JP2007083059A - Rotating irradiation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotating irradiation apparatus capable of securing the maximum access floor, preventing falling of dust and reducing noise in a simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: This rotating irradiation apparatus having an irradiation device rotatably irradiating charged particle beams to a patient is provided with a frame mounted with the irradiation device and rotating interlocked with the irradiation device, and an opening/closing mechanism rollably constituted in the frame and disposed in the lower part of the frame inside for preventing the interlocking with the frame. The opening/closing mechanism has an opening/closing type floor, or a floor of a part used as a passage of the irradiation device, horizontally slid to be opened/closed, and a driving mechanism driving the opening/closing type floor. The opening/closing type floor is subdivided into a plurality of ones, and has such a structure as to move in parallel on the horizontal plane alone along the floor surface, or the upper face of the opening/closing type floor by the driving mechanism in opening/closing operation, and as to have a space occupied by the opening/closing type floor in opening, in the frame inside of the rotating irradiation apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotary irradiation apparatus for radiotherapy (hereinafter referred to as a rotary gantry) used in cancer treatment.

In recent years, development and construction of cancer treatment devices using protons and heavy ions have been promoted for radiotherapy devices intended for cancer treatment, and rotary irradiation devices ( A rotating gantry) is often provided.
The rotating gantry is configured to rotate the irradiation device 360 degrees and irradiate the patient with a charged particle beam from an arbitrary rotation angle, ensuring the floor surface inside the irradiation chamber even when the irradiation device comes below the patient. It has been devised to do.

  For example, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a conventional technique disclosed in Patent Document 1. In FIG. The figure shows the structure of a rotating gantry. In the figure, 40 is a rotating gantry, 122 is a radiation irradiator, 126 is a rear panel, 42 is a gantry frame, 44 is a front ring, 46 is a rear ring, 48 is a stand, 50 is a support roll. , 52 is a gantry drive motor, 62 is a stationary ring rail, 64 is a support ring, 72 is a moving ring rail, 80 is a moving bed passage, 82 is a moving bed, and 90 is a magnet support.

  Next, the operation will be described. The front ring 44 and the rear ring 46 are connected by a gantry frame 42 and a magnet support 90, and a support ring 64 is provided therein. The rotating gantry 40 is driven by a gantry driving motor 52 and rotates. At this time, the moving-side ring rail 72 provided inside the support ring 64 is configured to be able to rotate the inner surface of the support ring 64, and rotates in the reverse direction in synchronization with the rotation of the rotating gantry 40. As a result, the position of the moving side ring rail 72 is always kept constant, and the moving bed 82 that is flexibly connected with the link along with the guide of the fixed side ring rail 62 maintains a kamaboko-shaped shape. A horizontal access floor is formed on the lower side.

However, the fixed ring rail 62 and the movable ring rail 72 for guiding the movable floor 82 need to be processed with high accuracy, and the movable ring rail 72 needs to be rotated in synchronization with the rotation of the rotating gantry 40. Therefore, there is a problem that the structure is complicated and the manufacturing cost is increased.
Further, in the moving floor 82, the portion forming the floor surface changes according to the rotation of the rotating gantry 40, and as a result, the portion that was the floor surface may reach the ceiling. There is a problem of falling. This is also due to the fact that the moving floor 82 is a large number of plates connected by links, so that foreign matters such as dust are easily caught. Furthermore, noise is generated when the wheels provided on the moving floor 82 roll in the fixed ring rail 62 or the moving ring rail 72, which is not preferable. This tends to occur largely at the boundary between the horizontal of the ring rail and the arc.

  Moreover, although the method of extending a deck from the building side as needed as a prior art of the above-mentioned patent document 1 is also described, in order to avoid interference with a treatment table, a structure becomes complicated and manufacturing cost is high. This is a problem.

JP 11-47287 A

  In the case of a rotating gantry in the prior art, as described above, it is necessary to accurately process the fixed ring rail 62 and the moving ring rail 72 for guiding the moving floor 82, and the moving ring rail 72 is rotated. There is a problem that the structure is complicated and the manufacturing cost is high, for example, it is necessary to rotate in synchronization with the rotation of the gantry 40.

  Further, in the moving floor 82, the portion forming the floor surface changes according to the rotation of the rotating gantry 40, and as a result, the portion that was the floor surface may reach the ceiling. There was a problem of falling. This is also due to the fact that the moving floor 82 is a large number of plates connected by links, so that foreign matters such as dust are easily caught.

  Moreover, when the wheel provided in the moving floor 82 rolls in the fixed side ring rail 62 or the moving side ring rail 72, noise is generated, which is not preferable. This tends to occur greatly at the boundary between the horizontal of the ring rail and the arc.

  Moreover, although the method of extending a deck as needed from the building side as the prior art of the above-mentioned patent document 1 is also described, a structure becomes complicated in order to avoid interference with a treatment table and its drive device, and the result This was a problem because the production cost was high.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and obtains a suitable rotating gantry by ensuring the maximum access floor with a simple structure and preventing the fall of dust and noise and reducing noise. For the purpose.

  The rotary irradiation apparatus according to the present invention is a rotary irradiation apparatus having an irradiation apparatus that irradiates a patient with a charged particle beam so that the patient can rotate freely, the irradiation apparatus is attached, and a frame that rotates in conjunction with the irradiation apparatus; The frame is configured to be able to roll, and has an opening / closing mechanism disposed in a lower part of the frame so as not to be interlocked with the frame, and the opening / closing mechanism has a floor at a portion serving as a passage for the irradiation device. An openable / closable floor that slides horizontally to open and close, and a drive mechanism that drives the openable / closable floor. The openable / closable floor is subdivided into a plurality of parts. It is structured to translate only in the horizontal plane along the floor surface, which is the upper surface of the openable floor, and the space that the openable floor occupies when opening is inside the frame of the rotary irradiation device It is intended to provide.

  According to the rotary irradiation device of the present invention, the floor through which the irradiation device passes is of an openable type that translates only in a horizontal plane, and the open / close mechanism is provided inside the frame of the rotary irradiation device, so The space necessary for adjusting the shaft can be secured, and as a result, the maximum access floor can be secured with a simple structure. Since the opening / closing mechanism is configured to be housed inside the frame of the rotary irradiation device, including the space occupied when the opening / closing floor is opened, the structure of the opening / closing mechanism is simplified because there is no problem of interference with the treatment table. It is possible to

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1-4 is a figure which shows the structure in Embodiment 1, FIG. 1 (a) is a side view in alignment with the rotating shaft of the rotation gantry which shows the whole rotation gantry, FIG.1 (b) is FIG.1 (a). It is a figure which shows the whole other rotation gantry, and is the side view which observed the rotation gantry from the direction perpendicular | vertical to a rotating shaft. 2 is a side view of the opening / closing mechanism, FIG. 3 is a top view showing a sliding type opening / closing floor of the opening / closing mechanism, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an end of the opening / closing floor divided into a plurality of parts.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a frame of a rotating gantry, 2 denotes a rotating ring provided on the frame, 3 denotes a roller that receives the rotating ring 2, a rotation driving device provided with a motor and a reduction gear, and 5 denotes a rotating ring. 2 is a brake device provided with a ring for receiving 2 and a brake or a speed reducer, 6 is a wiring spool into a rotating gantry rotating 360 degrees, a cable spool for supplying piping, 7 is an irradiation device 8 for applying a charged particle beam introduced into the rotating gantry The irradiation device 8 shapes and irradiates the transported charged particle beam according to the irradiation affected area of the patient.

  Further, reference numeral 9 is a treatment table on which a patient is placed, 10 is an II tube apparatus that obtains an X-ray image, 11 is an opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the floor through which the irradiation device 8 passes, and 12 rotates together with the rotating gantry and the II tube apparatus 10. Rotating panel, 13 is a fixed wall fixed to the opening / closing mechanism 11, 14 is a rotating wall that rotates together with the rotating gantry, 15 is a treatment table base on which the treatment table 9 is installed, and 16 is a building. The treatment table base 15 is a fixed floor.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 17 denotes an openable / closable floor in the open / close mechanism 11, 18 a positioning pin provided at the tip of the openable floor 17, 19 a slide rail attached to the openable floor 17, 20 a base, and 21 An air cylinder which is a drive mechanism for sliding the openable floor 17, 22 is a roller provided on the base 20 and rolls inside the frame 1, and 23 is provided on the base 20 in the thrust direction (rotation axis direction) of the open / close mechanism 11. A guide roller that regulates and guides movement and inclination, 24 a guide rail that guides the guide roller 23, 25 a moving scraper provided on the openable floor 17, and 26 a treatment table side fixed scraper. Other components are the same as those in FIG. The position of the opening / closing mechanism 11 in the radial direction (circumferential direction) is regulated by the inner surface of the rotating gantry and the roller 22.

Moreover, in FIG. 3, the code | symbols 17a-17p show the open / close-type floor 17 provided 16 units | sets separately. Other components are the same as those in FIGS.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 27 denotes an opening / closing mechanism side fixed scraper. Other components are the same as those shown in FIGS.

  Next, the operation will be described. The charged particle beam introduced into the rotating gantry in FIG. 1 is transported to the irradiation device 8 by a beam transport device 7 made of a deflecting electromagnet, a quadrupole electromagnet, or the like, and shaped by the irradiation device 8 according to the shape of the affected area of the patient. Irradiated. The patient is fixed on the treatment table 9 and positioned, and a charged particle beam is irradiated to a predetermined irradiated region. Since the treatment table 9 needs to be operated so that the irradiated area of the patient coincides with the isocenter that is the irradiation position, it is usually possible to perform multi-axis positioning operations such as up / down / left / right, front / back, and rotation. In addition to this, the rotating gantry can rotate the beam transport device 7 and the irradiation device 8 to irradiate the patient with a beam from 360 degrees freely, and the patient remains in a supine state. The beam can be irradiated from various directions. This is the same as in the prior art.

  The rotating gantry according to the present invention is characterized in that an opening / closing mechanism 11 that opens and closes a portion of the floor that passes when the irradiation device 8 comes below the patient is provided inside the frame 1 of the rotating gantry, not on the building side. By securing a necessary space such as a space occupied during the opening operation, the structure of the opening / closing mechanism 11 is simplified. Details will be described with reference to FIGS. The openable / closable floor 17 is structured to slide in the horizontal direction by the air cylinder 21. When the floor is closed, a positioning pin 18 provided at the tip of the openable / closable floor 17 is provided in a positioning hole provided in the treatment table base 15. Inserted and connected.

  The base 20 to which the openable / closable floor 17 and the air cylinder 21 are attached is supported by a roller 22 on the inner surface of the rotating gantry. Even when the rotating gantry rotates, the roller 20 rolls and the opening / closing mechanism 11 is opened and closed by its own weight. The entire mechanism 11 operates so as to be positioned at the lowermost part inside the rotating gantry so as to always coincide with the center of the inner surface of the frame 1. For this purpose, the center of gravity of the entire opening / closing mechanism 11 needs to be accurately centered, and it is preferable that the center of rotation of the rotating gantry and the inner surface of the frame 1 are less eccentric and the rolling friction by the roller 22 is less. It is better to take measures such as machining the rolling part.

  Further, guide rollers 23 are provided so as to sandwich guide rails 24 provided inside the frame 1, and are provided at both ends of the openable floor 17. Tilt is regulated.

  Next, operations of the irradiation device 8 and the openable / closable floor 17 will be described with reference to FIG. The irradiation device 8 rotates ± 180 degrees from a position vertically above the patient. FIG. 3 shows a case where the irradiation device 8 moves from the upper side of the drawing and reaches a maximum rotation stroke, that is, a state immediately below. Although the openable floors 17a to 17l corresponding to the portion through which the irradiation device 8 passes are opened, the passage of the irradiation device 8 is secured, but when the positioning of the irradiation device 8 is completed and stopped, the passages 17a to 17d become passages. Since this can be closed, this portion is closed to ensure the maximum access floor. When the rotating gantry is rotated (moving) in this way, the openable floor 17 existing at the position that becomes the passage route and stop position of the irradiation device 8 can be opened and closed after the rotation (moving) is completed. It is possible to secure the maximum access floor by closing the part.

In FIG. 3, the number of the openable / closable floors 17 is 16. However, by further subdividing, the gap with the irradiation device 8 can be reduced.
In this way, the floor to be opened and closed is determined according to the movement position of the irradiation device 8, but it is usually necessary to position the rotating gantry with a fine accuracy of 0.1 degrees, such as a sequencer or a computer. Since it is controlled by the controller, it is possible to easily make such a determination.
In addition, regarding the opening / closing of the openable / closable floor 17, it has been described that the openable / closable floor 17 is opened before rotating, and the portion that can be closed is closed after the rotation is completed, but in synchronization with the position of the irradiation device 8 Even if it is opened and closed, the same effect is obtained.

  Further, the opening / closing type floor 17 that can be closed after the rotation is stopped is described to be closed, but if it is configured so that the irradiation device 8 is not broken by the thrust of the air cylinder 21, it is opened as a passage. It is possible to perform a simple operation in which all the openable / closable floors 17 that have been operated are closed and the openable / closable floor 17 at the position where the irradiation device 8 is stopped and hits the irradiation device 8 is stopped.

  By operating as described above, at least four of the openable and closable floors 17a to 17p can always be closed. Therefore, the treatment table base that becomes a fixed floor by the positioning pin 18 at the tip of the openable and closable floor 17 is used. 15 is also connected and fixed, and acts as a detent for the entire opening / closing mechanism 11. This is because at least one openable / closable floor 17 that exists in a position that does not become the passage or stop position of the irradiation device 8 even when the rotation stroke of the rotating gantry is extended to about ± 190 degrees in consideration of the positioning and fine adjustment below. If it can be connected to the treatment table base 15 side which is a fixed floor, it is possible to obtain the same effect as a detent.

  In the worst case, even if a case occurs in which the irradiation device 8 moves to the position of the openable floor 17p, the irradiation apparatus 8 stops once and closes the openable floors 17a to 17d located on the upstream side of the rotation. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a similar effect as a detent because it is always possible to close at least one place by a method such as rotating again.

  Next, measures for foreign matters such as dust will be described. First, with respect to the interior of the treatment room inside the rotating gantry, a fixed wall 13 is provided as an interior at a portion where the roller of the opening / closing mechanism 11 which is the farthest from the treatment table 9 rolls, and is fixed to the base 20. Does not rotate. On the treatment table 9 side from the fixed wall 13, a rotating wall 14 that is fixed to the frame 1 and rotates together with the frame 1 is provided. By providing the fixed wall 13, it is possible to hide the scratches generated when the roller 22 rolls on the inner surface of the frame 1. Further, as described above, since accuracy is required for the surface on which the roller 22 rolls, it is not preferable to configure the interior of the treatment room so that the roller 22 slides because the degree of freedom in selecting the material of the interior decreases.

  Next, the structure of the openable floor 17 will be described in more detail. 4 is a view showing a cross-sectional view of the end of the openable / closable floor 17 constituting the open / close mechanism 11, and as shown in the figure, the openable / closable floor 17 has a shape that partially overlaps the adjacent openable / closable floor 17. The trash that has fallen on the floor surface is not directly dropped. In addition, even if dust falls on the rotating wall 14 or the inner surface of the frame 1, the moving scraper 25, the treatment device side fixed scraper 26, and the opening / closing are arranged so that foreign matter such as dust does not go above the floor surface by rotation of the rotating gantry. The mechanism side scraper 27 acts.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the problem that foreign matters such as dust fall from above even if the rotating gantry is rotated. Further, since only the floor surface needs to be cleaned, maintenance is facilitated.
Each scraper can be placed along the inner surface of the frame 1 and the rotating wall 14 so as to scrape the inner surface of the rotating wall 14 so that fine foreign matters such as dust can be contained in the lower surface of the floor. For this reason, a fine gap may be provided. Further, the contact surface of the scraper may be made of a soft material such as rubber, or may be protected by pressing with a weak force using a spring.

As described above, the portion through which the irradiation device 8 passes is divided into the openable / closable floor 17, and the openable / closable floor 17 and the open / close mechanism 11 having the drive mechanism are configured to be housed in the frame 1 of the rotating gantry. Interference with the treatment table 9 and its driving device can be prevented, and a maximum access floor can be secured with a simple configuration.
In addition, it is possible to prevent foreign matters such as dust from falling and to facilitate maintenance.

  Furthermore, since the open / close floor 17 configured to slide with a linear guide is simply opened and closed by the air cylinder 21, an unnecessary noise is not generated, and a comfortable environment that does not cause discomfort to the patient is realized. Is possible. Moreover, although the case where the open / close type floor 17 is driven using the air cylinder 21 is shown in the above example, a mechanism or a driving method such as a hydraulic cylinder, a motor cylinder, a motor and a ball screw, a motor and a chain may be used.

Embodiment 2.
In the first embodiment, the openable / closable floor 17 is individually operated using the air cylinder 21. However, a plurality of openable / closable floors 17 may be operated collectively through a spring.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration in the second embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 28 denotes a spring attached to the openable / closable floor 17, 29 denotes a slide base that slides by an air cylinder 21 that is a drive mechanism, 30 denotes a slide rail for a slide base attached to the slide base 29, and 31 denotes a base. . Other components are the same as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 in the first embodiment.

  Next, the operation will be described. In FIG. 5, the position of the entire opening / closing mechanism is regulated by a roller 22, a guide roller 23, a guide rail 24, a positioning pin 18 and the like, and the opening / closing floor 17 is opened when the irradiation device 8 passes. This is the same as the first embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that the openable / closable floor 17 is attached to a slide base 29 via a spring 28, and the air cylinder 21 slides the slide base 29. Further, the openable floor 17 attached to the slide base 29 via a spring is not one, but a plurality of the floors 17 are attached. Here, plural means that, for example, four openable floors 17 are operated by one slide base 29.

  By interposing this spring 28 between the openable / closable floor 17 and the slide base 29, the openable / closable floor 17 that hits the irradiation device 8 even when the multiple openable floors 17 are operated by one air cylinder 21. Can be stopped without disturbing the operation of the slide base 29 by compressing the spring 28. The opening / closing type floor 17 that has not hit the irradiation device 8 is completely closed.

By adopting the configuration as described above, it is possible to operate a plurality of openable floors 17 with one air cylinder 21, simplify the structure, and increase the number of divisions of the openable floor 17. In this case, it is possible to cope more easily than in the first embodiment. As a result, the gap between the irradiation device 8 and the openable / closable floor 17 can be reduced to ensure the maximum access floor.
In addition, when the opening / closing type floor 17 located in the passage is closed after the irradiation device 8 stops rotating, it is only necessary to close all the opened slide bases 29, so that the control logic can be simplified. is there.

Although the closing operation of the openable / closable floor 17 after the rotation of the irradiation device 8 is described as being performed for all the slide bases 29 that have been opened, when all the openable / floorable floors 17 hit the irradiation device 8 and stop. It may be determined that the closing operation is not performed.
In the second embodiment, the air cylinder 21 is used to drive the openable / closable floor 17. However, a mechanism or drive method such as a hydraulic cylinder, a motor cylinder, a motor and a ball screw, a motor and a chain may be used. Needless to say.

  As described above, according to the rotary irradiation apparatus of the present invention, the floor through which the irradiation apparatus passes can be opened and closed, and the opening and closing mechanism is provided inside the frame of the rotary irradiation apparatus, which is necessary for adjusting the multi-axis of the treatment table. Space can be secured, and as a result, the maximum access floor can be secured with a simple structure. Since the opening / closing mechanism is configured to be housed inside the frame of the rotary irradiation device, including the space occupied when the opening / closing floor is opened, the structure of the opening / closing mechanism is simplified because there is no problem of interference with the treatment table. It is possible to

  In addition, noise can be reduced compared to the moving bed system in the prior art, and the opening / closing mechanism is always located at the lowermost part inside the rotary irradiation device, so that it is possible to prevent the falling of dust, so that a suitable treatment environment is provided. It is possible to obtain.

  Furthermore, according to the rotary irradiation apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to secure the maximum access floor by making the openable and closable floor into a plurality of subdivided structures.

  In addition, according to the rotary irradiation apparatus of the present invention, when the closing operation is performed, the fixing pin is connected to the fixed floor by the positioning pin provided at the tip of the openable floor, so that the fixing stability of the openable floor is improved. It is possible to improve.

  Furthermore, according to the rotary irradiation apparatus according to the present invention, since at least one of the openable and closable floors is connected to the fixed floor, an effect as a detent of the irradiation apparatus can be obtained.

  In addition, according to the rotary irradiation device of the present invention, a plurality of openable floors are connected via springs and driven by a single drive mechanism, so the number of floors to be driven is increased by subdividing the openable floors. However, the number of drive mechanisms can be reduced, and the apparatus can be simplified.

  Furthermore, since the openable / closable floor of the rotary irradiation apparatus according to the present invention is configured to be slidable and moves only in a horizontal plane, the noise generated by the movement of the openable / closable floor is reduced compared to the conventional movable floor type. It is possible to plan.

  In addition, according to the rotary irradiation device of the present invention, since the foreign matter dropped on the inner surface of the frame and the inner surface of the rotating wall can be collected by providing a scraper, maintenance such as cleaning becomes easy.

It is a side view which shows the whole rotation gantry in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a side view which shows the opening / closing mechanism in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view which shows the open / close type floor in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the switchable floor in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a side view which shows the opening / closing mechanism in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the prior art.

Explanation of symbols

1 frame, 2 rotating ring, 3 rotating drive,
5 Brake device, 6 Cable spool, 7 Beam transport equipment,
8 Irradiation device, 9 Treatment table, 10 II tube device, 11 Opening / closing mechanism,
12 rotating panel, 13 fixed wall, 14 rotating wall, 15 treatment table base,
16 building, 17 (ap) openable floor, 18 positioning pin,
19 slide rail, 20 base, 21 air cylinder,
22 rollers, 23 guide rollers, 24 guide rails,
25 mobile scraper, 26 treatment table side fixed scraper,
27 Opening / closing mechanism side fixed scraper, 28 Spring,
29 slide base, 30 slide rail for slide base,
31 base.

Claims (4)

  In a rotary irradiation apparatus having an irradiation apparatus for irradiating a patient with a charged particle beam so as to rotate freely, the irradiation apparatus is attached, and a frame that rotates in conjunction with the irradiation apparatus is configured to be able to roll in the frame. And an opening / closing mechanism disposed in a lower part of the frame so as not to be interlocked with the frame, wherein the opening / closing mechanism is opened and closed by sliding a floor of a portion serving as a passage of the irradiation device in a horizontal direction. An openable floor and a drive mechanism for driving the openable floor, the openable floor being subdivided into a plurality of parts, and a floor surface that is an upper surface of the openable floor by the drive mechanism during an open / close operation The rotary irradiation is characterized in that the space that the openable floor occupies at the time of opening operation is provided inside the frame of the rotary irradiation device. Location.   The rotary irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing mechanism has a position regulating function for regulating a position of the opening / closing floor in a radial direction and a thrust direction.   Among the open / close floors subdivided into a plurality, the open / close floor existing at a position that is a passage route and a stop position of the irradiation apparatus when the irradiation apparatus moves is opened, and the other open / close floors are The rotary irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotary irradiation apparatus closes and the opening / closing floor positioned on the passage route closes after passing through the irradiation apparatus.   The rotary irradiation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the opening / closing mechanism is configured to operate a plurality of the opening / closing floors with one driving mechanism via a spring.

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