CN113952636A

CN113952636A - Radiotherapy system and safety interlocking control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN113952636A
Application number: CN202010701469.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄永银; 陈韦霖
Original assignee: China Boron Xiamen Medical Equipment Co ltd
Current assignee: China Boron Xiamen Medical Equipment Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-07-20
Filing date: 2020-07-20
Publication date: 2022-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 2040-07-20
Also published as: TW202204006A; CN113952636B; TWI810611B

Abstract

The invention provides a radiotherapy system and a safety interlocking control method thereof, which can improve the safety of the radiotherapy system. The radiotherapy system comprises a system control module, a beam generating device and an irradiation chamber, wherein the beam generating device comprises a charged particle beam generating device and a neutron beam generating part, a charged particle beam generated by the charged particle beam generating device acts with the neutron beam generating part to generate a neutron beam for treatment to irradiate the irradiation chamber, and the control method comprises the following steps: the beam control module judges whether a safety problem exists according to the received operation data of the charged particle beam generating device or the system control module according to the received operation data of the radiotherapy system, and the beam control module or the system control module controls whether the charged particle beam generating device generates a charged particle beam or acts on the neutron beam generating part through the beam control module.

Description

Radiotherapy system and safety interlocking control method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of radiotherapy, in particular to a radiotherapy system and a safety interlocking control method thereof.

Background

The existing radiotherapy facilities comprise a proton treatment facility, a carbon ion treatment facility, a boron neutron treatment facility and the like, and most of the existing radiotherapy facilities utilize a shielding door of an irradiation room or a radiation monitoring component to construct a safety interlocking mechanism, namely if the shielding door of the irradiation room for treatment is not closed or a radiation monitoring value exceeds a limit, a treatment beam generating device is automatically stopped immediately to ensure the personnel safety. Although this design may provide some protection, there are still some serious drawbacks. For example, the factors involved in the safety interlock are relatively simple, however, in reality, the state of the beam generating device (such as accelerator, accelerator auxiliary equipment, target material) and the like may also affect the treatment process, and if abnormality occurs in these equipment or components during the treatment process, the treatment result may be directly affected, or damage may be caused to personnel and equipment. Meanwhile, when an emergency occurs during treatment, if a patient is abnormal and needs to enter the irradiation chamber for treatment in time, the beam generating device needs to be turned off first, then the door is opened for treatment, and the beam generating device enters the irradiation chamber before being turned off completely, so that event treatment personnel can be exposed to radiation; in addition, shutting down the beam generating device takes time, delays emergency treatment, and forcing the beam generating device to shut down may also adversely affect the useful life of these treatment facilities.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, the embodiment of the present invention provides a radiation therapy system and a safety interlock control method thereof, which can improve the safety of the radiation therapy system.

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a radiation therapy system comprising: an irradiation chamber; a beam generating device including a charged particle beam generating device and a neutron beam generating unit, wherein the charged particle beam generated by the charged particle beam generating device and the neutron beam generating unit act to generate a therapeutic neutron beam and irradiate the therapeutic neutron beam into the irradiation chamber; a beam control module capable of controlling the charged particle beam generating device to generate a charged particle beam and receiving operation data of the charged particle beam generating device; the system control module can control the charged particle beam generating device to generate a charged particle beam through the beam control module and receive operation data of the radiotherapy system, wherein the operation data of the radiotherapy system comprises the operation data of the charged particle beam generating device; the beam control module judges whether a safety problem exists according to the received operation data of the charged particle beam generating device or the system control module judges whether a safety problem exists according to the received operation data of the radiotherapy system.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a charged particle beam generating apparatus includes a charged particle beam generating section and a beam transport section, the beam transport section including a beam direction switching assembly, the charged particle beam generating section generating a charged particle beam and selectively interacting with a neutron beam generating section through the beam direction switching assembly, operation data of the charged particle beam generating apparatus includes operation data of the charged particle beam generating section or operation data of the beam transport section, and the operation data of the beam transport section includes operation data of the beam direction switching assembly. Further, the operational data of the beam direction switching assembly may be state data of the beam direction switching assembly.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the charged particle beam generating section includes an ion source, an accelerator, and an accelerator assist device, and the operation data of the charged particle beam generating section includes operation data of the ion source or operation data of the accelerator assist device or total fault signal data of the ion source, the accelerator, and the accelerator assist device. Further, the ion source may include a gas supply device, an ionization device, and a water cooling device, and the operation data of the ion source may be a gas supply pressure, a current and a voltage of the ionization device, a particle intensity at an outlet of the ion source, a cooling water temperature, a water flow rate, and a water pressure of the water cooling device; the accelerator can comprise pre-accelerating equipment, front and rear vacuum chambers and high-energy accelerating equipment, the pre-accelerating equipment and the high-energy accelerating equipment comprise accelerating pipelines, valves and electromagnets, and the operating data of the accelerator can be beam intensity and insulating gas pressure in the accelerating pipelines, the current of the electromagnets and the vacuum degrees of the front and rear vacuum chambers; the accelerator auxiliary equipment may include water cooling equipment for supplying accelerator cooling water, air compressing equipment for supplying compressed air, air supply equipment for supplying insulating gas, and a vacuum pump for supplying a vacuum environment, and the operation data of the accelerator auxiliary equipment may be air pressure of the air compressing equipment, cooling water temperature of the water cooling equipment, water flow rate and water pressure, and insulating gas pressure of the air supply equipment.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the radiotherapy system further includes a charged particle beam generation room accommodating the charged particle beam generation part, a beam transport room accommodating the beam direction switching assembly, a shield door of the charged particle beam generation room, and a shield door of the beam transport room, and the operation data of the radiotherapy system further includes operation data of the shield door of the charged particle beam generation room or operation data of the shield door of the beam transport room. Further, the operation data of the shield door can be opening or closing state data or opening signal data of the shield door.

In one embodiment of the invention, the charged particle beam generating device comprises a charged particle beam monitoring assembly, and the operating data of the charged particle beam generating device comprises operating data of the charged particle beam monitoring assembly. Further, the operational data of the charged particle beam monitoring assembly may be monitored values of the charged particle beam monitoring assembly.

In one embodiment of the invention, the beam generating apparatus further comprises a neutron beam monitoring assembly, and the operation data of the radiation therapy system further comprises operation data of the neutron beam monitoring assembly or operation data of the neutron beam generating part. Further, the operation data of the neutron beam monitoring assembly can be the monitoring value of the neutron beam monitoring assembly; the neutron beam generating part can comprise a target material, a beam shaping body and a collimator, and the operation data of the neutron beam generating part can be service life data of the target material, temperature data of the target material, model data of the collimator or signal data of the collimator inconsistency.

In one embodiment of the invention, the radiation therapy system further comprises a shielded door of the irradiation room and a radiation monitoring assembly disposed in the irradiation room, and the operational data of the radiation therapy system further comprises operational data of the shielded door of the irradiation room or operational data of the radiation monitoring assembly. Furthermore, the operation data of the shield door can be the opening or closing state data or the opening signal data of the shield door, and the operation data of the radiation monitoring assembly can be the monitoring value of the radiation monitoring assembly.

In one embodiment of the invention, the radiation therapy system further comprises a patient state monitoring component or an activity monitoring component, and the operational data of the radiation therapy system further comprises operational data of the patient state monitoring component or operational data of the activity monitoring component. Further, the operation data of the patient state monitoring component may be a monitoring value of the patient state monitoring component or signal data of a patient abnormality, and the operation data of the activity monitoring component may be a monitoring value of the activity monitoring component or signal data of an activity abnormality.

In one embodiment of the invention, the radiation therapy system further comprises a treatment planning module, the operational data of the radiation therapy system further comprising treatment planning data retrieved by the system control module from the treatment planning module.

In one embodiment of the invention, a signal of the state of the irradiation chamber may also be set, and the operational data of the radiation therapy system further comprises signal data of the state of the irradiation chamber.

According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a safety interlock control method of the radiation therapy system described above, the control method including: before the beam generating device generates a therapeutic neutron beam and starts irradiation to the irradiation chamber, when the beam control module determines that safety problems exist in the irradiation of the irradiation chamber to be started according to the received operation data of the charged particle beam generating device or the received operation data of the radiotherapy system, the beam control module or the system control module prohibits the charged particle beam generating device from generating the charged particle beam through the beam control module; or when the beam control module determines that there is a safety problem in irradiation of the irradiation chamber according to the received operation data of the charged particle beam generating device or the received operation data of the radiation therapy system when the beam generating device generates a therapeutic neutron beam and irradiates the irradiation chamber, the beam control module or the system control module controls the charged particle beam generating device to stop generating the charged particle beam or controls the charged particle beam generated by the charged particle beam generating device to stop acting on the neutron beam generating unit through the beam control module.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the charged particle beam generating device is a source for generating the neutron beam for treatment, and when an abnormality occurs, the beam applied to a patient is directly caused to have a problem, so that the treatment effect is directly influenced or the personnel and equipment are damaged, and therefore, the charged particle beam generating device is extremely important as a safety interlocking factor.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a radiation therapy system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a radiation therapy system for treating a patient according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a safety interlock control method of a radiation therapy system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a radiation therapy system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic layout diagram of a radiation therapy system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a safety interlock control method of a radiation therapy system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a safety interlock control system of a radiation treatment system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a radiation therapy system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the radiation therapy system 100 includes a first irradiation chamber 101, a beam generating device 10, a beam control module 20, and a system control module 30. The beam generating apparatus 10 may generate a therapeutic beam and transmit the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, the first irradiation chamber 101 may be in data communication with the system control module 30, the beam generating apparatus 10 may be in data communication with the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30, and the system control module 30 may also be in data communication with the beam control module 20. The system control module 30 may transmit data input by an operator such as a physician or received, stored data of the beam generating apparatus 10, the first irradiation chamber 101, etc. to the beam control module 20 to control the beam generating apparatus 10 to emit a beam into the first irradiation chamber 101.

As shown in fig. 2, in an embodiment of the present invention, the beam generating apparatus 10 is a neutron beam generating apparatus, and includes a charged particle beam generating unit 11, a beam transmitting unit 12, and a first neutron beam generating unit 13. The beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 can control the charged particle beam generator 11 to generate the charged particle beam P and can control the beam transport unit 12 to transport the charged particle beam P generated by the charged particle beam generator 11 to the first neutron beam generator 13 by the beam control module 20, and the beam transport unit 12 is configured by a transport tube. The first neutron generating unit 13 corresponds to the first irradiation chamber 101 (not shown in the figure), and the charged particle beam P and the first neutron generating unit 13 act to generate a therapeutic neutron beam N and irradiate the patient 200 on the treatment table 40 provided in the first irradiation chamber 101, thereby performing irradiation treatment on the patient 200, for example, performing boron neutron capture treatment on tumor cells M in the patient 200. It should be understood that the generated neutron beam may be used for other purposes, and the present invention is not particularly limited thereto; the beam generator 10 may be another radiation generating apparatus, and the charged particle beam generator 11 and the neutron beam generator 13 may be replaced or eliminated accordingly, for example, the charged particle beam P generated by the charged particle beam generator 11 is directly transferred to the first irradiation chamber 101 to be irradiated with the charged particle beam P, and the charged particle beam P is used for therapy or other purposes, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

The beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 may receive the operation data of the radiation therapy system 100 and determine whether there is a safety problem based on the operation data, specifically, the beam control module 20 may receive the operation data of the beam generating apparatus 10 (the charged particle beam generating unit 11 or the beam transport unit 12), and the system control module 30 may receive the operation data of the beam generating apparatus 10 or the first irradiation chamber 101. Referring to fig. 3, the safety interlock control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

s301: before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 (e.g. before the beam N for treatment is generated and irradiation to the first irradiation chamber 101 is started), the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines whether there is a safety problem with the irradiation to be started in the first irradiation chamber 101 according to the received operation data of the radiation treatment system 100.

S302: if it is determined that there is a safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started according to the determination result in S301, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, and the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 can control the beam generator 10 to prohibit the beam from being emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting the irradiation treatment, for example, prohibit the charged particle beam generator 11 from generating the charged particle beam P.

S303: when it is determined that there is no safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started according to the determination result in S301, the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 controls the beam generating device 10 to emit the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and starts the irradiation treatment in the first irradiation chamber 101, for example, controls the charged particle beam generating unit 11 to generate the charged particle beam P and to act on the first neutron beam generating unit 13 to generate the therapeutic neutron beam N required by the patient 200 to be currently irradiated in the first irradiation chamber 101 to irradiate the first irradiation chamber 101.

S304: when the beam generating device 10 in S303 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 (for example, when the therapeutic neutron beam N is generated and irradiation to the first irradiation chamber 101 is started), the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines whether there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 according to the received operation data of the radiotherapy system 100.

S305: when it is determined that there is no safety problem with the irradiation in the first irradiation chamber 101 according to the determination result in S304, the irradiation is continued to the first irradiation chamber 101, that is, the beam generation device 10 is controlled to continue to emit the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101.

S306: if it is determined that there is a safety problem with the irradiation in the first irradiation chamber 101 according to the determination result in S304, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, and the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 can control the beam generator 10 to stop emitting the beam into the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and end the irradiation treatment in the first irradiation chamber 101, for example, control the charged particle beam generator 11 to stop generating the charged particle beam P.

It should be understood that the control of the safety interlock may also be performed only at or before the illumination.

In an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, the charged particle beam generating unit 11 includes an ion source 111, an accelerator 112, and an accelerator assist device 113, which is not particularly limited in the present invention. The ion source 111 is used to generate charged particles, such as H^-Protons, deuterons, etc.; it is to be understood that the ion source 111 may be a sputtering ion source, a high frequency ion source, a twin plasma ion source, a penning ion source, or the like, and the type of the ion source is not particularly limited in the present invention. In one embodiment, the ion source 111 includes a gas supply device, an ionization device, a water cooling device, and the like, which are not limited in this respect.

The accelerator 112 accelerates charged particles generated by the ion source 111 to obtain a charged particle beam P of a desired energy or the like, such as a proton beam; it should be understood that the accelerator 112 may be a linear accelerator, a cyclotron, a synchrotron, a synchrocyclotron, or the like, and the type of accelerator is not particularly limited in the present invention. In one embodiment, the accelerator 112 includes a pre-acceleration device, a front and a rear vacuum chambers, a high-energy acceleration device, etc., and the pre-acceleration device and the high-energy acceleration device are configured by an acceleration pipe, a valve, an electromagnet, etc., which are not particularly limited in the present invention.

The accelerator assistance 113 may include any assistance for providing preconditions for the operation of the accelerator 112. In an embodiment, the accelerator auxiliary device 113 includes a water cooling device for supplying accelerator cooling water, an air compressing device for supplying compressed air, an air supplying device for supplying insulating gas, a vacuum pump for supplying vacuum environment, and the like, which are not particularly limited in the present invention.

The ion source 111, the accelerator 112 and the accelerator auxiliary device 113 may be respectively connected to the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 and perform data interaction so that the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines whether there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, that is, the operation data of the radiation therapy system 100 includes the operation data of the charged particle beam generating part 11, and the operation data of the charged particle beam generating part 11 further includes the operation data of the ion source 111, the accelerator 112 and the accelerator auxiliary device 113. For example, operational data of the ion source 111, such as gas pressure of the gas supply, current and voltage of the ionization equipment, particle intensity at the outlet of the ion source, cooling water temperature of the water cooling equipment, water flow rate and water pressure, etc., may be transmitted to the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30; the operation data of the accelerator 112, such as the beam intensity and the insulating gas pressure in the acceleration pipe, the current of the electromagnet, the vacuum degrees of the front and rear vacuum chambers, and the like, can also be transmitted to the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30; the operation data of the accelerator assistance device 113, such as the air pressure of the air pressure device, the cooling water temperature of the water cooling device, the water flow rate and water pressure, the insulating gas pressure of the gas supply device, and the like, may also be transmitted to the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30; the total fault signal of the ion source 111, accelerator 112 and accelerator assist device 113 may also be transmitted to the beam control module 20; the content of the data interaction is not particularly limited by the present invention.

The beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that there is a safety problem and performs safety interlock according to the received operation data of the radiotherapy system 100, including when the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that there is an abnormality or the operation data is out of limit according to the received operation data of the charged particle beam generator 11 before the beam generator 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 or when the beam is emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101, and determines that there is a safety problem, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered.

When the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that the abnormality or the operation data exceeds the threshold based on the received operation data of the charged particle beam generator 11 before the beam generator 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, the method includes: operation data of the ion source 111, such as that the gas supply pressure exceeds a preset range, or the current or voltage of the ionization equipment exceeds a preset range, or the particle intensity at the outlet of the ion source exceeds a preset range, or the cooling water temperature or water flow or water pressure of the water cooling equipment exceeds a preset range, etc.; or the operation data of the accelerator 112, such as the beam intensity or the insulating gas pressure in the acceleration pipe exceeding a preset range, or the current of the electromagnet exceeding a preset range, or the vacuum degree of the front and rear vacuum chambers exceeding a preset range, etc.; or the operation data of the accelerator auxiliary equipment 113, such as the air pressure of the air pressure equipment exceeds a preset range, or the cooling water temperature or water flow or water pressure of the water cooling equipment exceeds a preset range, or the insulating gas pressure of the air supply equipment exceeds a preset range, determines that the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started has a safety problem, namely a safety interlocking mechanism is triggered, and the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 can control the beam generation device 10 to prohibit the beam from being emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20 and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting irradiation treatment; in an embodiment, a total fault signal of the ion source 111, the accelerator 112, and the accelerator auxiliary equipment 113 may be further set, when the beam control module 20 receives the total fault signal of the ion source 111, the accelerator 112, and the accelerator auxiliary equipment 113 to indicate that the equipment is faulty, generally, a major fault, it is determined that there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, and the beam control module 20 may prohibit the charged particle beam generation unit 11 from generating the charged particle beam P and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting the irradiation treatment after receiving the fault signal.

When the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that there is an abnormality or the operational data exceeds the threshold based on the received operational data of the charged particle beam generator 11 when the beam generator 10 emits a beam into the first irradiation chamber 101, the method includes: operation data of the ion source 111, such as that the gas supply pressure exceeds a preset range, or the current or voltage of the ionization equipment exceeds a preset range, or the particle intensity at the outlet of the ion source exceeds a preset range, or the cooling water temperature or water flow or water pressure of the water cooling equipment exceeds a preset range, etc.; or the operation data of the accelerator 112, such as the beam intensity or the insulating gas pressure in the acceleration pipe exceeding a preset range, or the current of the electromagnet exceeding a preset range, or the vacuum degree of the front and rear vacuum chambers exceeding a preset range, etc.; or the operation data of the accelerator auxiliary device 113, such as the air pressure of the air compression device exceeds a preset range, or the cooling water temperature or water flow or water pressure of the water cooling device exceeds a preset range, or the insulating gas pressure of the air supply device exceeds a preset range, determines that there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, triggers a safety interlock mechanism, and the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 can control the beam generation device 10 to stop transmitting the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and ends the irradiation treatment of the first irradiation chamber 101; when the beam control module 20 receives the total failure signal of the ion source 111, the accelerator 112 and the accelerator auxiliary equipment 113, which is generally a major failure, it is determined that there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, i.e. a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, and the beam control module 20 receives the failure signal and can control the charged particle beam generating part 11 to stop generating the charged particle beam P, such as turning off the ion source 111 or turning off the accelerator 112, to end the irradiation treatment of the first irradiation chamber 101.

Since the charged particle beam generating unit is a source for generating a neutron beam for therapy and the accelerator is an important device for generating a desired charged particle beam, when an abnormality occurs, a problem occurs in the beam applied to a patient, which directly affects the therapeutic effect or damages personnel and equipment, and thus, it is very important as a safety interlock factor.

In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 5, the radiotherapy system 100 further includes a second irradiation chamber 101 ', the beam generating device 10 further includes a second neutron beam generating part 13 ' corresponding to the second irradiation chamber 101 ', the beam transmitting part 12 includes a beam direction switching assembly 121, and the beam transmitting part 12 selectively transmits the charged particle beam P generated by the charged particle beam generating part 11 to the first neutron beam generating part 13 or the second neutron beam generating part 13 ' through the beam direction switching assembly 121, so as to emit the beam into the first irradiation chamber 101 or the second irradiation chamber 101 '. It should be understood that the neutron beam N irradiated into the second irradiation chamber 101 ' can be used for the treatment of the irradiation of the neutron beam N by another patient on the treatment couch 40 ' in the second irradiation chamber 101 ', and can also be used for the detection of a sample, etc., which is not limited in the present invention; when the beam generating device 10 is another radiation generating device, the second neutron beam generating unit 13 'may be replaced accordingly, and the beam transmitting unit 12 may selectively emit the beam into the first irradiation chamber 101 or the second irradiation chamber 101' through the beam direction switching unit 121.

It should be understood that other configurations of the beam generating apparatus 10 are possible. If the third irradiation chamber is present, a third neutron beam generation part corresponding to the third irradiation chamber may be added, and the number of the neutron beam generation parts corresponds to the number of the irradiation chambers, and the number of the neutron beam generation parts is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present invention; it is understood that the beam generating apparatus may include a plurality of charged particle beam generating units, and may be configured to transmit the charged particle beam generating units to the respective neutron beam generating units, thereby simultaneously generating and irradiating a plurality of neutron beams in a plurality of irradiation chambers.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the beam direction switching module 121 includes a deflection magnet (not shown) for deflecting the charged particle beam P, and the beam is introduced into the first irradiation chamber 101 when the deflection magnet corresponding to the first irradiation chamber 101 is turned on, which is not particularly limited in the present invention. The beam transport unit 12 may further include a beam adjustment unit (not shown) for the charged particle beam P, the beam adjustment unit including a horizontal deflector and a horizontal vertical deflector for adjusting the axis of the charged particle beam P, a quadrupole electromagnet for suppressing divergence of the charged particle beam P, a four-way cutter for shaping the charged particle beam P, and the like. The beam transport unit 12 may further include a charged particle beam scanning unit (not shown) as needed, and the charged particle beam scanning unit scans the charged particle beam P to control irradiation of the charged particle beam P with respect to the neutron beam generating units 13 and 13', for example, to control an irradiation position of the charged particle beam P with respect to the target 131 (described below).

The beam delivery portion 12 can be connected to and interact with the system control module 30 or the beam control module 20 respectively so that the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 can determine whether there is a safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, i.e. the operation data of the radiation therapy system 100 includes the operation data of the beam delivery portion 12. For example, the vacuum degree of the transmission pipe, the voltage of the magnet, the temperature of the magnet, the state (e.g., on state) of the beam direction switching assembly 121, and the like may be transmitted to the system control module 30 or the beam control module 20, and the content of the data interaction is not particularly limited in the present invention.

The beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that there is a safety problem and performs safety interlock according to the received operation data of the radiotherapy system 100, including before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 or when the beam is emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that there is an abnormality or the operation data is out of limit according to the received operation data of the beam transmitting part 12, it determines that there is a safety problem, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered.

Before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that the abnormality or the operation data exceeds the received operation data of the beam transmitting part 12, for example, the vacuum degree of the transmission pipe exceeds the preset range, the voltage of the magnet exceeds the preset range, the temperature of the magnet exceeds the preset range, or the status data of the beam direction switching component 121 indicates that the beam direction switching component 121 does not conduct the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, it is determined that there is a safety problem about the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 may control the beam generating device 10 to prohibit the beam from being emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting irradiation treatment.

When the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that the abnormality or the operation data exceeds the received operation data of the beam transmitting part 12, for example, the vacuum degree of the transmission pipe exceeds the preset range, the voltage of the magnet exceeds the preset range, the temperature of the magnet exceeds the preset range, or the status data of the beam direction switching component 121 indicates that the beam direction switching component 121 does not conduct the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, it is determined that there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 may control the beam generating device 10 to stop emitting the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and the irradiation treatment of the first irradiation chamber 101 is ended.

The beam transport unit transports the beam to the irradiation room to be treated, for example, a charged particle beam to a neutron beam generating unit corresponding to the irradiation room to be treated, thereby generating a neutron beam for treatment in the irradiation room, and when an abnormality occurs in the beam transport unit, a beam may be generated in another irradiation room or a correct beam may not be generated in the irradiation room to be treated, thereby causing a serious safety accident or affecting the treatment effect, and thus, it is also important as a safety interlock factor.

In an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2, the first neutron beam generating part 13 may include a target 131, a beam shaper 132 and a collimator 133, which is not particularly limited in the present invention. For example, the charged particle beam P generated by the accelerator 112 is irradiated to the target 131 through the beam transport unit 11, and reacts with the target 131 to generate neutrons, and the generated neutrons pass through the beam shaper 132 and the collimator 133 in order to form a neutron beam N and are irradiated to the patient 200 on the treatment table 40 provided in the first irradiation chamber 101. The target 131 may be a metal target, such as a lithium target or a beryllium target, which reacts with proton lines⁹Be(p,n)⁹B or⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be nuclear reaction to generate neutrons, and the material of the target 131 of the present invention is not particularly limited. The collimator 133 may be plural, and have different sizes, shapes, etc. to be adapted to different patients to be irradiated, in one embodiment, a recognition mechanism is provided on the collimator 133, the system control module 30 may automatically recognize and obtain model data of the collimator 133, or an operator such as a doctor manually inputs the model data of the collimator 133 according to the recognition mechanism and transmits the model data to the system control module 30, or the operator such as the doctor judges inconsistency according to the recognition mechanism and transmits a signal indicating the inconsistency of the collimator to the system control module 30. The specific configuration of the target 131, beam shaper 132 and collimator 133 is not described hereAs will be described in detail. The second neutron beam generating part 13' may have the same configuration as the first neutron beam generating part 13, and the present invention is not particularly limited thereto.

The first neutron beam generating part 13 can be connected to the system control module 30 and perform data interaction so that the system control module 30 can determine whether there is a safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, i.e. the operation data of the radiotherapy system 100 includes the operation data of the first neutron beam generating part 13. For example, data such as the service life of the target 131, the temperature of the target 131, model data of the collimator 133, or signal data of collimator inconsistency may be transmitted to the system control module 30, and the content of data interaction is not particularly limited in the present invention.

The beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that there is a safety problem and performs safety interlock according to the received operation data of the radiotherapy system 100, including when the system control module 30 determines that there is an abnormality or the operation data is excessive according to the received operation data of the first neutron beam generating unit 13 before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 or when the beam is emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101, it determines that there is a safety problem, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered.

Before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the system control module 30 determines that the abnormality or the operation data exceeds the limit according to the received operation data of the first neutron beam generating unit 13, if the service life of the target 131 is not longer than the next treatment, or the temperature of the target 131 exceeds the preset range, or the model data of the collimator 133 shows the signal data inconsistent with the current patient to be irradiated or the collimator is inconsistent, it is determined that there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, the system control module 30 may control the beam generating device 10 to prohibit the emission of the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting the irradiation treatment.

When the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the system control module 30 determines that the abnormality or the operation data exceeds the limit according to the received operation data of the first neutron beam generating unit 13, if the service life of the target 131 exceeds the preset range or the temperature of the target 131 exceeds the preset range, it is determined that the irradiation in the first irradiation chamber 101 has a safety problem, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, and the system control module 30 can control the beam generating device 10 to stop emitting the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, thereby ending the irradiation treatment in the first irradiation chamber 101.

The neutron beam generating part is very critical for generating the neutron beam for treatment and obtaining the beam quality meeting the treatment requirement, and the neutron beam generating part is taken into a safety interlocking factor to ensure the treatment effect.

In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the radiation therapy system 100 further includes a charged particle beam generation room 102 for accommodating the charged particle beam generation part 11, a beam transport room 103 for at least partially accommodating the beam transport part 12 (for example, accommodating the beam direction switching assembly 121), a shield door a (b) of the charged particle beam generation room 102, and a shield door C of the beam transport room 103, which is not particularly limited in the present invention. The data of the opening or closing state of the screen door can be transmitted to the system control module 30, or the operator can transmit a signal indicating the opening of the screen door to the system control module 30 according to the observed condition. The shielding doors a (b) and C of the charged particle beam generation room 102 and the beam transmission room 103 are respectively connected to the system control module 30 for data interaction so that the system control module 30 can determine whether there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation room 101, i.e. the operation data of the radiation therapy system 100 includes the operation data of the shielding doors a (b) and C of the charged particle

beam generation room

102 and 103. For example, the data of the open or closed state or the open signal of the shield door a (b) of the charged particle beam generation chamber 102 or the shield door C of the beam transport chamber 103 may be transmitted to the system control module 30, and the content of the data interaction is not particularly limited in the present invention. The charged particle beam generation room 102 is usually installed in a space between two floors, and a charged particle beam generation room shield door a and a charged particle beam generation room shield door B are installed on each of the two floors.

The beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that there is a safety problem with irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 and performs safety interlock based on the received operation data of the radiation therapy system 100, including:

before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the system control module 30 determines that there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started, for example, according to the received operation data of the shield door a (B) of the charged particle beam generation chamber 102 or the shield door C of the beam transmission chamber 103, such as the opened state data or the opened signal data of the shield door a, the shield door B, or the shield door C, the system control module 30 may control the beam generating device 10 to prohibit the emission of the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting irradiation treatment;

when the beam generating apparatus 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the system control module 30 determines that there is an abnormal condition according to the received operation data of the shield door a (B) of the charged particle beam generation chamber 102 or the shield door C of the beam transport chamber 103, for example, the open state data or the open signal data of the shield door a, the shield door B, or the shield door C, it is determined that there is a safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, and the system control module 30 can control the beam generating apparatus 10 to stop emitting the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and end the irradiation treatment of the first irradiation chamber 101.

The beam generating device can generate high-energy radioactive rays when in operation, and the shielding doors of the charged particle beam generating chamber and the beam transmission chamber are closed during irradiation treatment, so that the safety of personnel is ensured, the radiation pollution is avoided, and the shielding doors need to be taken into a safety interlocking factor.

In one embodiment, the beam generating apparatus 10 further includes a beam monitoring assembly 14, and the beam monitoring assembly 14 may include a charged particle beam monitoring assembly or a neutron beam monitoring assembly, which is not particularly limited in the present invention. In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the beam monitoring unit 14 is a charged particle beam monitoring unit, and is disposed in the beam transport chamber 103, such as on the inner wall of the transport tube of the beam transport section 12, and monitors the beam intensity by measuring the current of the charged particle beam P, and it is to be understood that the charged particle beam intensity monitoring unit 14 may be disposed in the charged particle beam generation chamber 102, such as the ion source 111 or the accelerator 112; the voltage, energy, etc. of the charged particle beam P can also be monitored. The neutron beam monitoring unit may be provided in the first neutron beam generating section 13, for example, to monitor the intensity of the neutron beam by measuring the radiation generated at the target 131, or may be provided at the exit of the neutron beam or in the beam shaper. The number and the arrangement position of the beam monitoring assemblies 14 are not particularly limited in the present invention.

Beam monitoring assembly 14 may be coupled to and interact with beam control module 20 or system control module 30 to facilitate beam control module 20 or system control module 30 in determining whether there is a safety issue with the irradiation of first irradiation chamber 101, i.e., the operational data of radiation treatment system 100 includes operational data of beam monitoring assembly 14, the operational data of beam monitoring assembly 14 further includes operational data of a charged particle beam monitoring assembly and operational data of a neutron beam monitoring assembly. For example, the operation data of the charged particle beam monitoring assembly, such as the current of the charged particle beam P, etc., may be transmitted to the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30, or the operation data of the neutron beam monitoring assembly, such as the intensity of the neutron beam or other radiation detection data of the neutron generating part, etc., may be transmitted to the system control module 30, and the content of data interaction is not particularly limited in the present invention.

The beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that a safety problem exists and performs safety interlock according to the received operation data of the radiation therapy system 100, including before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 or when the beam is emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that an abnormality or operation data is out of limit according to the received operation data of the beam monitoring assembly 14, determining that a safety problem exists, that is, triggering a safety interlock mechanism.

Before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that the abnormality or the operation data exceeds the limit according to the received operation data of the beam monitoring assembly 14, including the operation data of the charged particle beam monitoring assembly, if the current of the charged particle beam P exceeds the preset range, it is determined that there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 can control the beam generating device 10 to prohibit the emission of the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting irradiation treatment; or when the system control module 30 determines that the abnormality or the operation data exceeds the limit according to the received operation data of the beam monitoring assembly 14, including the operation data of the neutron beam monitoring assembly, such as the intensity of the neutron beam exceeds the preset range, it is determined that there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, and the system control module 30 may control the beam generating apparatus 10 to prohibit the beam from being emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting irradiation treatment.

When the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that the abnormality or the operation data exceeds the limit according to the received operation data of the beam monitoring assembly 14, including the monitoring value of the neutron beam monitoring assembly, such as the charged particle beam current exceeds the preset range, it is determined that there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 can control the beam generating device 10 to stop emitting the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and the irradiation treatment of the first irradiation chamber 101 is ended; or when the system control module 30 determines that the abnormality or the operation data exceeds the limit according to the received operation data of the beam monitoring assembly 14, including the monitoring value of the neutron beam monitoring assembly, for example, the neutron beam intensity exceeds the preset range, it is determined that the irradiation in the first irradiation chamber 101 has a safety problem, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, and the system control module 30 may control the beam generating apparatus 10 to stop emitting the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, so as to end the irradiation treatment in the first irradiation chamber 101.

Whether the beam meets the requirements or whether the equipment is in normal operation can be directly judged through the monitoring value of the beam monitoring assembly, and the beam monitoring assembly is necessary to be taken into a safety interlocking factor.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the radiation therapy system 100 further comprises a shielding door E1 of the first irradiation room 101, and a radiation monitoring assembly 50 disposed in the first irradiation room 101, wherein the radiation monitoring assembly 50 is used for monitoring the doses of various radiation rays (such as neutrons and gamma rays) in the first irradiation room 101, and in one embodiment, the boron concentration and the tumor dose are calculated by detecting prompt gamma rays emitted after the irradiated part is irradiated by the neutron beam N. It should be understood that the shielding door E1 of the first illumination chamber 101 may be one or more, such as including a primary shielding door and a secondary shielding door; the number of the radiation monitoring assemblies 50 in the first irradiation chamber 101 may be one or more, and the shielding door E1 and the number of the radiation monitoring assemblies 50 are not particularly limited in the present invention. Radiation treatment system 100 also includes a patient condition monitoring assembly 60 and an activity monitoring assembly 70. The patient condition monitoring assembly 60 may monitor for patient position drift, patient discomfort, patient boron drug intake, etc., and it is understood that the patient may trigger or send a signal to the system control module 30 of a patient abnormality on the patient condition monitoring assembly 60 based on his or her condition or an operator based on an observed condition. The activity monitoring component 70 can monitor whether people stay in the irradiation room or other radiation control areas or abnormal activities of objects through image recognition, a heat sensor, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a pressure sensor or a laser sensor, and the like, and can adopt more than two or different types of sensing components to ensure reliability and safety; it may also be that the operator triggers or sends an activity anomaly signal to the system control module 30 on the activity monitoring component 70 based on the observed conditions. As shown in fig. 4, in this embodiment, the patient condition monitoring assembly 60 and the activity monitoring assembly 70 are disposed in the first irradiation chamber 101, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It should be understood that the second irradiation chamber may have the same arrangement as the first irradiation chamber.

The shielded door E1, the radiation monitoring module 50, the patient condition monitoring module 60, and the activity monitoring module 70 of the first irradiation chamber 101 can be connected to the system control module 30 for data interaction so that the system control module 30 can determine whether there is a safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, i.e., the operation data of the radiation therapy system 100 includes the operation data of the shielded door E1 of the first irradiation chamber 101, the operation data of the radiation monitoring module 50, the operation data of the patient condition monitoring module 60, and the operation data of the activity monitoring module 70. For example, data such as open or closed status data or open signal data of the shielding door E1 of the first irradiation chamber 101, monitoring values of the radiation monitoring component 50, monitoring values of the patient status monitoring component 60 or a signal of patient abnormality, monitoring values of the activity monitoring component 70 or a signal of activity abnormality, etc. may be transmitted to the system control module 30, and the content of data interaction is not particularly limited in the present invention.

The beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that a safety problem exists and performs safety interlock according to the received operation data of the radiation therapy system 100, including before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 or when the beam is emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the system control module 30 determines that an abnormality or an operation data overrun is detected according to the received operation data of the shield door E1 of the first irradiation chamber 101, the operation data of the radiation monitoring module 50, the operation data of the patient state monitoring module 60 or the operation data of the activity monitoring module 70, it determines that a safety problem exists, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered.

Before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation room 101, when the system control module 30 determines that there is an abnormality or the operation data is out of limit according to the received operation data of the shielding door E1 of the first irradiation room 101, the operation data of the radiation monitoring module 50, the operation data of the patient state monitoring module 60 or the operation data of the activity monitoring module 70, for example, the opened state data or the opened signal data of the shielding door E1 of the first irradiation room 101 or the monitored value of the radiation monitoring module 50 exceeds a preset range or the monitored value of the patient state monitoring module 60 exceeds a preset range or the patient of the patient state monitoring module 60 or the monitored value of the activity monitoring module 70 exceeds a preset range or the activity of the activity monitoring module 70, it is determined that there is a safety problem about to start irradiation of the first irradiation room 101, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, the system control module 30 via the beam control module 20 can control the beam generator 10 to prohibit the beam from being emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101, and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting irradiation treatment.

When the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation room 101, when the system control module 30 determines that there is an abnormality or the operation data is out of limit according to the received operation data of the shielding door E1 of the first irradiation room 101, the operation data of the radiation monitoring module 50, the operation data of the patient state monitoring module 60 or the operation data of the activity monitoring module 70, for example, the opened state data or the opened signal data of the shielding door E1 of the first irradiation room 101 or the monitored value of the radiation monitoring module 50 exceeds a preset range or the monitored value of the patient state monitoring module 60 exceeds a preset range or the signal data of the patient abnormality of the patient state monitoring module 60 or the monitored value of the activity monitoring module 70 exceeds a preset range or the signal data of the activity abnormality of the activity monitoring module 70, it is determined that there is a safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation room 101, that is triggered by the safety mechanism, the system control module 30 can control the beam generating device 10 to stop transmitting the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and end the irradiation treatment of the first irradiation chamber 101.

The shielding door of the irradiation room is closed during irradiation treatment, so that the safety of personnel is guaranteed, radiation pollution is avoided, the monitoring value of the radiation monitoring assembly arranged in the irradiation room can judge whether the beam meets requirements or is used for calculating the radiation dose received by a patient, the patient state monitoring assembly can ensure that the state of the patient is good or does not have large displacement during treatment so as to guarantee the treatment effect, the activity monitoring assembly can ensure that no personnel are exposed in the radiation accidentally or objects move abnormally so as to guarantee the safety of the personnel and the normal equipment, and the monitoring assembly is necessary to be brought into a safety interlocking factor.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the radiation therapy system 100 further comprises a treatment planning module 80, the treatment planning module 80 being configured to store a treatment plan for the patient. Treatment planning module 80 may be coupled to and interact with system control module 30 to facilitate system control module 30 in determining whether there is a safety issue with the irradiation of first irradiation chamber 101, i.e., the operational data of radiation treatment system 100 includes the treatment planning data retrieved by system control module 30 from treatment planning module 80. The content of the data interaction is not particularly limited by the present invention.

The beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that there is a safety problem and performs safety interlock according to the received operation data of the radiation therapy system 100, including before the beam generating apparatus 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 or when the beam is emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101, when the system control module 30 determines that there is an abnormality or the treatment plan is completed according to the received treatment plan data, it determines that there is a safety problem, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered.

Before the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101, if the system control module 30 does not acquire a compliant treatment plan (which is consistent with the current patient to be treated) from the treatment plan module 80, if the system control module 30 automatically determines that the treatment plan is incorrect according to the received treatment plan data, it is determined that there is a safety problem in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, and the system control module 30 may control the beam generating device 10 to prohibit the emission of the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 through the beam control module 20, and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting irradiation treatment. It will be appreciated that the operator, such as a physician, may also manually determine (e.g., whether the serial number, patient information, etc. are consistent) and send a signal to the system control module 30 to manually confirm that the inconsistency is consistent, and the system control module 30 determines from the received signal data that there is a safety problem with the illumination of the first illumination chamber 101 that is about to begin, i.e., triggers a safety interlock mechanism.

When the system control module 30 determines that the treatment plan of the patient in the first irradiation room 101 is completed (for example, the treatment duration or the treatment dose in the received treatment plan is reached) according to the comparison between the irradiation data of the patient in the first irradiation room 101 and the received treatment plan data when the beam generating device 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation room 101, it is determined that the irradiation in the first irradiation room 101 has a safety problem, that is, a safety interlock mechanism is triggered, and the system control module 30 can control the beam generating device 10 to stop emitting the beam to the first irradiation room 101 through the beam control module 20, so as to finish the irradiation treatment in the first irradiation room 101.

The dose, the duration and the like of the radioactive rays received by the patient during treatment are determined by treatment plan data, if the treatment plan is wrong, the treatment effect is directly influenced or the patient is harmed, and the dose, the duration and the like are taken into safety interlocking factors to further ensure the effective operation of the radiotherapy.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a signal of the irradiation chamber status (e.g. including irradiation, waiting for irradiation, preparation, unused, etc.) may be set, and the signal may be manually confirmed by an operator such as a doctor according to the irradiation chamber status, or may be automatically determined by the system control module 30 according to the received data. I.e., the radiation therapy system operating data further includes signal data of the irradiation room status, the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that a safety problem exists and performs safety interlocking, including before the beam generating apparatus 10 emits the beam to the first irradiation room 101, based on the received operating data of the radiation therapy system 100, when the system control module 30 determines that the first irradiation chamber 101 is not in the state to be irradiated according to the received signal data of the state of the first irradiation chamber 101, such as a signal that the first irradiation chamber 101 is in preparation or not in use, determining that there is a safety issue with the upcoming irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, that is, triggering the safety interlock mechanism, the system control module 30 via the beam control module 20 can control the beam generating apparatus 10 to prohibit the beam from being emitted to the first irradiation chamber 101, and prohibit the first irradiation chamber 101 from starting irradiation treatment.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the radiotherapy system further comprises a beam dump device 90, the beam dump device 90 may be a container buried in a wall, the beam is dumped when the beam is not needed, and the beam direction switching assembly 121 transmits the charged particle beam P generated by the charged particle beam generating part 11 to the beam dump device 90. The beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 may control the beam generator 10 to stop emitting the beam to the first irradiation chamber 101 by the beam control module 20 by controlling the charged particle beam generator 11 to stop generating the charged particle beam P; the charged particle beam P generated by the charged particle beam generator 11 may be controlled to stop operating with the first neutron beam generator 13, that is, the beam generator 10 may be controlled to cut the beam from the first irradiation chamber 101 by the beam direction switching unit 121, and for example, the charged particle beam P generated by the charged particle beam generator 11 may be controlled to operate with the second neutron beam generator 13 ' by the beam direction switching unit 121 to generate a neutron beam N irradiated into the second irradiation chamber 101 ', and the beam may be switched from the first irradiation chamber 101 to the second irradiation chamber 101 '; or the charged particle beam P generated by the charged particle beam generator 11 is controlled to be not acted on the first and second neutron beam generators 13 and 13' by the beam direction switching unit 121, and the charged particle beam P is directly transmitted to the beam collector 90, so that the beam is switched from the first irradiation chamber 101 to the beam collector 90. The selection of the above-described mode may be automatically determined by beam control module 20 or system control module 30 based on received operational data of radiation treatment system 100, or may be manually input by an operator after a safety interlock mechanism is triggered. In one embodiment, when the factor triggering the safety interlock is not associated with the beam generating device 10, such as opening of a shield door of the irradiation chamber or a patient anomaly, the beam may be selected to be cut from the first irradiation chamber 101; when the factor triggering the safety interlock is related to the beam generating apparatus 10, such as an accelerator failure, the charged particle beam generating unit 11 may be selectively controlled to stop generating the charged particle beam P; it will be appreciated that other arrangements are possible and the invention is not limited in this regard.

In an embodiment, before switching the beam from the first irradiation chamber 101 to the second irradiation chamber 101', the safety interlock control method further includes: the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines whether or not there is a safety problem in the second irradiation room 101 '(whether or not it is not in use and whether or not the shield door of the second irradiation room 101' is closed) based on the received operation data of the radiotherapy system 100. Switching the beam from the first irradiation chamber 101 to the second irradiation chamber 101 ' when it is determined that the second irradiation chamber 101 ' is in an unused state and the shield door of the second irradiation chamber 101 ' is closed; when it is determined that the second irradiation chamber 101 ' is not in an unused state and the shield door of the second irradiation chamber 101 ' is not closed, the beam is not switched from the first irradiation chamber 101 to the second irradiation chamber 101 ' and presented. Specifically, the beam direction switching unit 121 corresponding to the first irradiation chamber 101 may be disconnected from the beam direction switching unit 11 corresponding to the second irradiation chamber 101 ', so that the beam can be switched from the first irradiation chamber 101 to the second irradiation chamber 101'.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, when the beam control module 20 or the system control module 30 determines that the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 has a safety problem according to the received operation data of the radiotherapy system 100, the beam generating device 10 is controlled to cut off the beam from the first irradiation chamber 101, and the beam can be quickly cut off from the first irradiation chamber 101 on the premise of not shutting down the beam generating device, so that the safety problem of the first irradiation chamber 101 is solved in time, and the service life of the beam generating device 10 can be prolonged while the safety of the radiotherapy system 100 is improved. In addition, the first irradiation chamber 101 and the second irradiation chamber 101' share one beam generation device 10, so that the utilization rate of the beam generation device 10 is improved, and the requirement that a plurality of irradiation chambers are matched for safety interlocking protection at the same time is met. All the above-mentioned optional technical solutions can be combined arbitrarily to form the optional embodiments of the present invention, and are not described herein again.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the principle of the safety interlock mechanism is briefly described by taking as an example that the shield door and the beam direction switching module 121 cooperate to form a safety interlock factor. The shield doors include a shield door (e.g., a shield door a and a shield door B) of the charged particle beam generation chamber 102, a shield door C of the beam transport chamber 103, and a shield door of the irradiation chamber (e.g., a shield door E1 of the first irradiation chamber and a shield door E2 of the second irradiation chamber). The beam direction switching unit 121 includes a deflection magnet D1 and a deflection magnet D2 for introducing the irradiation beam into the first irradiation chamber 101 and the second irradiation chamber 101', respectively. Among them, the turning on of the deflecting magnet D1 and the deflecting magnet D2 are mutually exclusive, for example: when the deflecting magnet D1 is turned on, the deflecting magnet D2 is turned off; when the deflecting magnet D2 is turned on, the deflecting magnet D1 is turned off.

Opening of irradiation treatment of irradiation chamber: the shield door a and the shield door B of the charged particle beam generation room 102 and the shield door C of the beam transfer room 103 must be closed; in addition, at least one deflection magnet is required to be switched on and the shielding door of the corresponding irradiation room is required to be closed, for example, the deflection magnet D1 is switched on and the shielding door E1 of the first irradiation room is closed; or the deflection magnet D2 is turned on and the shield door E2 of the second irradiation chamber is closed.

In brief, when the shield door a, the shield door B, and the shield door C are all in the closed state, the deflection magnet D1 is turned on, and the shield door E1 of the corresponding first irradiation room 101 is in the closed state, the charged particle beam generating unit 11 reaches the beam outgoing condition; alternatively, when the shield door a, the shield door B, and the shield door C are all closed, the deflection magnet D2 is turned on, and the shield door E2 of the corresponding second irradiation room 101' is closed, the charged particle beam generator 11 reaches the beam discharge condition. That is, when the system control module receives an instruction to start irradiation to the first or second irradiation chamber and determines that there is no safety problem in irradiation to the irradiation chamber by performing the safety interlock determination, the system control module controls the charged particle beam generating unit 11 to generate the charged particle beam P (the ion source 111, the accelerator 112, and the accelerator auxiliary device 113 are operated to the beam discharge state), and when the charged particle beam P acts on the corresponding neutron beam generating unit to generate a neutron beam and irradiates the irradiation chamber, the irradiation treatment of the irradiation chamber is started.

Closing of irradiation treatment of irradiation chamber: during the irradiation treatment in the first irradiation chamber 101, if at least one of the shield doors (for example, at least one of the shield doors A, B, C, E1) is opened or the state of the deflection magnet D1 is abnormal (for example, the state is unexpectedly switched from the on state to the off state), it is determined that there is a safety problem in the irradiation in the first irradiation chamber 101, and the beam can be cut off from the first irradiation chamber 101 and the irradiation treatment in the first irradiation chamber 101 can be terminated as long as the deflection magnet D1 is turned off or the generation of the charged particle beam P by the charged particle beam generator 11 is stopped (for example, the accelerator 112 is turned off or the ion source 111 is turned off). When the beam is cut off from the first irradiation chamber 101 by using the off deflection magnet D1, if the second irradiation chamber 101 'is determined to be in an unoccupied state and the shield door is closed, the deflection magnet D2 can be turned on, and the beam is switched from the first irradiation chamber 101 to the second irradiation chamber 101'; it is also possible to switch the beam from the first irradiation chamber to the beam dump device 90 while keeping both deflection magnets D1, D2 off.

During the irradiation treatment in the second irradiation chamber 101 ', if at least one of the shield doors (e.g., at least one of the shield doors A, B, C, E2) is opened or the state of the deflection magnet D2 is abnormal (e.g., the state is unexpectedly switched from the on state to the off state), it is determined that the second irradiation chamber 101' has a safety problem, and the beam can be cut off from the second irradiation chamber 101 'and the irradiation treatment in the second irradiation chamber 101' can be terminated as long as the deflection magnet D2 is turned off or the generation of the charged particle beam P by the charged particle beam generator 11 is stopped (e.g., the accelerator 112 is turned off or the ion source 111 is turned off). When the beam is cut off from the second irradiation chamber 101 'by turning off the deflection magnet D2, if it is determined that the first irradiation chamber 101 is in an unoccupied state and the shield door is closed, the deflection magnet D1 can be turned on, and the beam is switched from the second irradiation chamber 101' to the first irradiation chamber 101; it is also possible to keep both deflection magnets D1, D2 off and the beam is switched from the second irradiation chamber 101' to the beam dump 90.

In order to simplify and clarify the principle of the safety interlock mechanism, the shielding door and the deflecting magnet are only used as the safety interlock factors, and it should be understood that, in addition to the shielding door and the deflecting magnet, other factors mentioned herein (for example, the ion source, the accelerator auxiliary device, the neutron beam generator, the beam monitoring module, the radiation monitoring module, the treatment planning module, etc.) may be added to cooperate together to form the safety interlock mechanism, which is not limited by the present invention. By incorporating various devices and components into safety interlocking factors, the safety of the radiation therapy system is effectively improved, and the effective utilization of the radiation therapy system is enhanced.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a safety interlock control method of a radiation therapy system according to another embodiment of the present invention, which takes neutron irradiation therapy in the first irradiation chamber as an example. The safety interlock control method may be performed by a safety interlock control system 700 in a radiation therapy system. The safety interlock control system 700 may include a carrier for executing control software and a control program, a user input interface, a feedback display interface, a processor module, a data acquisition module, a beam generating device, or an equipment connection port of an irradiation room, and the like, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 6, the safety interlock control method includes:

s601: and receiving login information of a user.

S602: after the login information of the user is received in step S601, it is determined whether the user has successfully logged in.

When the user does not log in successfully, returning to the step S601; when the user login is successful, step S603 is performed.

S603: therapy parameters are received.

The user may also verify the status of the treatment device or patient before or after receiving the treatment parameters. The treatment parameters may be manually input by the user or may be treatment parameters in the treatment planning data obtained from the treatment planning module, which is not limited by the invention.

S604: after receiving the treatment parameters in step S603, an irradiation treatment instruction to start the first irradiation room 101 input by the user is received.

S605: after receiving the irradiation treatment instruction for starting the first irradiation room 101 input by the user in step S604, the control right of the beam generating apparatus 10 is obtained.

S606: after step S605, it is determined whether irradiation treatment can be started for the first irradiation room 101 based on the safety interlock mechanism.

Specifically, it is determined whether there is a safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 that is to be started. When there is a safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 that is about to be started, step S607 is executed; when there is no safety problem even in the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101 to be started and the treatment can be started, step S608 is executed.

S607: no treatment initiation instructions are executed and a prompt is popped up that triggers a safety interlock mechanism.

For example, the indication may be an operational data overrun, equipment malfunction, a deflection magnet not being turned on, a shield door not being closed, a target life being insufficient, a collimator inconsistency, a patient anomaly, a treatment plan error, and the like, and the present invention is not limited thereto. The user solves the safety problem according to the prompt, if the problem is solved, such as closing the corresponding shielding door, the user manually selects to determine that the problem is solved, the step S606 is returned, and safety interlocking judgment before starting irradiation is carried out again; if the problem is temporarily not solved, e.g., the apparatus is malfunctioning, and the user manually selects to determine that the problem is not solved, step S612 is executed to end the irradiation treatment of the patient and release the control of the beam generating apparatus 10.

S608: the beam generator 10 is controlled to generate a treatment beam to start the irradiation treatment of the patient 200 in the first irradiation room 101.

Specifically, the charged particle beam generator 11 is controlled to generate the charged particle beam P, the beam transport unit 12 is controlled to transport the charged particle beam P generated by the charged particle beam generator 11 to the first neutron beam generator 13, and the charged particle beam P and the first neutron beam generator 13 act to generate the neutron beam N for treatment and irradiate the patient 200 on the treatment table 40 provided in the first irradiation room 101, thereby performing the irradiation treatment on the patient 200.

S609: after the irradiation treatment is started for the patient in the first irradiation room 101 in step S608, it is determined in real time whether the irradiation treatment can be continuously performed for the first irradiation room 101 according to the safety interlock mechanism.

That is, it is determined in real time whether there is a safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, and when there is no safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, step S610 is executed; when there is a safety problem with the irradiation of the first irradiation chamber 101, step S611 is performed.

S610: the irradiation treatment is continued for the patient 200 in the first irradiation room 101, and the process returns to S609 to continue the judgment.

S611: the treatment of the patient 200 in the first irradiation chamber 101 is stopped and a prompt is popped which triggers a safety interlock mechanism.

For example, the indication may be an operation data overrun, a device malfunction, a deflection magnet not being turned on, a shielded door being opened, a patient exception, or a treatment plan being completed, and the like, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The user solves the safety problem according to the prompt, if the problem is solved, such as closing the corresponding screen door, and the like, the user manually selects to determine that the problem is solved, the step S608 is returned, and the irradiation treatment of the patient 200 in the first irradiation room 101 is started again; if the problem is temporarily not solved, such as a serious failure of the apparatus, and the user manually selects to determine that the problem is not solved, step S612 is executed to end the irradiation treatment of the patient 200 in the first irradiation room 101 and release the control of the beam generating apparatus 10; or prompt the completion of the treatment plan, the user manually selects to confirm the completion of the irradiation, step S612 is executed, the irradiation treatment of the patient 200 in the first irradiation room 101 is ended, and the control right of the beam generating apparatus 10 is released.

S612: the irradiation treatment of the patient 200 in the first irradiation room 101 is ended and the control of the beam generating means 10 is released.

S613: after the irradiation treatment is ended at step S612, the log-out information of the user is received.

It can be understood that, in the above steps, after the safety interlock determines that there is a safety problem, a prompt triggering the safety interlock mechanism may be popped up first according to the factor triggering the safety interlock, and the user determines whether to start or continue the irradiation treatment according to the prompt, for example, if some operation data is not larger than the preset range, the physician or the like determines that the operation data is still within the safety range according to experience, and may start or continue the irradiation treatment.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, whether safety problems exist or not is monitored before irradiation treatment and during irradiation treatment through a safety interlocking mechanism formed according to a plurality of safety interlocking factors, so that the safety of the radiotherapy system is improved.

All the above-mentioned optional technical solutions can be combined arbitrarily to form the optional embodiments of the present invention, and are not described herein again.

The implementation process of the functions and actions of each module in the above device is specifically described in the implementation process of the corresponding step in the above method, and is not described herein again.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a safety interlock control system 700 of a radiation treatment system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the safety interlock control system 700 includes a processing component 710 that further includes one or more processors and memory resources, represented by memory 720, for storing instructions, such as applications, that are executable by the processing component 710. The application programs stored in memory 720 may include one or more modules that each correspond to a set of instructions. Further, the processing component 710 is configured to execute instructions to perform the safety interlock control method of the radiation therapy system described above.

The safety interlock control system 700 may also include a power supply assembly configured to perform power management of the safety interlock control system 700, a wired or wireless network interface configured to connect the safety interlock control system 700 to a network, and an input/output (I/O) interface. The safety interlock control system 700 may operate based on an operating system stored in memory 720, such as Windows Server^TM，Mac OS X^TM，Unix^TM，Linux^TM，FreeBSD^TMOr the like.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of the safety interlock control system 700, enable the safety interlock control system 700 to perform any of the safety interlock control methods of the radiation therapy system described above.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention or a part thereof, which essentially contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program check codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

It should be noted that the combination of the features in the present application is not limited to the combination described in the claims or the combination described in the embodiments, and all the features described in the present application may be freely combined or combined in any manner unless contradictory to each other.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are only specific examples of the present invention, and obviously, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and many similar variations exist. All modifications which would occur to one skilled in the art and which are, therefore, directly derived or suggested from the disclosure herein are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

It should be understood that the terms such as first, second, etc. used in the embodiments of the present invention are only used for clearly describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and are not used to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

The above description is only for the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A radiation therapy system, comprising:

an irradiation chamber;

a beam generating device including a charged particle beam generating device and a neutron beam generating unit, wherein the charged particle beam generated by the charged particle beam generating device and the neutron beam generating unit act to generate a therapeutic neutron beam to irradiate the irradiation chamber;

a beam control module capable of controlling the charged particle beam generating device to generate the charged particle beam and receiving operational data of the charged particle beam generating device;

a system control module capable of controlling the charged particle beam generating device to generate the charged particle beam through the beam control module and receiving operation data of the radiotherapy system, the operation data of the radiotherapy system including operation data of the charged particle beam generating device;

the beam control module judges whether a safety problem exists according to the received operation data of the charged particle beam generating device or the system control module judges whether a safety problem exists according to the received operation data of the radiotherapy system.

2. The radiation therapy system of claim 1, wherein said charged particle beam generating device comprises a charged particle beam generating section and a beam transport section, said beam transport section comprising a beam direction switching assembly, said charged particle beam generating section generating said charged particle beam and selectively interacting with said neutron beam generating section by said beam direction switching assembly, said charged particle beam generating device operating data comprising operating data of said charged particle beam generating section or said beam transport section, said beam transport section operating data comprising operating data of said beam direction switching assembly.

3. The radiation therapy system of claim 2, wherein said charged particle beam generating section comprises an ion source, an accelerator and an accelerator assist device, and wherein said charged particle beam generating section operational data comprises operational data of said ion source or of said accelerator assist device or of said ion source, accelerator and accelerator assist device in total fault signal data.

4. The radiation therapy system according to claim 2, further comprising a charged particle beam generation room accommodating said charged particle beam generation unit, a beam transport room accommodating said beam direction switching unit, a shield door of said charged particle beam generation room, and a shield door of said beam transport room, wherein said operation data of said radiation therapy system further comprises operation data of said shield door of said charged particle beam generation room or operation data of said shield door of said beam transport room.

5. The radiation therapy system of claim 1, wherein said charged particle beam generating device comprises a charged particle beam monitoring assembly, and wherein said charged particle beam generating device operational data comprises said charged particle beam monitoring assembly operational data.

6. The radiation therapy system of claim 1, wherein said beam generating device further comprises a neutron beam monitoring assembly, and wherein said operational data of said radiation therapy system further comprises operational data of said neutron beam monitoring assembly or operational data of said neutron beam generating section.

7. The radiation therapy system of claim 1, further comprising a shielded door of said irradiation chamber and a radiation monitoring assembly disposed in said irradiation chamber, wherein the operational data of said radiation therapy system further comprises operational data of said shielded door of said irradiation chamber or operational data of said radiation monitoring assembly.

8. The radiation therapy system of claim 1, further comprising a patient condition monitoring component or an activity monitoring component, wherein the operational data of the radiation therapy system further comprises operational data of the patient condition monitoring component or the activity monitoring component.

9. The radiation therapy system of claim 1, further comprising a treatment planning module, the operational data of the radiation therapy system further comprising treatment planning data retrieved by the system control module from the treatment planning module.

10. A safety interlock control method for a radiation therapy system according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that the control method comprises:

before the beam generating device generates a therapeutic neutron beam and starts irradiation to the irradiation chamber, when the beam control module determines that safety problems exist in the irradiation of the irradiation chamber to be started according to the received operation data of the charged particle beam generating device or the received operation data of the radiotherapy system, the beam control module or the system control module prohibits the charged particle beam generating device from generating the charged particle beam through the beam control module; or

When the beam generation device generates a therapeutic neutron beam and irradiates the irradiation chamber, the beam control module controls the charged particle beam generation device to stop generating the charged particle beam or controls the charged particle beam generated by the charged particle beam generation device to stop acting on the neutron beam generation part through the beam control module when the beam control module determines that the irradiation of the irradiation chamber has a safety problem according to the received operation data of the charged particle beam generation device or the received operation data of the radiotherapy system.