Patent Grant
11904184
This disclosure relates to a radiation therapy system comprising an imaging system and a therapeutic radiation system. The imaging system may provide real-time images and/or image data of patient regions of interest (ROI). These images and/or data may be used by the therapeutic radiation system to direct radiation to ROIs, while limiting the irradiation of other patient regions (e.g., organs at risk (OARs) and/or healthy tissue). In one variation, the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation system are both mounted on a high-speed rotatable gantry (e.g., about 30 RPM to about 70 RPM). The imaging system comprises a kV X-ray source and a multi-leaf collimator disposed in the kV X-ray beam path and the therapeutic radiation system comprises an MV X-ray source and another multi-leaf collimator disposed in the MV X-ray beam path.
In modern intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), real-time tracking of moving tumor targets during a treatment session is a challenging problem. Uncertainty or imprecise knowledge of a tumor location may result in irradiation of healthy tissue and under-dosing tumor tissue. Many techniques have been developed to manage the problems that may arise from tumor motion. Some techniques include respiratory gating and/or imaging the patient prior to treatment (such as image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). A variety of imaging modalities may be used to guide a radiation therapy session, for example, X-ray or CT, PET and MRI. While these technologies may provide improved accuracy of dose delivery to the tumors while reducing the irradiation of surrounding healthy tissues, they may introduce other complications. For example, some IGRT techniques may involve implanting fiducial markers, increased levels of radiation exposure to the patient, and/or increased systems costs.
For example, tumor-tracking using kV X-ray fluoroscopy may provide some real-time information on tumor location during a treatment session, however, the location data may be inaccurate due to poor image quality and/or anatomical clutter (e.g., bones, blood vessels and other tissues). Improving imaging quality for radiation-based imaging modalities often involves exposing the patient to increasing levels of radiation (e.g., levels greater than 1.5-2.5 μR/frame). Because the image contrast to noise ratio (CNR) improves with the square root of X-ray exposure, the amount of X-rays must be significantly increased in order to attain an appreciable improvement in image quality. However, increasing X-ray emissions also increases the amount of scattered X-rays, and may also enlarge the exposure area. Anatomical structures that overlap with tumor(s) (e.g., in projection X-ray images) may make it difficult to precisely detect and locate the tumor(s).
Accordingly, systems and methods that provide improved precision in tumor location while reducing overall patient radiation exposure may be desirable.
Disclosed herein are systems and methods for real-time tumor imaging during a radiation therapy session. The systems and methods described herein may enable the acquisition of tumor images that have higher levels of image contrast and quality (e.g., to improve the contrast-to-noise ratio or CNR by as much as a factor of ten) to provide tumor location data for radiation therapy (e.g., intensity modulated radiation therapy or IMRT, image guided radiation therapy or IGRT, emission guided radiation therapy or EGRT). One variation of a radiation therapy system may comprise a rotatable gantry, an imaging system mounted on the gantry, and a therapeutic radiation system also mounted on the gantry. The gantry may be rotatable about a patient region. In some variations, the gantry may have a bore and the patient region located within the bore. The imaging system and the therapeutic radiation system may be located at different gantry angles, but may be located at that same longitudinal location along the gantry bore or patient region (e.g., they may be coplanar). The imaging system may comprise an imaging radiation source and a first multi-leaf collimator disposed in the radiation path of the imaging radiation source. The therapeutic radiation system may comprise a therapeutic radiation source and a second multi-leaf collimator disposed in the radiation path of the therapeutic radiation source. The first and second multi-leaf collimators may be dynamic multi-leaf collimators, and in some variations, may be dynamic binary multi-leaf collimators. The leaf configuration of the multi-leaf collimators may change while the gantry is rotating. In one variation, the first multi-leaf collimator may change leaf configurations at every gantry firing angle to limit the field-of-view of the imaging system to a region of interest where a tumor may be located. The region of interest may include a motion envelope around the tumor. Based on the tumor location data collected from the imaging system, the leaf configuration of the second multi-leaf collimator may be adjusted in order to shape the therapeutic beam to irradiate the tumor, with little or no motion envelope around the tumor. This may help to reduce the radiation exposure of healthy tissue in the vicinity (e.g., adjacent to) of the tumor, while providing an effective radiation dose to the tumor.
One variation of a radiation therapy system may comprise a rotatable gantry, an imaging system mounted on the gantry, a therapeutic radiation source mounted on the gantry, and a controller in communication with the rotatable gantry, the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation system. The imaging system may comprise an imaging radiation source mounted at a first circumferential location along the gantry and a first multi-leaf collimator located in a radiation beam path of the imaging radiation source. The therapeutic radiation system may comprise a therapeutic radiation source mounted at a second circumferential location along the gantry and a second multi-leaf collimator located in a radiation beam path of the therapeutic radiation source. The controller may be configure to set the positions of the leaves of the first multi-leaf collimator to acquire image data of a region-of-interest (ROI) during a treatment session and set the positions of the leaves of the second multi-leaf collimator to apply therapeutic radiation to the ROI during the same treatment session. The rotatable gantry may be configured to rotate at a speed of about 20 RPM or more, or about 60 RPM or more. The leaves of the first multi-leaf collimator may have a first width, the leaves of the second multi-leaf collimator may have a second width, and the first width may be less than the second width. The first circumferential location, second circumferential location and the center of rotation of the gantry may form an angle of about 45 degrees. The positions of the leaves of the first multi-leaf collimator and the positions of the leaves of the second multi-leaf collimator may be set according to pre-loaded image data of the ROI stored in a memory of the controller. The positions of the leaves of the second multi-leaf collimator may be adjusted according to image data acquired by the imaging system. In some variations, the positions of the leaves of the first multi-leaf collimator may define a first radiation-transmitting portion that has an area that is greater than the ROI by a first margin, and the positions of the leaves of the second multi-leaf collimator may define a second radiation-transmitting portion that has an area that is greater than the ROI by a second margin, where the second margin may be smaller than (or the same as) the first margin. The gantry may comprise a plurality of predetermined firing positions around the gantry circumference, and the imaging system may be configured to acquire imaging data while located at a first position. The positions of the leaves of the second multi-leaf collimator may be configured to be adjusted while the gantry is rotating. In some variations, the imaging system may be configured to acquire image data of the ROI at a first firing position before the therapeutic radiation system applies radiation to the ROI from the first firing position. For example, the imaging system may acquire image data of the ROI at a first firing position about 100 ms before the therapeutic radiation system is located at the first firing position. The system may comprise a first detector mounted on the gantry across from the imaging radiation source and a second detected mounted on the gantry across from the therapeutic radiation source. The pre-loaded image data of the ROI may be acquired by cone beam CT. The first and second multi-leaf collimator may be binary collimators. The imaging radiation source may be a kV radiation source and the therapeutic radiation source may be a MV radiation source.
Also described herein is a method for radiation therapy comprising positioning a patient within a patient region of a radiation therapy system comprising a rotatable gantry, an imaging system, a therapeutic radiation system, and a controller. The rotatable gantry may have a first predetermined firing position on a circumference thereof. The imaging system may comprise an imaging radiation source and an imaging system collimator disposed in a radiation beam path of the imaging radiation source. The therapeutic radiation system may comprise a therapeutic radiation source and a therapeutic system collimator disposed in a radiation beam path of the therapeutic radiation source. The controller may comprise a memory containing a first collimator template and a second collimator template. The method may comprise positioning the imaging system at the first firing position, arranging leaves of the imaging system collimator according to the first template, acquiring image data of a patient tumor using radiation from the imaging radiation source that has been shaped by the imaging system collimator, rotating the gantry to position the therapeutic radiation source at the first firing position, modifying the second template according to acquired image data, arranging leaves of the therapeutic system collimator according to the modified second template, and applying therapeutic radiation to the patient tumor using radiation from the therapeutic radiation source that has been shaped by the therapeutic system collimator. In some methods, rotating the gantry and modifying the second template occur simultaneously, and/or modifying the second template and arranging leaves of the therapeutic system collimator occur while the gantry is moving. In some variations, applying therapeutic radiation occurs about 100 ms after acquiring image data. Arranging leaves of the imaging system collimator may comprise positioning the leaves in a pattern that defines a first radiation-transmitting portion shaped according to the first collimator template, and the first radiation-transmitting portion may be sized such that the imaging system irradiates the patient tumor and a first margin around the tumor, the first margin having a first area. In some variations, arranging leaves of the therapeutic system collimator may comprise positioning the leaves in a pattern that defines a second radiation-transmitting portion shaped according to the second collimator template, and the second radiation-transmitting portion may be sized such that the therapeutic radiation system irradiates the patient tumor and a second margin around the tumor, the second margin having a second area smaller than the first area. The first margin may be determined at least in part based on a range of motion of the patient tumor. A location of the second radiation-transmitting portion of the therapeutic system collimator may be shifted based on tumor image data. Alternatively or additionally, a center of gravity of the second radiation-transmitting portion of the therapeutic system collimator may be shifted based on a shift of a center of gravity of the patient tumor. In some variations, the gantry may further comprise a plurality of firing positions located around the circumference of the gantry. The controller memory may contain additional collimator templates, optionally where additional collimator templates may comprise a first set of collimator templates that represent leaf positions of the imaging system collimator at each of the firing positions around the gantry and a second set of collimator templates that represent leaf positions of the therapeutic radiation system collimator at each of the firing positions around the gantry. The first and second sets of collimator templates may be determined based on imaging data of the patient tumor acquired during a pre-treatment imaging session. The tumor may be a lung tumor.
Disclosed herein are systems and methods for real-time tumor motion imaging. The systems and methods described herein may facilitate the acquisition of tumor images during a treatment session that have higher levels of image contrast and quality (e.g., images where the CNR has been increased by about a factor of ten) to provide tumor location data for radiation therapy (e.g., IMRT, IGRT, EGRT). Tumor location data may include tumor centroid data, tumor contour data, tumor motion data (e.g., direction and/or rate of motion), etc. The acquisition of tumor images and/or data may occur in real-time, and/or just prior to the application of a therapeutic radiation beam to the tumor. That is, the latency between the acquisition of tumor image data and the application of radiation to the tumor may be about 10 seconds or less, about 5 seconds or less, about 3 seconds or less, about 2 seconds or less, about 1 second or less, etc., which may allow the system to track tumor location and/or motion.
The systems and methods described herein may be used to acquire tumor location data with or without the use of implanted fiducials. In some variations, a contrast agent may be provided if the ROI is located in a crowded anatomical region, and/or if the boundaries of the ROI are not readily identifiable using the imaging system. Examples of contrast agents may include, but are not limited to, iodine or barium compounds and the like.
System
One variation of a radiation therapy system may comprise a movable gantry, an imaging system mounted on the gantry, and a therapeutic radiation system mounted on the gantry. The system may further comprise a controller in communication with the gantry, imaging system, and the therapeutic radiation system. The therapeutic radiation system may comprise a therapeutic radiation source, for example, an MV radiation source (e.g., linac), and/or a proton beam source. The therapeutic radiation system may further comprise a multi-leaf collimator disposed over the therapeutic radiation source and/or in the beam path of the therapeutic radiation source and a therapeutic radiation detector located opposite the therapeutic radiation source. The imaging system may comprise an imaging radiation source, such as a kV X-ray source, a dynamic multi-leaf collimator disposed over the imaging radiation source and/or in the beam path of the imaging radiation source, and a detector located opposite the imaging radiation source. Alternatively or additionally, the imaging system may comprise a PET system, and/or a MRI system, and/or a cone beam CT system.
Gantry
The gantry may comprise a circular or ring gantry (e.g., closed bore ring gantry, open bore ring gantry), and/or may comprise one or more arms (e.g., C-arm gantry). The system may comprise a motion system coupled to the gantry to move the imaging system and/or the therapeutic radiation system about a patient area. In some variations, a motion system may rotate the gantry such that one or both of the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation system may rotate around a patient area, and/or a motion system may translate the gantry such that one or both of the imaging and therapeutic radiation systems may move along a longitudinal length of the patient area, e.g., along an axis that is transverse or perpendicular to a plane of gantry rotation. In some variations, the motion system may drive the gantry in order to position the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation system to various pre-defined locations about the patient area. These pre-defined locations may be referred to as firing positions or firing angles. Firing positions or firing angles may be identified by indices, and/or, in the case of a rotatable gantry, rotational angle around the patient area and/or location along the circumference of the gantry. A motion system may be configured to move the imaging system and/or the therapeutic radiation system from one firing position to an adjacent firing position in less than about 0.4-0.1 seconds. The position and motion of the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation system may be controlled separately/independently (e.g., such that positioning or moving the imaging system does not necessarily position or move the therapeutic radiation system) by using, for example, two motion systems. Alternatively, position and motion of the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation system may be controlled together (e.g., such that positioning or moving the imaging system positions or moves the therapeutic radiation system in a corresponding fashion) by using, for example, a single motion system or two motion systems that are controlled in synchrony. In some variations, the radiation therapy system may comprise a first ring gantry and a second ring gantry, where the imaging system is located on the first ring gantry and the therapeutic radiation source is located on the second ring gantry. The first and second ring gantries may be concentric (i.e., the second ring gantry is nested within the first ring gantry), or the first ring gantry and the second ring gantry may be located adjacent to each other. The first and second ring gantries may be controlled by a single motion system, or may each have their own independently controllable motion systems. Any suitable type of gantry motion systems may be used, for example, motion systems for circular gantries may comprise a slip ring and a drive train that contacts and rotates the slip ring.
In some variations, the radiation therapy system gantry may comprise a first arm and a second arm, where the imaging system is mounted on the first arm and the therapeutic radiation system is mounted on the second arm. For example, a radiation therapy system may comprise a first pair of arms located opposite each other, where an imaging radiation source is mounted on one of the arms and an imaging radiation detector is mounted on the other of the arms. The radiation therapy system may comprise a second pair of arms located opposite each other, where a therapeutic radiation source is mounted on one of the arms and a therapeutic radiation detector is mounted on the other of the arms. In some variations, gantry may comprise a rotatable frame and one or more arms extending from the frame. The one or more arms may be curved, and may be C-shaped. The rotation of the frame and/or arm(s) may be provided by one or more motion systems. Motion systems for gantries having one or more arms may comprise a slip ring and drive train, or any other suitable motion system.
The therapeutic radiation system and the imaging system may be arranged on the gantry such that the field-of-view of the imaging system is in-plane with the radiation beam from the therapeutic radiation source. In some variations, the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation source may be mounted on the gantry such that they are coplanar with each other (i.e., on the same cross-sectional plane that is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the gantry patient area). That is, the central axis of the therapeutic radiation beam may be coplanar with the central axis of the field-of-view of the imaging system. For example, the gantry may be a circular or ring gantry with a longitudinal length, and the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation source may be located at the same longitudinal location along the length of the gantry, or in other words, may be located on the same cross-sectional plane or slice of the gantry (e.g., cross-sectional plane that is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the gantry).
Multi-Leaf Collimator
In some variations where the imaging system comprises a kV radiation source and the therapeutic radiation system comprises an MV radiation source, each system may comprise a multi-leaf collimator (MLC) disposed over each of their radiation sources. The MLC may be any type of dynamic multi-leaf collimator (DMLC), as may be desirable, for example, a 2-D conformal MLC or binary collimator, where the configuration of the leaves can be adjusted during a treatment session (e.g., in real-time, using an actuation mechanism that moves the leaves without manual manipulation of the MLC by a user). The leaves of the DMLC may be configured to change their position while the gantry is moving between firing angles so that each of the leaves is at a specified location when the respective system is located at a particular firing angle. The positions of the leaves of a MLC at a particular firing angle or position may be referred to as a MLC template. The shape of each template resembles the projected image of tumor shape from that particular angle. An MLC template may specify the position of each and every leaf in the MLC such that leaf pattern corresponds with a desired radiation beam pattern or shape. For example, a MLC template may be set of instructions that indicate the position of each leaf of the MLC (e.g., displacement along a leaf travel path, displacement from the edge of the radiation beam path, etc.). A different MLC template may be computed for each firing angle so that a radiation beam emitted at that firing angle is shaped to correspond with a projection of the tumor at that firing angle. In some variations, an MLC template may specify the position of each leaf such that the pattern (e.g., shape and location) of the opening(s) in the MLC (i.e., the radiation-transmitting portion of the MLC) correspond with the desired radiation beam pattern. As will be described further below, in some variations, an MLC template at a particular firing angle may form a pattern such that the radiation beam at that firing angle has a shape that corresponds with the projection of a tumor region on that firing angle. An MLC template may also provide for a beam shape that corresponds to the size and shape of a tumor, plus a margin around the tumor. For example, the additional margin around the tumor may correspond with a motion envelope, and/or may be a region around the tumor that is selected to help ensure that tumor area (which may include the tumor boundaries) are irradiated. The size of the margin around a tumor may correspond to the expected or predicted range of motion of the tumor. A set of MLC templates may comprise a plurality of MLC templates for a plurality of firing positions or angles around the patient area. CT or cone beam CT image data set collected prior to treatment may be used by the controller to generate a set of kV-DMLC templates and/or MV-DMLC templates. These templates may be created by digitally reconstructed radiographs.
The DMLCs for a kV radiation source and/or a MV therapeutic radiation source may help to reduce the radiation exposure of a patient during an imaging and/or treatment session by limiting and/or shaping the kV and MV radiation beams to only the ROI(s) and/or tumor(s) (including, in some examples, a tumor movement margin around the tumor). In particular, the kV DMLC may be used to limit the patient region exposed to kV radiation by shaping the kV radiation beam to regions where a tumor may be located. The leaf configurations of the kV DMLC may be determined at least in part by images of tumor regions, which may be acquired using any desirable imaging modality, and/or may be acquired in a diagnostic imaging session or a treatment planning session. That is, instead of irradiating a patient with the full kV radiation beam (e.g., using a system that does not have a DMLC disposed in front of the kV radiation source, or opening all of the leaves of an MLC), the kV radiation beam is shaped and/or limited to only to regions that have been determined to have a tumor and/or regions that may encompass a moving tumor. This may help to significantly reduce the dose to the healthy tissue from kV imaging Additionally, because the irradiation of kV radiation for imaging is more targeted (i.e., has a narrower field of view or “keyhole” field of view), a higher dose may be used as compared to the wide-field or full-field irradiation that is typically used for soft tissue imaging. Shaping or limiting the kV radiation beam using the kV DMLC may also help to reduce scattered X-rays from the patient to the kV detector. Since scatter is a major factor for poor image quality, reducing scatter may facilitate the generation of a better-quality image data. For example, a tumor having a dimension of about 3 cm may be imaged with a 5×5 cm DMLC field of view (FOV). That is, the kV DMLC leaf configuration may be adjusted to shape the kV radiation beam to have a 5×5 cm irradiation field. In contrast, to image a 3 cm tumor, a conventional fixed collimator may irradiate 40×40 cm FOV, and expose the patient to significantly more radiation (e.g., the dose-area product without a kV DMLC may be greater than the dose-area product with a kV DMLC by a factor of 64). The noise from the scattered X-rays may be reduced, to the first order, approximately by square-root of the dose-area product (that is, by a factor of about 8). This may result in a significant image quality improvement, for example, by increasing the CNR by a factor of about 8 or more. Because a smaller irradiation area or FOV allows for increased X-ray exposure with reduced scatter, tumors that may not be visible in conventional X-ray fluoroscopy may now visible and may be tracked in real-time. Alternatively or additionally, the kV imaging system may be operated in cone beam computed tomography mode (CBCT) where all of the leaves of the kV DMLC are open (i.e., not obstructing the kV radiation beam path). A kV imaging system may comprise a jaw collimator that may be used to collimate the slice width along the Z-direction (
In some variations, the set of MV-DMLC templates comprising a kV-DMLC template for each firing position around a patient region may correspond with (e.g., similar or identical to) the set of kV-DMLC templates. Alternatively, the set of MV-DMLC templates may provide a beam shape that corresponds in size and shape with the beam shape provided by the set of kV-DMLC templates, but the location of the beam may be shifted. For example, if image data collected using the kV-DMLC templates indicates that a tumor has moved or shifted, the MV-DMLC templates may be updated to reflect that movement or shift. If the size and shape of the tumor, as detected using the kV-DMLC templates, has not changed, the size and shape of the beam provided by the MV-DMLC templates may not change.
Controller
The controller may comprise a processor and a machine-readable memory that stores data relating to the operation of the imaging system, therapeutic radiation system, and gantry motion system(s), for example, treatment plans, image data, dose data, system control signals and/or commands, etc. The processor may perform computations based on the imaging data, and may generate signals and/or commands to adjust the operation of the radiation therapy system according to image data computations. The controller may comprise one or more processors and one or more machine-readable memories in communication with the one or more processors. The controller may be connected to the imaging system, therapeutic radiation system, and/or gantry motion system(s) by wired or wireless communication channels. The controller may be located in the same or different room as the patient. In some variations, the controller may be coupled to a patient platform or disposed on a trolley or medical cart adjacent to the patient and/or operator.
The controller may be implemented consistent with numerous general purpose or special purpose computing systems or configurations. Various exemplary computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the systems and devices disclosed herein may include, but are not limited to software or other components within or embodied on personal computing devices, network appliances, servers or server computing devices such as routing/connectivity components, portable (e.g., hand-held) or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, and distributed computing networks.
Examples of portable computing devices include smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, tablet PCs, phablets (personal computing devices that are larger than a smartphone, but smaller than a tablet), wearable computers taking the form of smartwatches, portable music devices, and the like, and portable or wearable augmented reality devices that interface with an operator's environment through sensors and may use head-mounted displays for visualization, eye gaze tracking, and user input.
In some embodiments, a processor may be any suitable processing device configured to run and/or execute a set of instructions or code and may include one or more data processors, image processors, graphics processing units, physics processing units, digital signal processors, and/or central processing units. The processor may be, for example, a general purpose processor, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or the like. The processor may be configured to run and/or execute application processes and/or other modules, processes and/or functions associated with the system and/or a network associated therewith (not shown). The underlying device technologies may be provided in a variety of component types, e.g., metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) technologies like complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), bipolar technologies like emitter-coupled logic (ECL), polymer technologies (e.g., silicon-conjugated polymer and metal-conjugated polymer-metal structures), mixed analog and digital, or the like.
In some embodiments, memory may include a database (not shown) and may be, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a memory buffer, a hard drive, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM), a read-only memory (ROM), Flash memory, etc. The memory may store instructions to cause the processor to execute modules, processes and/or functions associated with kV image acquisition, image processing (e.g., background subtraction, tumor contour enhancements, diagnostic image enhancements), DMLC template computations (e.g., kV-DMLC templates and/or MV-DMLC templates), gantry motion an d positioning, therapeutic radiation source activation (e.g., pulse timing), etc.
Some embodiments described herein relate to a computer storage product with a non-transitory computer-readable medium (also may be referred to as a non-transitory processor-readable medium) having instructions or computer code thereon for performing various computer-implemented operations. The computer-readable medium (or processor-readable medium) is non-transitory in the sense that it does not include transitory propagating signals per se (e.g., a propagating electromagnetic wave carrying information on a transmission medium such as space or a cable). The media and computer code (also may be referred to as code or algorithm) may be those designed and constructed for the specific purpose or purposes. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical storage media such as Compact Disc/Digital Video Discs (CD/DVDs); Compact Disc-Read Only Memories (CD-ROMs), and holographic devices; magneto-optical storage media such as optical disks; solid state storage devices such as a solid state drive (SSD) and a solid state hybrid drive (SSHD); carrier wave signal processing modules; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and execute program code, such as Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Read-Only Memory (ROM), and Random-Access Memory (RAM) devices. Other embodiments described herein relate to a computer program product, which may include, for example, the instructions and/or computer code disclosed herein.
In some embodiments, the systems and methods may be in communication with other computing devices via, for example, one or more networks, each of which may be any type of network (e.g., wired network, wireless network). A wireless network may refer to any type of digital network that is not connected by cables of any kind. Examples of wireless communication in a wireless network include, but are not limited to cellular, radio, satellite, and microwave communication. However, a wireless network may connect to a wired network in order to interface with the Internet, other carrier voice and data networks, business networks, and personal networks. A wired network is typically carried over copper twisted pair, coaxial cable and/or fiber optic cables. There are many different types of wired networks including wide area networks (WAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN), local area networks (LAN), Internet area networks (IAN), campus area networks (CAN), global area networks (GAN), like the Internet, and virtual private networks (VPN). Hereinafter, network refers to any combination of wireless, wired, public and private data networks that are typically interconnected through the Internet, to provide a unified networking and information access system.
Cellular communication may encompass technologies such as GSM, PCS, CDMA or GPRS, W-CDMA, EDGE or CDMA2000, LTE, WiMAX, and 5G networking standards. Some wireless network deployments combine networks from multiple cellular networks or use a mix of cellular, Wi-Fi, and satellite communication. In some embodiments, the systems, apparatuses, and methods described herein may include a radiofrequency receiver, transmitter, and/or optical (e.g., infrared) receiver and transmitter to communicate with one or more devices and/or networks.
Any of the methods described herein may be performed by software (executed on hardware), hardware, or a combination thereof. Hardware modules may include, for example, a general-purpose processor (or microprocessor or microcontroller), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and/or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Software modules (executed on hardware) may be expressed in a variety of software languages (e.g., computer code), including C, C++, Java®, Python, Ruby, Visual Basic®, and/or other object-oriented, procedural, or other programming language and development tools. Examples of computer code include, but are not limited to, micro-code or micro-instructions, machine instructions, such as produced by a compiler, code used to produce a web service, and files containing higher-level instructions that are executed by a computer using an interpreter. Additional examples of computer code include, but are not limited to, control signals, encrypted code, and compressed code.
In some instances, aspects of the innovations herein may be achieved via logic and/or logic instructions including program modules, executed in association with such components or circuitry, for example. In general, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular instructions herein. The inventions may also be practiced in the context of distributed circuit settings where circuitry is connected via communication buses, circuitry or links. In distributed settings, control/instructions may occur from both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.
One variation of a radiation therapy system configured for real-time tumor tracking and treatment is depicted and described in
Circular Gantry
The gantry 120 may comprise a longitudinal bore 122, and a patient area 124 may be located within the bore 122. A patient 105 may have one or more tumor regions 107, and may be located within the patient area 124 of the bore 122. The patient 105 may be mounted on a movable patient platform (not shown) that may be configured to move the patient in a longitudinal direction such that the tumor regions sequentially cross the radiation beam of the kV radiation source and/or MV radiation source (e.g., if the circular gantry rotates in the X-Z plane, the patient platform may move along the Y axis). In some variations, the patient platform may be able to pivot, tilt, or otherwise rotate (e.g., roll, pitch, yaw) to position the patient and may have, for example, four or more degrees of freedom. The gantry 120 may be closed bore gantry (i.e., where at least one end of the gantry is enclosed) or may be an open bore gantry (i.e., where both ends of the gantry are enclosed). The gantry 120 may be rotatable such that the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation system may be moved around the patient area 124. The gantry 120 may rotate at a rate of about 10 RPM to about 70 RPM (e.g., about 60 RPM), and may rotate clockwise as indicated by arrow 101 or may rotate counter-clockwise. The radiation therapy system may comprise a plurality of pre-defined firing positions around the patient area 124, and the gantry 120 may be configured to move to each of those firing positions during an imaging and/or treatment session. A radiation therapy system may have any number of firing positions that may be distributed around the patient area, for example, about 10 firing positions, about 25 firing positions, about 35 firing positions, about 36 firing positions, about 50 firing positions, about 64 firing positions, about 100 firing positions, about 128 firing positions about 150 firing positions, etc. The radiation therapy system 100 may comprise 48 firing positions (e.g., firing positions 1, 12, 24, and 36 are represented by arrows in
As depicted in
kV DMLC and MV DMLC
The imaging system may comprise a multi-leaf collimator disposed over the kV radiation source, in the kV radiation beam path. Similarly, the therapeutic radiation system may comprise a multi-leaf collimator disposed over the MV radiation source, in the MV radiation beam path. The multi-leaf collimator (MLCs) for one or both of the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation systems may be a dynamic MLC. A dynamic MLC (DMLC) is one that is configured to change its leaf configurations during a treatment session, for example, while the gantry is moving or rotating, and/or while the radiation source is activated or turned on. In some variations, the DMLC for one or both of the imaging system and the radiation therapy system may be configured to change leaf configurations within the time it takes for the gantry to rotate from one firing position to the next firing position (e.g., the adjacent firing position). For example, the gantry may be configured to rotate at a speed from about 10 RPM to about 70 RPM, e.g., about 30 RPM to about 70 RPM, about 60 RPM, and the DMLC for the imaging system and the therapeutic radiation system may be configured to move a collimator leaf from a closed position (i.e., blocking radiation beam along the travel path of the leaf) to a fully open position (i.e., no obstruction of the radiation beam along the travel path of the leaf) in about 10 ms to about 25 ms, e.g., about 12 ms, about 15 ms, about 16.7 ms, about 20 ms, about 23 ms. The kV DMLC 106 may be similar to MV DMLC 112 in geometry and design. In some variations, the thickness of the leaves (e.g., the dimension of a leaf that is along the radiation beam path) of the kV DMLC may be less than the thickness of the leaves of the MV DMLC. For example, the leaves of the DMLC may comprise one or more high attenuation metals, e.g., tungsten and the like. The leaf thickness (i.e., the leaf dimension along the beam path) may vary in accordance with the energy of the radiation source. For example, the leaf thickness of a MV X-ray source DMLC may be from about 6 cm to about 10 cm, and/or the leaf thickness of a kV X-ray source DMLC may be from about 3 mm to about 5 mm. The kV DMLC 106 and the MV DMLC 112 may have the same or different number of leaves, and may each have, for example, 12, 24, 25, 36, 48, 50, 60, 64, 75, 85, 100 leaves. In some variations, the kV DMLC and the MV DMLC may be binary multi-leaf collimators (e.g., leaves movable between two states: open and closed) and/or may be two dimensional multi-leaf collimators (e.g., leaves movable between open and closed states, but also able to be retained at a position between the open and closed states). The leaf actuation mechanisms for the kV DMLC and/or the MV DMLC may be any suitable mechanism, for example, pneumatic actuation mechanisms, cam-based actuation mechanisms, and/or any of the mechanisms described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/179,823, filed Jun. 10, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
C-Arm Gantry
While a circular or ring-shaped gantry (which may or may not be continuously rotating) is depicted and described in
The image data computation may comprise using the collected image data to generate new MV-DMLC templates and/or update existing MV-DMLC templates for firing position a(n)=6. Further details regarding some variations of methods for generating kV-DMLC templates, MV-DMLC templates, and tracking tumor motion using kV image data will be provided below.
Methods
The geometry (e.g., size and shape) and/or location of a tumor may be measured at various times before, during and after a treatment session. In some variations, image data may be acquired before treatment, for example, during a treatment planning or diagnostic imaging session. Treatment planning and/or diagnostic imaging may take place days, weeks, or months before a treatment session. Image data collected during such sessions may include the size, shape, and/or number of tumors, and may optionally include information about the motion of tumors (e.g., motion envelope of moving tumors). While the methods described below may refer to one or two tumors, it should be understood that these methods may be applied to any number of tumors. In some variations, the image data may comprise motion-averaged cross-sectional images. A controller may store this pre-treatment image data and may use this data to compute the multi-leaf collimator leaf positions at each firing angle or position for imaging and/or treatment. For example, kV-CBCT imaging data (e.g., CBCT images) may be used by the controller to create a set of kV-DMLC and/or MV-DMLC templates. The kV-DMLC templates may be used to position the leaves of the kV DMLC to shape the kV beam to correspond with the geometry and location of the tumor, which may help limit patient radiation exposure while imaging the patient during a treatment session (e.g., for real-time tumor-tracking).
In some variations, the kV-DMLC templates may be used in an additional (optional) pre-treatment imaging session (e.g., days before and/or minutes before a treatment session). For example, the kV-DMLC templates computed based on an earlier imaging session (e.g., a treatment planning or diagnostic imaging session, as described above) may be used to collect kV image data of the patient and/or tumor(s) from all firing angles or positions. That is, the gantry may rotate the kV imaging system to each of the firing angles, the leaves of the kV DMLC may be positioned in accordance with the kV-DMLC template generated for that firing angle, a kV radiation beam may be applied to the patient, and the kV imaging data acquired by the kV detector. The acquired kV image data may comprise background and/or anatomical imaging data from all firing angles or positions, and in some variations, may comprise a set of tumor images without a motion envelope. In some variations, this kV image data may be used to create a set of templates for the MV DMLC. Alternatively or additionally, kV image data may be used to generate a set of background images of non-moving and bony anatomies for each all firing angles or positions.
The geometry and location of a tumor (and optionally, the region surrounding the tumor) or any ROI may be measured during a treatment session. In one variation of a method, the kV imaging system may continuously acquire image data of a tumor (and/or surrounding tumor region and/or any ROI) identified in the previous imaging sessions at each firing angle during a treatment session. For example, the kV detector may measure projection data of the tumor at each firing angle. The controller may compute the location of the tumor at each firing angle, and the computed location may be used to control the operation of the MV therapeutic radiation system. In some variations, the location of a tumor may be represented by the location of a centroid of the tumor at each firing angle. Alternatively or additionally, tumor location and/or movement may be represented by the tumor contour or by certain dense, highly visible structures. In the cases where tumor regions are not readily visible in kV X-ray images (e.g., due to obstruction by background anatomical structures, insufficient contrast, etc.) other surrogates for tumor motion may be used. For example, motion of the thoracic diaphragm (which is easily identified in an X-ray image due to its high X-ray contrast relative to surrounding anatomical structures) and/or motion of an implanted fiducial marker may be tracked instead or in addition to motion of the tumor(s). Tumor images may be enhanced by subtracting the background image data from the kV images. Optionally, the tumor images can be further enhanced by a limited angle digital tomosynthesis, where images from few previous angles can be shifted-and-added. At each firing angle, the kV X-ray beam may be collimated using the kV-DMLC template computed previously. The kV imaging system may optionally conduct a full scan (e.g., continuously acquire image data at all firing angles across the patient body region to be treated) just prior to, or at the start of, a treatment session (e.g., before the MV radiation source is activated). Alternatively or additionally, the kV system may acquire image data between MV radiation source pulses.
The location of a tumor as calculated based on imaging data from the kV imaging system may be used to update the MV-DMLC templates, if needed. For example, if the imaging data acquired during a treatment session indicates that the tumor geometry and/or location has shifted considerably (e.g., exceeding a pre-determined threshold) from its geometry and/or location as determined in pre-treatment imaging sessions, the controller may update the MV-DMLC templates to reflect these changes. For example, if imaging data acquired during the treatment session indicates that the tumor centroid has shifted from a first location to another, the controller may re-calculate or re-derive the MV-DMLC templates to reflect that centroid movement.
One variation of a method for real-time tumor tracking and treatment is depicted in
Method of Generating kV-DMLC Templates
Method of Generating MV-DMLC Templates and Background Imaging
After the tumor images Tumm have been enhanced using background subtraction, the centroid of the tumor (annotated by +) may be computed. The tumor contour may optionally be further delineated. The controller may shift and align the tumor centroid to the mean tumor centroid in rotation rm. Cumulatively, by aligning the tumor centroid of multiple images, the tumor centroid may be shifted toward the center of the image. After aligning the tumor images, they may be averaged together to enhance tumor visibility. The images in
In some variations, MV-DMLC templates such as the one depicted in
Method of Tumor-Tracking During Radiation Therapy
One variation of a method of real-time tumor tracking, image data processing and MV firing (e.g., steps 212-218 of
One variation of a method for real-time tumor tracking and treatment using, for example, a radiation therapy system of
To help increase the contrast of the tumor edges and/or to otherwise enhance the image and/or improve the precision of tumor centroid calculations, background features in the images Im(a) may be subtracted out.
The tumor centroid of the images may be shifted such that the tumor centroid of the Im at a(n−2) and Im at a(n−1) is aligned to that of Im at a(n). In some variations, the tumor centroid of Im at a(n) may reflect sinogram motion (examples of which are provided in
The image of the tumor may be further enhanced by averaging the shifted images Imshift depicted in
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/582,286, filed Sep. 25, 2019, and a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2018/025252, filed Mar. 29, 2018, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/479,045, filed Mar. 30, 2017, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
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