JP2009195467A - Particle beam treatment simulator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently use a particle beam treatment apparatus by providing an inexpensive particle beam treatment simulator for performing a rehearsal in a particle beam treatment. <P>SOLUTION: This particle beam treatment simulator includes a simulated treatment table 50 and a simulated irradiation nozzle 40 which have same operation mechanisms to those of a treatment table 5 and an irradiation nozzle 4 in an irradiation room 10 respectively, X-ray tubes 70a and 70b and imaging devices 80a and 80-b as imaging means, and an image storage server 13 connected to the imaging devices 80a and 80b via a network 12; and before actually irradiating a particle beam, captures an image for determining an irradiation position with respect to each patient and performs a rehearsal for adjusting the position of the irradiation nozzle 4. This constitution can increase the number of patients to be treated so as to efficiently use the particle beam treatment apparatus. This particle beam treatment simulator dispenses with a beam line apparatus group so as to be installed more at a greatly lower cost than that when installing more irradiation rooms. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a particle beam therapy simulator for capturing an irradiation position determination image for each patient and adjusting the position of an irradiation nozzle before irradiating the particle beam in particle beam therapy. .

  The particle beam therapy is a treatment method that mainly cures cancer by irradiating an affected area (lesion) with a proton beam or a heavy particle (heavy ion) beam obtained from an accelerator such as a cyclotron or a synchrotron. Particle beam therapy using proton beams or heavy ion beams has a characteristic that the amount of absorption reaches a peak at a certain depth from the surface of the human body, so the energy of the particle beam is adjusted to give a high dose according to the position of the affected area. Therefore, it is expected as a treatment method with less damage to normal tissues as compared with conventional X-ray treatment in which the dose is maximized near the body surface.

  In such particle beam therapy, it is important to irradiate the affected area of the patient appropriately and efficiently. Before actually irradiating the particle beam, an operation called rehearsal is always performed for each patient. Is done. The purpose of the rehearsal is to take an image for determining the irradiation position, adjust the position of the irradiation nozzle, and have the patient understand the specific procedure for irradiation and get used to the actual irradiation. It is.

  The rehearsal procedure will be described with reference to FIG. First, in the imaging of the irradiation position determination image, the patient B is fixed to the treatment table 5 in the irradiation chamber 10 in which the irradiation nozzle 4 of the particle beam therapy system 1 including the accelerator 2 and the beam line device group 3 is installed. 6, and the position of the treatment table 5 is adjusted by the treatment table operation button 9. Next, X-ray images from the side and front (upper surface) of the patient B are taken using the X-ray tubes 7a and 7b and the imaging devices 8a and 8b which are X-ray detectors. The photographed X-ray image is stored as an irradiation position determination image in an image storage server 13 connected to the imaging devices 8a and 8b via the network 12.

  Further, in the position adjustment of the irradiation nozzle 4 in the rehearsal, the irradiation nozzle 4 is moved in the horizontal direction (arrows) with the irradiation nozzle operation button 11 while the patient B is fixed to the treatment table 5 in the same manner as the imaging of the irradiation position determination image. 4a) and adjust to an appropriate position that does not contact patient B and is not too far away. Note that the appropriate position of the irradiation nozzle 4 varies depending on the patient depending on the patient's body shape, the affected part, the beam irradiation direction, and the like.

Furthermore, when actually irradiating the particle beam, the position of the treatment table 5 is adjusted so as to be the same position based on the irradiation position determination image photographed during the rehearsal, and the position of the irradiation nozzle 4 is adjusted. Positioning work is performed to adjust the position determined during the rehearsal. In order to shorten this positioning operation, in Patent Document 1, a turntable on which a plurality of treatment tables are placed is rotatably arranged so that a part thereof is accommodated in a treatment room (irradiation room). A radiation therapy apparatus is proposed in which a patient is positioned outside the treatment room in a waiting state for treatment in advance and can be rotated and moved together with the treatment table by the turntable into the treatment room. Patent Document 2 proposes a method in which a preparation room for patient setting, a simulator room for positioning, and an irradiation room for performing radiation irradiation are prepared, and the patient is moved by bed conveyance.
JP-A-5-161720 JP 2000-288102 A

  In the conventional particle beam therapy, rehearsal is performed in which an irradiation position determination image is taken and the position of the irradiation nozzle is adjusted in an irradiation chamber that actually irradiates the particle beam. However, during rehearsal, one patient monopolizes the irradiation room for a long time, and during that time, it is impossible to treat another patient, so the number of patients that can be treated is limited, and the use of particle beam therapy equipment There was a problem of inefficiency.

  As a method for solving such a problem, it is conceivable to prepare a plurality of irradiation chambers. However, the particle beam therapy system is very expensive, and there is a problem that enormous costs are required for the addition. In addition, since the said patent document 1 and the patent document 2 improve the efficiency of the positioning operation | work at the time of actual irradiation and do not aim at the efficiency of rehearsal, it does not solve said problem.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides an inexpensive particle beam therapy simulator device for performing rehearsal in particle beam therapy, and efficiently operates the particle beam therapy device. For the purpose.

  In the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the present invention, in the particle beam therapy for irradiating the affected part of the patient fixed to the treatment table from the irradiation nozzle of the particle beam therapy apparatus, before actually irradiating the particle beam, Is a particle beam therapy simulator device for taking an irradiation position determination image and adjusting the position of an irradiation nozzle for a patient, having a fixture for fixing the patient, and having the same operation function as a treatment table Simulated treatment table, simulated treatment table operating means for moving the simulated treatment table and adjusting the position of the simulated treatment table, simulated irradiation nozzle having the same shape and size as the irradiation nozzle, and the same operation function as the irradiation nozzle, simulated irradiation Simulated irradiation nozzle operation means for moving the nozzle and adjusting the position of the simulated irradiation nozzle, photographing means for photographing an X-ray image near the affected part of the patient fixed to the simulated treatment table, photographing hand To be connected via a network, those having an image storage server that stores the X-ray images taken as the irradiation position determination image in the scanning unit.

  The particle beam therapy simulator device according to the present invention includes a treatment table, a simulated treatment table having the same operation function as the irradiation nozzle, a simulated irradiation nozzle, and an image storage server connected to the imaging means via a network. Therefore, it is possible to take an irradiation position determination image for each patient before actually irradiating the particle beam, and to perform rehearsal to adjust the position of the irradiation nozzle. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform rehearsal in an irradiation room equipped with a particle beam therapy system as in the prior art, the number of patients that can be treated increases, and the particle beam therapy system can be operated efficiently. In addition, the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the present invention does not require an accelerator or a beam line device group, and therefore can be installed at a much lower cost than an irradiation room.

  The present invention provides an irradiation position for each patient before actually irradiating the particle beam in the particle beam therapy for irradiating the affected part of the patient fixed to the treatment table from the irradiation nozzle of the particle beam therapy apparatus. The present invention relates to a particle beam therapy simulator apparatus for performing an operation called “rehearsal” for capturing a determination image and adjusting the position of an irradiation nozzle. Embodiments 1 to 6 which are the best modes for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a side view showing a simulation room and an irradiation room in which a particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is installed. The particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the first embodiment is installed in a simulation chamber 100 provided separately from an irradiation chamber 10 where particle beam irradiation is actually performed. As shown in FIG. The room 10 and the simulation room 100 have a similar configuration.

  First, each device installed in the irradiation chamber 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The particle beam therapy system 1 is a large-scale device including an accelerator 2 such as a cyclotron or a synchrotron, a beamline device group 3, and the like, and the irradiation nozzle 4 is installed in the irradiation chamber 10. The particle beam accelerated by the accelerator 2 is adjusted to a shape according to the affected part of the patient B by the beam line device group 3 and irradiated through the irradiation nozzle 4. In the first embodiment, the irradiation nozzle 4 is provided on one side (long side) 5c side of the four side surfaces of the treatment table 5, and the irradiation nozzle operation button 11 serving as irradiation nozzle operation means is used in the horizontal direction ( In the direction of arrow 4a).

  The treatment table 5 has a fixture 6 for fixing the patient B, and is provided so as to be movable and rotatable in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction (up and down direction in FIG. 1). The treatment table 5 is moved by a treatment table operation button 9 which is a treatment table operation means, and the position is adjusted. In addition, although the operation function of the treatment table 5 is not particularly limited, in order to appropriately and efficiently irradiate the affected part of the patient B with the particle beam, it is desirable to be provided to be rotatable in all directions. For example, with respect to the rotation direction, an axis parallel to each of the short side 5b, the long side 5c, or the diagonal line (not shown) of the upper surface 5a of the treatment table 5 that is substantially rectangular can be used as the rotation axis.

  Furthermore, an X-ray tube 7a and an imaging device 8a (in-axis) provided substantially parallel to the particle beam irradiation direction, and an X-ray tube 7b and an imaging device 8b (axis) provided so as to be substantially orthogonal to the particle beam irradiation direction. 2 sets of photographing means composed of outside). The imaging means composed of the X-ray tube 7a and the imaging device 8a is an X-ray image from the side of the patient fixed to the treatment table 5 (in FIG. 1, an X-ray image in the arrow direction from the left to the right of the patient B). The imaging means composed of the X-ray tube 7b and the imaging device 8b captures an X-ray image from the front of the patient (an X-ray image in the arrow direction from the top to the bottom of the patient B in FIG. 1). . These imaging devices 8 a and 8 b are connected to the image storage server 13 via the network 12. The image storage server 13 does not need to be installed in the irradiation chamber 10.

  As the imaging devices 8a and 8b used in the first embodiment, generally used X-ray detectors such as an image intensifier tube (II tube) and a flat panel detector (FPD) are used. It is not limited. The I.I. tube is a device that converts an incident X-ray image into visible light, and the obtained visible light image is taken into a film or a video camera via an optical system. The FPD converts an X-ray intensity distribution into a digital signal.

  Next, each device installed in the simulation room 100 will be described. In the simulation room 100, a simulated treatment table 50 and a simulated treatment table operation button 90, a simulated irradiation nozzle 40, a simulated irradiation nozzle operation button 110, and an X-ray tube constituting the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the present embodiment. Two sets of imaging means are installed which are configured by 70a and an imaging device 80a, and an X-ray tube 70b and an imaging device 80b.

  The simulated treatment table 50 has the same fixture 60 as the treatment table 5 in the irradiation room 10 and has the same operation function as the treatment table 5. That is, it is provided so as to be able to move and rotate in the horizontal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) and vertical direction (up-down direction in FIG. 1), and is moved by a simulated treatment table operation button 90 which is a simulated treatment table operation means. Position adjustment is performed.

The simulated irradiation nozzle 40 has the same shape and the same size as the irradiation nozzle 4 in the irradiation chamber 10 and has the same operation function as the irradiation nozzle 4. In the first embodiment, the simulated irradiation nozzle 4
0 is provided on one side (long side) 50c side of the four side surfaces of the simulated treatment table 50, and is horizontal (in the direction of the arrow 40a) by the simulated irradiation nozzle operation button 110 which is a simulated irradiation nozzle operation means. Moved to. The simulated irradiation nozzle 40 is a simplified version of the irradiation nozzle 4 and does not include the beamline device group 3, and therefore cannot perform actual particle beam irradiation.

  In addition, two sets of imaging means including an X-ray tube 70a and an imaging device 80a, and an X-ray tube 70b and an imaging device 80b are provided. These are the same as the imaging means in the irradiation chamber 10, and are provided so as to be substantially orthogonal to the X-ray tube 70a and the imaging device 80a (in the axis) provided substantially parallel to the particle beam irradiation direction and the particle beam irradiation direction. X-ray tube 70b and imaging device 80b (off-axis). As the imaging devices 80a and 80b, as in the irradiation chamber 10, an X-ray detector such as an image intensifier tube (I.I. tube) or a flat panel detector (FPD) is used.

  The imaging means composed of the X-ray tube 70a and the imaging device 80a is an X-ray image from the side of the patient fixed to the simulated treatment table 50 (in FIG. 1, an X-ray image in the arrow direction from the left to the right of the patient B). ), And an imaging means composed of the X-ray tube 70b and the imaging device 80b is an X-ray image from the upper surface (front surface) of the patient (in FIG. ). These imaging devices 80 a and 80 b are connected to the image storage server 13 via the network 12. The image storage server 13 does not need to be installed in the simulation room 100.

  Next, rehearsal using the simulation room 100 in the present embodiment will be described. First, the patient A is fixed to the simulated treatment table 50 with the fixture 60, and the position of the simulated treatment table 50 is adjusted according to the affected area of the patient A by the simulated treatment table operation button 90. Next, X-ray images from the side surface and top surface (front surface) of the patient A are taken using the X-ray tubes 70a and 70b and the imaging devices 80a and 80b.

  The photographed X-ray images are transmitted to the image storage server 13 connected to the imaging devices 80a and 80b via the network 12, and stored as an irradiation position determination image. Similarly, with the patient A fixed to the simulated treatment table 50, the simulated irradiation nozzle 40 is moved in the horizontal direction by the simulated irradiation nozzle operation button 110 and adjusted to an appropriate position that does not contact the patient A and is not too far away. To do.

  When actually irradiating the patient A who has undergone the above rehearsal with the particle beam in the irradiation chamber 10, an image for determining the irradiation position photographed in the rehearsal is called from the image storage server 13, and the X-ray tube 7a is imaged. The position of the treatment table 5 is adjusted so that the X-ray images obtained by the two sets of imaging means composed of the apparatus 8a, the X-ray tube 7b, and the imaging device 8b coincide with the called irradiation position determination images. Further, the irradiation nozzle 4 is adjusted to be the same position as the simulated irradiation nozzle 40 adjusted during the rehearsal (positioning operation).

  These positioning operations are means (not shown) for storing movement amounts (movement values) of the simulated treatment table 50 and the simulated irradiation nozzle 40 when adjusting the positions of the simulated treatment table 50 and the simulated irradiation nozzle 40 during rehearsal. Therefore, it is desirable that the particle beam therapy simulator device includes a movement amount (movement value) storage unit.

As described above, according to the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the first embodiment, before actually irradiating the particle beam, the irradiation position determination image is taken for each patient and the position of the irradiation nozzle It is possible to perform rehearsal for adjusting the above in a simulation room 100 different from the irradiation room 10. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the patient A can be rehearsed simultaneously in the simulation room 100 while the patient B is treated in the irradiation room 10. As a result, the number of patients that can be treated increases, the utilization efficiency of the irradiation chamber 10 increases, and the particle beam therapy system can be operated efficiently.

  In addition, since rehearsal requires a longer time than treatment by actual particle beam irradiation, a plurality of simulation rooms 100 may be installed in order to perform rehearsal efficiently. Even in that case, since the accelerator 2 and the beam line device group 3 are not necessary in the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the first embodiment, it should be added at a much lower cost than the conventional irradiation chamber 10. Can do. As a result, the number of patients that can be treated increases, and great benefits are obtained for both medical institutions and patients.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a simulation room in which the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is installed. In FIG. 3, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding parts as in FIG. In the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the second embodiment, the simulated irradiation nozzle 41 is provided on the upper surface side (ceiling side) of the simulated treatment table 50, and the vertical direction is determined by the simulated irradiation nozzle operation button 110 which is a simulated irradiation nozzle operation means. It is moved in the direction of arrow 41a. Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

In the first embodiment, the simulated irradiation nozzle 40 of the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus is provided on the side surface 50c side of the simulated therapy table 50 so as to move in the horizontal direction (see FIG. 1). However, depending on the position of the affected area of patient A, it may be more effective to irradiate the particle beam vertically from the upper part (ceiling side) of the patient. In such a case, the irradiation nozzle is provided on the upper surface of the treatment table. A particle beam therapy system that is provided on the side and irradiates a particle beam in the vertical direction is used.

  Therefore, in the simulation chamber 101 according to the second embodiment, a simulated irradiation nozzle 41 is provided on the upper surface side of the simulated treatment table 50, and a particle beam therapy simulator apparatus that moves in the vertical direction is installed. I was able to rehearse irradiation. In the second embodiment, the X-ray tube 70b and the imaging device 80b are provided substantially parallel to the particle beam irradiation direction (in the axis), and the X-ray tube 70a and the imaging device 80a are substantially orthogonal to the particle beam irradiation direction. (Off-axis).

  As described above, according to the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the second embodiment, the simulation irradiation nozzle 41 provided on the upper surface side of the simulation therapy table 50 is provided, so that the rehearsal of the particle beam irradiation from the vertical direction is performed. It can be performed. By preparing both the simulation room 100 according to the first embodiment and the simulation room 101 according to the second embodiment, rehearsal is performed for both horizontal particle beam irradiation and vertical particle beam irradiation. It is possible.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a simulation room in which the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention is installed. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or corresponding parts as in FIG. In the first embodiment, the simulated treatment table 50 is provided with the simulated irradiation nozzle 40 that is provided on the side surface 50c side and moves in the horizontal direction. In the second embodiment, the simulated treatment table 50 is provided on the upper surface side of the simulated treatment table 50. Although what has been provided with the simulated irradiation nozzle 41 that moves in the direction has been described, Embodiment 3 describes a particle beam simulator device that combines Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 above.

That is, the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the third embodiment includes a simulated irradiation nozzle 40 provided on the side surface 50c side of the simulated treatment table 50 and a simulated irradiation nozzle 41 provided on the upper surface side of the simulated treatment table 50. ing. These simulated irradiation nozzles 40 and 41 are respectively moved in the horizontal direction (the direction of the arrow 40a) and the vertical direction (the direction of the arrow 41a) by the simulated irradiation nozzle operation button 111 which is a simulated irradiation nozzle operation means. Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  The simulation room 102 in which the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the third embodiment is installed may be used when rehearsing the particle beam irradiation in either one of the horizontal and vertical directions. It can be used for rehearsal of irradiation method called multi-port irradiation that continuously performs particle beam irradiation from the direction. In the case of multi-port irradiation, it is necessary to perform rehearsal in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction at the same time. In the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the third embodiment, the simulated irradiation nozzles 40 and 41 are simultaneously adjusted by the simulated irradiation nozzle operation button 111. Therefore, rehearsal of multi-port irradiation can be easily performed.

  As described above, according to the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the third embodiment, the simulated irradiation nozzle 40 provided on the side surface 50c side of the simulated treatment table 50 and the upper surface side of the simulated treatment table 50 are provided. Since the simulated irradiation nozzle 41 is provided, rehearsal can be performed for particle beam therapy in both horizontal and vertical irradiation directions, and the cost can be reduced compared to preparing simulation chambers 100 and 101 for each irradiation direction. . Furthermore, rehearsal of multi-port irradiation can be easily performed.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
FIG. 5 is a side view showing a simulation room in which a particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention is installed. In FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or corresponding parts as in FIG. The particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the fourth embodiment includes a rotating gantry 14 rotatably provided around a simulated treatment table 50. The simulated irradiation nozzle 42 and X-ray tubes 70a and 70b serving as imaging means are provided. Imaging devices 80 a and 80 b are arranged on the rotating gantry 14.

  In particle beam therapy using particle beams, especially proton beams, a beam line device group or irradiation nozzle is installed on the rotating gantry, and the particle beam is irradiated from an arbitrary angle by rotating the rotating gantry. . Therefore, in the simulation chamber 103 according to the fourth embodiment, the particle irradiation therapy simulator apparatus in which the simulated irradiation nozzle 42 and the X-ray tubes 70a and 70b as imaging means and the imaging devices 80a and 80b are arranged on the rotating gantry 14 are provided. To enable rehearsal of particle beam therapy from an arbitrary angle using a rotating gantry.

  In the rehearsal using the simulation chamber 103 in the present embodiment, first, after moving to the angle at which the rotating gantry 14 is irradiated, the simulated irradiation nozzle 42 is moved back and forth with the simulated irradiation nozzle operation button 112 (in the direction of the arrow 42a). The position of the simulated irradiation nozzle 42 is adjusted. Next, an X-ray image in the vicinity of the affected area of the patient A is taken using the X-ray tubes 70a and 70b and the imaging devices 80a and 80b. The photographed X-ray images are transmitted to the image storage server 13 connected to the imaging devices 80a and 80b via the network 12, and stored as an irradiation position determination image.

  As described above, according to the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, the simulated irradiation nozzle 42, the X-ray tubes 70a and 70b as imaging means, and the imaging apparatuses 80a and 80b are arranged on the rotating gantry 14. Therefore, rehearsal of particle beam therapy from an arbitrary angle using a rotating gantry can be performed.

Embodiment 5 FIG.
FIG. 6 is a side view showing a simulation room in which the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention is installed. In FIG. 6, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same and corresponding parts as in FIG. The particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the fifth embodiment is basically the same as the first embodiment, but includes a laser apparatus 15 that can irradiate a laser beam from the position of the simulated irradiation nozzle 40. The position where the actual particle beam is irradiated onto the affected area of the patient A (the center of the beam) can be visually confirmed.

  In the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus in the first to fourth embodiments, the positions of the simulated treatment table 50 and the simulated irradiation nozzles 40, 41, and 42 are adjusted during rehearsal. Where is the center of the beam of the particle beam in the patient A? Cannot be visually observed. Therefore, in the fifth embodiment, the X-ray tube 70a and the laser device 15 are installed on the drive base 16, and the laser device 15 can be moved to the position of the X-ray tube 70a by the operation of the drive base 16. . Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  The operation will be described. When recognizing where the center of the beam of the particle beam corresponds to the patient A during the rehearsal, the drive base 16 is moved in the direction of the arrow 16a, that is, the position where the X-ray tube 70a is installed, that is, the simulated irradiation nozzle 40. The laser device 15 is moved to the center of the irradiation port. Thereafter, the patient A is irradiated with a laser beam from the laser device 15. Thereby, the position (center of the beam) where the actual particle beam is irradiated onto the affected part of the patient A can be visually confirmed.

  The drive base 16 may be anything that operates so that the laser device 15 is arranged at the center of the irradiation port of the simulated irradiation nozzle 40, and the X-ray tube 70 a and the laser device 15 are necessarily installed on the drive base 16. There is no need.

  As described above, according to the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the fifth embodiment, since the laser apparatus 15 capable of irradiating the laser beam from the position of the simulated irradiation nozzle 40 is provided, it is actually applied to the affected part of the patient A. It is possible to visually confirm the position (the center of the beam) where the particle beam is irradiated, the accuracy of the position adjustment in the rehearsal is improved, and further advanced particle beam therapy can be performed.

Embodiment 6 FIG.
FIG. 7 is a top view showing a simulation room in which a particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention is installed. 7 that are the same as or equivalent to those in FIG. In the sixth embodiment, a computer X-ray tomography apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a CT apparatus) 17 is used as the imaging means of the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus. Since other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  As in the first to fifth embodiments, an X-ray image near the affected area of patient A, that is, an image for determining an irradiation position is taken using the X-ray tubes 70a and 70b and the imaging devices 80a and 80b, and irradiation is performed based on this. When positioning at the time, the position of the bone in the image is used as a reference. However, the position of the internal organs of patient A may vary slightly during rehearsal and irradiation depending on the affected area, hunger, defecation and the like of patient A, and exact positioning may be difficult. Therefore, in order to perform more precise positioning, a CT positioning method has been proposed in which positioning is performed based on a cross-sectional view (image) of a patient imaged by a CT apparatus. In the sixth embodiment, rehearsal of particle beam therapy employing this CT positioning method can be performed.

  In the simulation chamber 105 according to the sixth embodiment, a CT apparatus 17 is installed in place of the X-ray tubes 70a and 70b and the imaging devices 80a and 80b used in the first to fifth embodiments. The CT apparatus 17 can move to the position of the simulated treatment table 50 as indicated by an arrow 17a, and images a cross-sectional view of the body near the affected area of the patient A. Further, the CT apparatus 17 is connected to the image storage server 13 via the network 12, and the in-vivo sectional view taken by the CT apparatus 17 is stored in the image storage server 13 as an irradiation position determination image.

  As described above, according to the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to the sixth embodiment, since the CT apparatus 17 is provided as an imaging unit, it is possible to perform rehearsal of particle beam therapy employing the CT positioning method.

  The particle beam therapy simulator device according to the present invention is used as a simulator device for performing an operation called rehearsal for capturing an irradiation position determination image for each patient and adjusting the position of the irradiation nozzle in particle beam therapy. can do.

It is a side view which shows the simulation room in which the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention was installed, and an irradiation room. It is a top view which shows the irradiation chamber which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a side view which shows the simulation room in which the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention was installed. It is a side view which shows the simulation room in which the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention was installed. It is a side view which shows the simulation room in which the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention was installed. It is a side view which shows the simulation room in which the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention was installed. It is a top view which shows the simulation room in which the particle beam therapy simulator apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 6 of this invention was installed.

Explanation of symbols

1 Particle therapy device, 2 accelerator, 3 beam line equipment group, 4 irradiation nozzle,
5 treatment table, 6, 60 fixture, 7a, 7b, 70a, 70b X-ray tube,
8a, 8b, 80a, 80b Imaging device, 9 Treatment table operation button, 10 Irradiation room,
11 Irradiation nozzle operation buttons, 12 networks, 13 image storage servers,
14 rotating gantry, 15 laser device, 16 drive base, 17 CT device,
40, 41, 42 Simulated irradiation nozzle, 50 Simulated treatment table, 90 Simulated treatment table operation buttons, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 Simulation room,
110, 111, 112 Simulated irradiation nozzle operation buttons.

Claims (7)

In particle beam therapy that irradiates a patient's affected area fixed to a treatment table from the irradiation nozzle of the particle beam therapy system, before irradiating the particle beam, the irradiation position determination image is displayed for each patient. A particle beam therapy simulator device for photographing and adjusting the position of the irradiation nozzle,
A mock treatment table having a fixture for fixing a patient and having the same operation function as the treatment table;
A simulated treatment table operating means for moving the simulated treatment table and adjusting the position of the simulated treatment table;
A simulated irradiation nozzle having the same shape and size as the irradiation nozzle and having the same operation function as the irradiation nozzle,
A simulated irradiation nozzle operating means for moving the simulated irradiation nozzle and adjusting the position of the simulated irradiation nozzle;
Imaging means for imaging an X-ray image of the vicinity of the affected area of the patient fixed on the simulated treatment table,
A particle beam therapy simulator apparatus comprising an image storage server connected to the imaging unit via a network and storing the X-ray image captured by the imaging unit as the irradiation position determining image.   2. The particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the simulated irradiation nozzle is provided on an upper surface side of the simulated treatment table and moves in a vertical direction, and provided on a side surface side of the simulated treatment table. A particle beam therapy simulator apparatus comprising one or both of those moving in a direction.   2. The particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit includes an X-ray tube and an X-ray detector.   4. The particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to claim 3, wherein two sets of the imaging unit are provided, and X-ray images are taken from a side surface and an upper surface of a patient fixed to the simulated treatment table by the two sets of imaging units. A particle beam therapy simulator device characterized by that.   The particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is a computer X-ray tomography apparatus.   2. The particle beam therapy simulator apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotating gantry rotatably provided around the simulated treatment table, wherein the imaging means and the simulated irradiation nozzle are disposed on the rotating gantry. A particle beam therapy simulator device characterized by that.   The particle beam therapy simulator device according to claim 1, further comprising a laser device capable of irradiating a laser beam from a position of the simulated irradiation nozzle, wherein a position at which an actual particle beam is irradiated to an affected area of a patient. A particle beam therapy simulator device characterized in that it can be visually confirmed.

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