47 of the accelerator 54, is transported through the beam transport system 59 to the particle beam irradiation apparatuses 58a, 58b. The particle beam irradiation apparatuses 58a, 58b each radiate the charged particle beam to a diseased site (irradiation target) 48 of a patient 45 (see,
The charged particle beam 31 generated by the beam generation apparatus 52 and accelerated up to the given energy, is brought through the beam transport system 59 to the particle beam irradiation apparatus 58. In
The X-direction scanning electromagnet 32 is a scanning electromagnet for scanning the charged particle beam 31 in the X-direction, and the Y-direction scanning electromagnet 33 is a scanning electromagnet for scanning the charged particle beam 31 in the Y-direction. With respect to the charged particle beam 31 scanned by the X-direction scanning electromagnet 32 and the Y-direction scanning electromagnet 33, the position monitor 34 detects beam information for calculating a passing position (gravity center position) and a size of the beam that passes therethrough. The beam-data processing device 41 calculates the passing position (gravity center position) and the size of the charged particle beam 31 on the basis of the beam information that comprises a plurality of analog signals detected by the position monitor 34. Further, the beam-data processing device 41 generates an abnormality detection signal indicative of a position abnormality and/or a size abnormality of the charged particle beam 31, and outputs the abnormality detection signal to the irradiation management device 38.
The dose monitor 35 detects the dose of the charged particle beam 31. The irradiation management device 38 controls the irradiation position of the charged particle beam 31 in the diseased site 48 of the patient 45 on the basis of treatment plan data prepared by an unshown treatment plan device, and moves the charged particle beam 31 to a next irradiation position when the dose having been measured by the dose monitor 35 and converted by the dose-data converter 36 into digital data, reaches a target dose. The scanning-electromagnet power source 37 changes setup currents for the X-direction scanning electromagnet 32 and the Y-direction scanning electromagnet 33 on the basis of control inputs (commands) outputted from the irradiation management device 38 for the X-direction scanning electromagnet 32 and the Y-direction scanning electromagnet 33.
Here, the scanning irradiation method of the particle beam irradiation apparatus 58 is assumed to be a raster-scanning irradiation method in which the charged particle beam 31 is not stopped when the irradiation position of the charged particle beam 31 is changed, and is a method in which the beam irradiation position moves between spot positions successively like a spot-scanning irradiation method. The spot counter 43 serves to measure an irradiation dose during when the beam irradiation position of the charged particle beam 31 is staying. The inter-spot counter 44 serves to measure an irradiation dose during when the beam irradiation position of the charged particle beam 31 is moving. The trigger generation unit 42 serves to generate a dose completion signal when the dose of the charged particle beam 31 at a beam irradiation position reaches the target irradiation dose.
Next, the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility will be described. The method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility is executed by a computer 25, and an intermediate situation and a calculation result, during design assisting operation, are displayed on a display device 26. As shown in
In Step S002, the multiple treatment-room models are arranged at initial positions inside an arrangement-region frame 10 which represents a boundary of a model space that is a modeled target space for arrangement (treatment-room model arrangement step) . A space that is partitioned with the arrangement-region frame 10 is the model space corresponding to the target space for arrangement. As shown in
In Step S003, a volume of a concave region 8 (see,
In Step S005, whether the assisting operation required from an operator is completed or not is judged, so that the operation is terminated when an assisting-operation-termination instruction is issued, or the flow moves to Step S006 when no assisting-operation-termination instruction is issued. In Step S006, in response to a displacement instruction by the operator, the treatment-room model is displaced to be re-arranged (treatment-room model displacement step). After execution of Step S006, the flow returns to Step S003, so that the assisting operation is continued.
Using
The concave region 8 is a region composed of a set of points q. Points in the gantry-room models 1a, 1b are assumed to be a set p. The set p can be represented as a formula (1).
p|G∈p (1)
When any two points in the set area G are defined as p1 and p2, the set q can be represented as a formula (2). Namely, the set q is a set that satisfies Condition 1, Condition 2 and Condition 3.
q|Condition 1, Condition 2, Condition 3 (2)
where, Condition 1, Condition 2 and Condition 3 are represented by a formula (3), a formula (4) and a formula (5), respectively.
q=λp
1+(1−λ)p2 (3)
0<λ<1 (4)
[Mathematical 1]
q∉G (5)
In
When the shield wall 9 is placed, the concave region 8 is given as a region that excludes the shield wall 9. For example, in
q|Condition 1, Condition 2, Condition 3, Condition 4 (6)
where, Condition 4 is represented by a formula (7).
[Mathematical 2]
q∉W (7)
Although the concave region 8 is defined as described above, it can be defined in other words as follows: when such points on lines that connect to each other, mutually-facing respective points (outer periphery points) on outer peripheries of the gantry-room models 1a, 1b that are adjacent to each other, except for points in the shield wall 9, are defined as object points, the concave region 8 is a region composed of these object points.
Using the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 1 makes it possible to properly arrange the gantry-room models 1a, 1b in the arrangement-region frame 10. Thus, the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized so as to reduce, as much as possible, the concave region 8 which is a region that is essentially unnecessary and useless. In
It is noted that, in the case where the number of the multiple treatment rooms is three or more, among three or more treatment-room models, each two of the treatment-room models that are arranged most adjacent to each other is determined as a target pair, and the local-concave region calculation step is executed for each target pair. Then, in the concave-region calculation-result display step, the volume of the local-concave region 8 or the projected area of the local-concave region 8 calculated for each target pair is displayed on the display device 26.
The method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 1 comprises; the treatment-room model preparation step of preparing the treatment-room model (gantry-room model 1) that is a three-dimensional model of each of the treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b); the treatment-room model arrangement step of arranging the multiple treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) at initial positions in the model space corresponding to the target space for arrangement; the local-concave region calculation step of calculating, a volume of the local concave region 8 which is a concave region between two treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) among the multiple treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b), that are arranged most adjacent to each other, or a projected area which is developed when the local concave region 8 is two-dimensionally projected toward a floor; the concave-region calculation-result display step of displaying the volume or projected region of the local concave region 8 calculated in the local-concave region calculation step, on the display device 26 of the design assisting device 27; and the treatment-room model displacement step of displacing the treatment-room model (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) in the model space in response to a displacement instruction for that treatment-room model (gantry-room models 1a, 1b), when no operation-termination instruction is issued after the concave-region calculation-result display step; wherein the local-concave region calculation step, the concave-region calculation-result display step and the treatment-room model displacement step are repeated until an operation-termination instruction is issued. The local concave region 8 according to the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 1 is a region composed of a set of points on lines that connect to each other, the mutually-facing outer peripheries of the two treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) arranged most adjacent, or, in the case where the shield wall 9 is placed between the two treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) arranged most adjacent, a region composed of a set of object points that are points on lines that connect to each other the mutually-facing outer peripheries of the two treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) in that case, except for points in the shield wall 9. Because of this configuration, according to the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 1, the volume or projected area of the concave region 8 between the two treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) among the multiple treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b), that are arranged most adjacent to each other, is calculated and displayed on the display device 26. This allows the calculation result of the area or volume of the concave region 8 to be displayed according to the arranged positions of the treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b), so that the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized so as to reduce the concave region 8 as much as possible.
Steps S010, S011 that are steps different to those in
In Step S011, the optimum value of the volume or projected area of the local concave region 8 calculated in Step S010, and the arrangement of the gantry-room models 1a, 1b that are the treatment-room models from which the optimum value has been calculated, are displayed on the display device 26 (optimum-value calculation-result display step).
It is noted that, when plural similar optimum values (suboptimum values) are present in Step S010, each suboptimum value of the volume or projected area of the local concave area 8 corresponding to the respective extracted suboptimum values, and each arrangement of the gantry-room models 1a, 1b that are the treatment-room models from which the suboptimum values have been calculated, are displayed on the display device 26 in Step S011.
According to the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 2, the computer 25 calculates, through recursive calculation, an optimum value of the volume or projected area of the concave region 8, so that the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized so as to reduce the concave region 8 as much as possible, faster than in the case of Embodiment 1. Further, according to the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 2, the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized more efficiently than in the case of Embodiment 1.
It is noted that, in the case where the number of the multiple treatment rooms is three or more, it suffices: to determine, among three or more treatment-room models, each two of the treatment-room models that are arranged most adjacent to each other, as a target pair; to execute the local-concave region calculation step for each target pair; and to repetitively perform in the optimum-value calculation step, multiple times for each target pair, displacing the treatment-room model and calculating the volume of the local concave region 8 or the projected area of the local concave region 8, to thereby calculate the optimum value.
The method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 2 is characterized by comprising: the treatment-room model preparation step of preparing the treatment-room model (gantry-room model 1) that is a three-dimensional model of each of the treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b); the treatment-room model arrangement step of arranging the multiple treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) at initial positions in the model space corresponding to the target space for arrangement; the local-concave region calculation step of determining, among the multiple treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b), each two of said treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b), that are arranged most adjacent to each other, as a target pair, and calculating, for each target pair, a volume of the local concave region 8 which is a concave region between two said treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) in the target pair, or a projected area which is developed when the local concave region 8 is two-dimensionally projected toward a floor; the optimum-value calculation step of repetitively performing, multiple times for each target pair, displacing the treatment-room model (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) by use of the design assisting device 27 and calculating the volume of the local concave region 8 or the projected area of the local concave region 8, to thereby calculate an optimum value thereof; and the optimum-value calculation-result display step of displaying the optimum value of the volume of the local concave region 8 or the optimum value of the projected area that is calculated in the optimum-value calculation step, and an arrangement of the treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) corresponding to the case of that optimum value, on the display device 26 of the design assisting device 27. Because of this configuration, according to the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 2, the optimum value of the volume or projected area of the concave region 8 is calculated through recursive calculation by the computer 25 of the design assisting device 27, so that the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized so as to reduce the concave region 8 as much as possible, faster than in the case of Embodiment 1. Further, according to the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 2, the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized more efficiently than in the case of Embodiment 1.
In Embodiment 1, an example is shown in which the volume or projected area of the local concave region 8 is optimized; however, it is desired that an effectively-usable region be ensured also in a region in the arrangement-region frame 10 where the gantry-room model 1 is not arranged. In Embodiment 3, a method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility will be described which can optimize the region in the arrangement-region frame 10 where the gantry-room model 1 is not arranged.
In
The two-dimensional region of the treatment-room-model related region is a region which includes: the multiple treatment-models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b); and a region partitioned with the shield wall 9 placed between the multiple treatment-models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b), the outer peripheries of the treatment-room models and the arrangement-region frame 10, or the two-dimensional region is an outside region in which no treatment-room model exists and which is placed outside the treatment-room-model extended boundary (gantry-room-model extended boundary 30) that is provided by extending the outer-periphery line of the treatment-room model toward the arrangement-region frame 10. The three-dimensional region of the treatment-room-model related region is a three-dimensional region resulting from expanding the two-dimensional region of the treatment-room-model related region vertically from the floor to the ceiling. The two-dimensional region of the residual space 14b in
The concave region 15a with respect to the residual space 14a in
It is desired that the residual space 14 be composed of a convex set. For example, the two-dimensional region of the residual space 14 is easier to use when it is in a quadrangular shape than when it is in L-like shape, even on the same area basis. This is because a quadrangular shape is composed of a convex set, whereas L-like shape has a concave portion and is thus not composed of a convex set. The method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 3 is an example in which the gantry-room model 1 is displaced according to an operator's instruction, and at each displacement, the volumes or projected areas of the concave region 8 and the residual-space concave region 15 are calculated.
The flowchart of
In Step S012, the computer 25 determines the residual space 14 by subtracting the treatment-room-model related region in which the treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) are arranged, from the arrangement-region frame 10 indicative of the target space for arrangement, and calculates the volume of a concave region with respect to the residual space 14 (residual-space concave region 15) or the area developed when that concave region is two-dimensionally projected (projected area) (residual-space concave region calculation step). In Step S013, the volumes or projected areas calculated in the local-concave region calculation step and the residual-space concave region calculation step are displayed on the display device 26 (concave-region calculation-result display step) . For example, when a calculation start command for the local-concave region calculation step corresponding to Step S003 is inputted, the local-concave region calculation step and the residual-space concave region calculation step are executed. As shown in
In
Arrangements of the gantry-room models 1a, 1b shown in
According to the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 3, the local concave region 8 and the residual-space concave region 15 are calculated, the arrangement of the treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) is displayed, the local concave region 8 and the residual-space concave region 15 are displayed, and the calculation result of the volumes or projected areas of the local concave region 8 and the residual-space concave region 15 are displayed. Using the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility in Embodiment 3 makes it possible to properly arrange the treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) in the arrangement-region frame 10. Thus, the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized so as to reduce, as much as possible, the concave region 8 that is a useless region and the residual-space concave region 15 with respect to the residual space 14 in which no treatment-room model is arranged.
Steps S020, S021 that are steps different to those in
Instead, as a criterion for determining whether the volume or projected area of each of the local concave region 8 and the residual-space concave region 15 is its optimum value or not, the fact may be used that each of evaluation function values weighted on the local concave region 8 and the residual-space concave region 15 becomes minimum. When the local concave region 8 and the residual-space concave region 15 are evaluated after being subjected to weighting, it is possible to more optimize the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) than by the method without using weighting.
In Step S021, the optimum values of the volumes or projected regions of the local concave region 8 and the residual-space concave region 15 that have been calculated in Step S020, and the arrangement of the gantry-room models 1a, 1b that are the treatment-room models from which the optimum values have been calculated, are displayed on the display device 26.
It is noted that, when plural similar optimum values (suboptimum values) are present in Step S020, the suboptimum values of the volumes or projected areas of the local concave area 8 and the residual-space concave region 15 corresponding to the extracted suboptimum values, and each arrangement of the gantry-room models 1a, 1b that are the treatment-room models from which the suboptimum values have been calculated, are displayed on the display device 26 in Step S021 (optimum-value calculation-result display step).
With respect to the arrangements of the gantry-room models 1a, 1b shown in
According to the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 4, the computer 25 calculates, through recursive calculation, the optimum values of the volumes or projected areas of the concave regions (the local concave region 8 and the residual-space concave region 15), so that the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized so as to reduce the concave region 8 and the residual-space concave region 15 as much as possible, faster than in the case of Embodiment 3. Further, according to the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 4, the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized more efficiently than in the case of Embodiment 3.
In Step S031, in the arrangement-region frame 10 indicative of the target space for arrangement, an accelerator model is arranged at its initial position (accelerator model arrangement step). In Step S032, in the arrangement-region frame 10, the multiple treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) are arranged at their optimum positions by use of the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility described in Embodiments 1 to 4 (treatment-room model optimum-arrangement step). In Step S033, in the arrangement-region frame 10, a transport system model 17 that connects the accelerator model 16 with the multiple treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) is arranged (transport-system model arrangement step).
The arrangement-region frame 10 shown in
The arrangement of the gantry-room models 1a, 1b shown in
According to the method of constructing a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 5, at the time of constructing the particle beam therapy facility 70 which includes the multiple gantry rooms 20a, 20b in which the rotary gantries 24a, 24b are respectively provided, the accelerator 54 and the beam transport system 59, the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility described in Embodiments 1 to 4 is used with respect to the arrangement of the multiple gantry rooms 20a, 20b. Thus, it is possible to properly arrange the gantry-room models 1a, 1b in the arrangement-region frame 10, so that the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized so as to reduce, as much as possible, the local concave region 8 that is a useless region and the residual-space concave region 15. Further, according to the method of constructing a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 5, the layout is studied using the arrangement-region frame 10 with a shape matched to the shape of the building in which the gantry rooms 20a, 20b are to be placed, so that the shape and size of each of the treatment rooms, such as the gantry rooms 20a, 20b and the like, and the shape and size of the installation place for the treatment rooms, can be taken into consideration.
The method of constructing a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 5 comprises: the accelerator model arrangement step of arranging the accelerator model 16 corresponding to the accelerator 54 in the model space corresponding to the target space for arrangement; the treatment-room model optimum-arrangement step of arranging, in the model space, the multiple treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) that are three-dimensional models of the treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b); and the transport-system model arrangement step of arranging, in the model space, the transport system model 17 corresponding to the beam transport system so that it connects the acceleration model 16 with the treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b). In the treatment-room model optimum-arrangement step, the arrangement of the treatment-room models (gantry-room models 1a, 1b) is determined using the method of assisting designing of a particle beam therapy facility shown in Embodiments 1 to 4. Because of this configuration, according to the method of constructing a particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 5, the layout is studied using the arrangement-region frame 10 with a shape matched to the shape of the building in which the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) are to be placed, so that it is possible to construct the particle beam therapy facility in which the shape and size of each of the treatment rooms such as the gantry rooms 20a, 20b and the like, and the shape and size of the installation place for the treatment rooms, are taken into consideration.
The particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 5 comprises: the beam generation apparatus 52 for generating the charged particle beam 31 and accelerating the charged particle beam 31 using the accelerator 54; the beam transport system 59 for transporting the charged particle beam 31 accelerated by the accelerator 54; the multiple particle beam irradiation apparatuses 58a, 58b each for radiating the charged particle beam 31 transported by the beam transport system 59 to an irradiation target (diseased site 48); the multiple rotary gantries 24a, 24b equipped respectively with the particle beam irradiation apparatuses 58a, 58b, each for radiating the charged particle beam 31 to the irradiation target (diseased site 48) from an arbitrary direction; and the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) in which the rotary gantries 24a, 24b are respectively placed. When such a region is defined as a virtual gantry region that is composed of: a gantry region including the body and the front panel of each of the rotary gantries 24a, 24b; and an open-space region in the treatment room (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) that is connected to an inner region of the body of each of the rotary gantries 24a, 24b, and when, with respect to the two treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) that are arranged most adjacent to each other through the shield wall 19, such a region is defined as the local concave region 73 that is composed of a set of object points that are points on lines placed between the two virtual gantry regions and connecting to each other, mutually-facing outer peripheries of the two virtual gantry regions, except for points in the shield wall 19, the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) are arranged so that a projected area which is developed when the local concave region 73 between the two treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) among the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b), that are arranged most adjacent to each other, is two-dimensionally projected toward the floor, is equal to or less than one fourth of a projected area which is developed when the virtual gantry region is two-dimensionally projected toward the floor. Because of this configuration, according to the particle beam therapy facility of Embodiment 5, the layout of the multiple treatment rooms (gantry rooms 20a, 20b) can be optimized so as to reduce the local concave region 73 as much as possible.
It is noted that, although the multiple gantry-room models have been illustrated as each having the same outer periphery (boundary), each of the gantry-room models is to be prepared in conformity with the actual rotary gantry and thus, if the multiple gantry-room models have different outer peripheries (boundaries), this invention may also be applied thereto. Further, although the irradiation method of the particle beam irradiation apparatus 58 has been described citing a scanning irradiation method as an example, this invention may also be applied to the particle beam therapy facility 70 which includes the particle beam irradiation apparatus 58 using a broad irradiation method in which the charged particle beam 31 is scattered and enlarged by a scatterer and an irradiation field is formed from the enlarged charged particle beam 31 to be in conformity with an irradiation target 48. Further, this invention may also be applied to the particle beam therapy facility 70 which includes the particle beam irradiation apparatus 58 using another scanning irradiation method different to the scanning irradiation method described in Embodiment 1, namely, a spot-scanning irradiation method, a raster-scanning irradiation method or the like. Further, unlimited combination of the respective embodiments, and appropriate modification and omission in the embodiments may be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention.
1, 1a, 1b: gantry-room model, 8, 8a, 8b: concave region (local concave region), 9, 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d: shield wall, 14, 14a, 14b: residual space, 15, 15a, 15b: concave region (residual-space concave region), 16: accelerator model, 17: transport system model, 19, 19a, 19b: shield wall, 20a, 20b: gantry room, 24a, 24b: rotary gantry, 26: display device, 27: design assisting device, 31: charged particle beam, 48: diseased site (irradiation target), 51: particle beam therapy system, 52: beam generation apparatus, 54: accelerator, 58, 58a, 58b: particle beam irradiation apparatus, 59: beam transport system, 73: concave region.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2014/080899 | 11/21/2014 | WO | 00 |