RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM FOR TREATING BREASTS AND EXTREMITIES

Abstract

A radiation therapy system optimized for treating extremities such as the breast has unique geometrical features that enable the system to deliver an accurately located prescribed dose to a target volume while eliminating or reducing the collateral dose delivered to the rest of the patient. An optional integral imaging system provides accurate target volume localization for each treatment session. Utilizing the effects of gravity on a prone patient maximizes the separation of a target volume within the breast to adjacent critical structures such as the chest wall, heart and lungs, thereby reducing long term complications not associated with the primary disease. A shielded interface surface between the radiation source and the patient reduces patient dose due to scattered or stray radiation. A shielded enclosure for the radiation sources combined with the shielded interface surface eliminates the need for primary shielding in the room and allows the therapy system to be used in a transportable, mobile facility.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1A is a plan cross-sectional view of a therapy system of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a side cross-sectional view of the therapy system shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is an illustration showing a plan cross sectional view of the fully shielded version of the invention with rotating patient table and fixed radiation source and imaging assembly.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the present invention including an imaging system.

FIG. 4 is a plan cross-sectional view of a version of the system showing a fixed radiation source assembly employing bending magnets to enable folding the electron trajectory for a smaller device footprint.

FIG. 5 shows a plan view of a fully shielded embodiment of the invention with a beam block surrounding the high radiation area.

Claims

1. A radiation therapy system comprising: a radiation source producing a radiation beam;a patient positioning system, comprising: a substantially shielding patient interface surface; andan aperture to permit passage of the anatomy to be treated through the patient interface surface;means to generate relative motion between the radiation beam and the patient positioning system.

2. The radiation therapy system of claim 1 further including a diagnostic energy imaging x-ray source and detector for localizing the target volume.

3. The radiation therapy system of claim 1 where the enclosure for the radiation source and anatomy is comprised of a radiation shielding material and forms a shielded structure around the high radiation area.

4. The radiation therapy system of claim 1 where the system is mounted in a mobile enclosure.

5. The radiation therapy system of claim 1 where the radiation source rotates about a substantially vertical axis.

6. The radiation therapy system of claim 1 where the patient positioning system rotates about a substantially vertical axis.

7. The radiation therapy system of claim 2 where the enclosure for the radiation source and anatomy is comprised of a radiation shielding material and forms a shielded structure around the high radiation area.

8. The radiation therapy system of claim 2 where the system is mounted in a mobile enclosure.

9. The radiation therapy system of claim 2 where the patient positioning system a substantially vertical axis.

10. The radiation therapy system of claim 2 where the patient positioning system rotates about a substantially vertical axis.

11. The radiation therapy system of claim 7 where the enclosure for the radiation source and anatomy is comprised of a radiation shielding material and forms a shielded structure around the high radiation area.

12. The radiation therapy system of claim 7 where the system is mounted in a mobile enclosure.

13. The radiation therapy system of claim 7 where the patient positioning system rotates about a substantially vertical axis.

14. The radiation therapy system of claim 7 where the patient positioning system rotates about a substantially vertical axis.