JP2016115477A - Particle beam irradiation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly accurate and a low cost particle beam irradiation apparatus that is compact, excellent in weight balance and not requiring adjustment of emittance asymmetry.SOLUTION: A particle beam irradiation apparatus S includes: an incident accelerator 2 for accelerating charged particles generated in an ion source 2A; an annular accelerator 1 for accelerating a charged particle beam sent from the incident accelerator 2 to a predetermined energy; and an irradiation field formation unit 4 which forms an irradiation field for irradiating an irradiation object J with the charged particle beam emitted from the annular accelerator 1 by an irradiation part 4p. The annular accelerator 1, incident accelerator 2, irradiation field formation unit 4 and irradiation part 4p are rotating about the same axis of rotation C.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a particle beam irradiation apparatus used for medical engineering, accelerator science, and particle beam irradiation.

Conventionally, as a cancer countermeasure, a particle beam irradiation (treatment) method using a carbon beam or a proton beam having excellent characteristics such as high irradiation (treatment) effect and few side effects has attracted attention.
This method damages cancer cell DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) by irradiating the cancer cell with a particle beam emitted from an accelerator, while suppressing the effect on normal cells, Can be killed.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a conventional particle beam irradiation facility.
The particle beam irradiation facility (particle beam irradiation system S100) of Patent Document 1 accelerates charged particles and emits charged particle beams, and a beam that transports charged particle beams emitted from the accelerator 101 to an irradiation unit 109. A transport system 102 is provided.

In the conventional particle beam irradiation system S100, the accelerator 101 is arranged on a horizontal plane. The charged particle beam can be irradiated from the horizontal direction or the vertical direction by the beam transport system 102.
In the particle beam irradiation system S100, the irradiation direction is limited to only horizontal or vertical, and therefore it is necessary to fix the patient to a posture that places a heavy burden on the patient J1, such as tilting the patient's body when irradiating the tumor. There are many.

For this reason, Patent Document 2 proposes a rotating gantry (see FIG. 1A of Patent Document 2) for irradiating the patient J1 with a particle beam from an arbitrary direction.
The rotating gantry can arbitrarily select the irradiation direction by rotating the tip of the beam transport means. Finally, the necessary particle beam can be irradiated by the irradiation field forming device installed at the tip of the rotating gantry.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-176599 Special table 2013-505757 gazette JP-A-9-265000 Japanese Patent No. 4639401 Japanese Patent No. 5368103

  By the way, as in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, the functions are separated such that the accelerator 101 is arranged on a horizontal plane and irradiation from an arbitrary direction is enabled by a rotating gantry. For this reason, the entire irradiation system is enlarged. This causes high costs. Further, in the rotation support structure for supporting the rotation gantry, conventionally, a counterweight is used to prevent the weight balance from being deteriorated, and there is a problem that this leads to an increase in weight and cost.

  Further, since the emittance is asymmetrical due to the accelerator and the rotating gantry being arranged on different planes, it becomes difficult to grasp the irradiation amount, so that a beam adjusting means as in Patent Documents 3 and 4 is required. Therefore, it is a cause of cost increase.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, the conventional particle beam irradiation system S100 has a large installation space, which is a major obstacle in developing the particle beam irradiation system S100.
In particular, the particle beam irradiation system S100 using carbon needs to be twice as large as the proton beam, and there is a high need for miniaturization.

  The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a high-accuracy and low-cost particle beam irradiation apparatus that is small in size, excellent in weight balance, and does not require adjustment of emittance asymmetry.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a particle beam irradiation apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention accelerates a charged particle generated by an ion source to a predetermined energy, and accelerates a charged particle beam sent from the incident accelerator to a predetermined energy. And an irradiation field forming unit for forming an irradiation field for irradiating the irradiation target with the charged particle beam emitted from the annular accelerator, the annular accelerator, the incident accelerator, and the irradiation The field forming unit and the irradiation unit rotate around the same rotation axis.

According to the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the annular accelerator, the incident accelerator, the irradiation field forming unit, and the irradiation unit rotate integrally around the same rotation axis, and thus can be miniaturized. Therefore, the installation space can be reduced.
In addition, the particle beam transport path is short, and the cost can be reduced. Furthermore, the position and accuracy of the particle beam can be easily determined. Further, it is not necessary to adjust emittance.

The particle beam irradiation apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the rotation axis is an axis connecting the head and tail of the irradiation target.
According to the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, since the rotation axis is an axis connecting the head and tail of the irradiation target, the charged particle beam can be rotated on the irradiation target and uniform irradiation can be performed.

A particle beam irradiation apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, wherein the rotation axis is disposed at a position penetrating the orbit of the particle beam in the annular accelerator. Yes.
According to the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, since the rotation shaft is disposed at a position penetrating the orbit of the particle beam in the annular accelerator, it is possible to suppress the particle beam irradiation apparatus from becoming large. .

A particle beam irradiation apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the rotation axis is closer to the horizontal direction than to the vertical direction.
According to the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the annular accelerator can be placed vertically, and the annular accelerator can be smoothly accommodated when the installation space of the particle beam irradiation apparatus is vertically long.

A particle beam irradiation apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the rotation axis is substantially horizontal.
According to the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the rotation axis is substantially horizontal, irradiation can be performed while the irradiation target is lying.

A particle beam irradiation apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, wherein the beam orbit of the annular accelerator is substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis.
According to the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the beam circling orbit of the annular accelerator is substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis, irradiation can be performed with the annular accelerator being small with respect to the rotation axis.

A particle beam irradiation apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, wherein the rotation axis is a central axis that forms the annular accelerator.
According to the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the annular accelerator, which is a heavy object, is arranged symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis, the weight balance is good. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the counterweight for balancing the weight.

The particle beam irradiation apparatus according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, wherein the irradiation field forming unit and the irradiation unit are disposed inside the annular accelerator. ing.
According to the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the irradiation field forming part and the irradiation part are arranged inside the annular accelerator, the apparatus can be reduced in size. Further, the number of deflection electromagnets can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

A particle beam irradiation apparatus according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects of the present invention, wherein the incident accelerator, the annular accelerator, the irradiation field forming unit, and the irradiation The part is integrally fixed to a rotating structure that rotates around the rotating shaft.
According to the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the ninth aspect of the present invention, the incident accelerator, the annular accelerator, the irradiation field forming unit, and the irradiation unit are integrally fixed to the rotating structure, so that they rotate integrally around the rotation axis. it can.

A particle beam irradiation apparatus according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein the annular accelerator is a synchrotron or a cyclotron.
According to the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the annular accelerator is a synchrotron or a cyclotron, the effects of any one of the first to ninth aspects of the present invention are set when each synchrotron or cyclotron is installed. Play.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the highly accurate and low-cost particle beam irradiation apparatus which is small, is excellent in weight balance, and does not need to adjust emittance asymmetry is realizable.

The front view which shows one form of the particle beam irradiation apparatus of this invention. (A) is the perspective view which looked at the particle beam irradiation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention from the patient's foot side, (b) saw the particle beam irradiation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 from the patient's head side. Perspective view. 2A is a view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B is a left side view of FIG. 2A, and FIG. 3C is a right side view of FIG. 3A is a view in the direction B of the top view of FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B is a view in the direction of the arrow D in the bottom view of FIG. 3A, and FIG. 3C is the view in FIG. E direction arrow directional view. The perspective view seen from one direction which shows the state by which the particle beam irradiation apparatus was set to the rotation mechanism. The perspective view seen from the reverse direction of FIG. 5 which shows the state by which the particle beam irradiation apparatus was set to the rotation mechanism. The perspective view which looked at the particle beam irradiation apparatus concerning Embodiment 2 of the present invention from the patient's foot side of irradiation object. (A) is the perspective view which looked at the particle beam irradiation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention from the patient's foot side of irradiation object, (b) is the head of the patient who is irradiation object of the particle beam irradiation apparatus concerning Embodiment 3. The perspective view seen from the section side. The perspective view which shows typically the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the modification of this invention. The front view which shows typically the position of the rotating shaft which a cyclic | annular accelerator and a cyclotron rotate. The perspective view at the time of inclining the rotating shaft of a cyclic | annular accelerator. The perspective view which shows the installation of the conventional particle beam irradiation.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the particle beam irradiation apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the patient to be irradiated is seen from the head side in the horizontal direction.
The particle beam irradiation apparatus S of the present invention rotates the annular accelerator 1, the beam transport means 3, and the irradiation field forming apparatus 4 installed along a substantially vertical direction around the same rotation axis C by using a rotation mechanism k. Let

In other words, the particle beam irradiation apparatus S includes an annular accelerator 1, an incident accelerator 2 (see FIGS. 2A and 2B), a beam transport unit 3, and an irradiation field forming apparatus 4 around the same rotation axis C. It is arranged to be rotatable.
In the particle beam irradiation apparatus S, as shown in FIG. 1, the deflection electromagnet 6 which is the heaviest object in the annular accelerator 1 is arranged symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis C, and the weight balance is excellent.

  Thereby, in the particle beam irradiation apparatus S, it is possible to irradiate the irradiation target patient J from an arbitrary direction, while realizing miniaturization and high accuracy of the apparatus. As the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is reduced in size and cost, the possibility that the particle beam irradiation apparatus S will be widened increases.

<< Embodiment 1 >>
FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the patient's foot side, and FIG. 2B shows the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the patient. It is the perspective view seen from the head side.
The particle beam irradiation apparatus S of the first embodiment includes an incident accelerator 2 (2A, 2B), an annular accelerator 1, a beam transport means 3, and an irradiation field forming apparatus 4.

The patient J to be irradiated is irradiated with a charged particle beam having a predetermined dose from the beam irradiation port 4p at the tip of the irradiation field forming device 4.
The particle beam irradiation apparatus S is controlled by a controller (not shown).

<Injection accelerator 2>
The incident accelerator 2 has a role of supplying charged particles generated by generating charged particles and accelerating to a predetermined energy to the annular accelerator 1.
The incident accelerator 2 includes an ion source 2A and a linear accelerator 2B. The ion source 2A, the linear accelerator 2B, and the annular accelerator 1 are connected by an incident beam path 2m maintained at a high vacuum.

  The ion source 2A generates ions, for example, by colliding high-speed electrons with a neutral gas, and accelerates the linear accelerator 2B to a state where it can be accelerated by the annular accelerator 1. Examples of atoms and particles to be ionized include hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, silicon, and argon.

  The linear accelerator 2 </ b> B accelerates charged particles supplied from the ion source 2 </ b> A to a predetermined energy, and supplies the accelerated energy to the annular accelerator 1. As the linear accelerator 2B, for example, an RFQ linac or a drift tube linac that accelerates and focuses charged particles with a high-frequency quadrupole electric field is used. The charged particles are accelerated to an energy of about several MeV per nucleon by the linear accelerator 2B, for example.

<Annular accelerator 1>
The annular accelerator (synchrotron) 1 accelerates charged particles supplied from the linear accelerator 2B of the incident accelerator 2 to the energy of the outgoing beam emitted from the annular accelerator 1.
The charged particles supplied from the linear accelerator 2B are incident on the annular accelerator 1 having a circular orbit after the trajectory from the incident accelerator 2 is deflected by the incident inflector 2C.
The annular accelerator 1 includes a divergent quadrupole electromagnet 5, a deflection electromagnet 6, a converging electromagnet 7, and a high-frequency acceleration cavity (not shown) as components for accelerating charged particles to the energy of the outgoing beam.

  The annular accelerator 1 includes an output electrostatic deflector 8a and an output deflection electromagnet 8b as components for extracting the output beam. In addition, an emitted beam means the charged particle beam taken out from the annular accelerator 1 in order to irradiate irradiation object.

The outgoing electrostatic deflector 8a separates the extracted charged particle beam by applying an electric field to the circulating charged particle beam in order to project the extracted charged particle beam in the outer direction of the charged particle beam circulating in the annular accelerator 1. A deflector electrode.
In the annular accelerator 1, a diverging electromagnet 5, a deflecting electromagnet 6, and a converging electromagnet 7 are formed in a circular shape.

  The charged particle beam incident on the annular accelerator 1 is deflected by the deflecting electromagnet 6 while repeatedly diverging and converging by the diverging electromagnet 5 and the converging electromagnet 7, and thus circulates on the circular orbit in the annular accelerator 1.

  The high-frequency accelerating cavity accelerates charged particles that circulate around the circular orbit of the annular accelerator 1 by an electric field generated between acceleration gaps (not shown) provided inside. In the high-frequency accelerating cavity, charged particles passing between the acceleration gaps are accelerated by applying a high-frequency electric field at a phase where a positive energy gain can be obtained, and the energy increases with each revolution. In addition, after the exit of the exit beam, the charged particles are decelerated and the generation of radiation is suppressed by reversing the phase of the electric field generated between the acceleration gaps.

In the annular accelerator 1, charged particles are accelerated to a predetermined energy, for example an energy of several hundred MeV per nucleon.
At this time, the deflecting electromagnet 6, the diverging electromagnet 5 and the converging electromagnet 7 are arranged so that the charged particles are circulated around the annular accelerator 1 according to the energy of the charged particles accelerated or decelerated in synchronization with the acceleration or deceleration in the high frequency acceleration cavity. The magnetic field strength is controlled by the controller so as to draw a trajectory along the trajectory.

The charged particle beam accelerated to a predetermined energy on the circular orbit is changed in its orbit by the outgoing electrostatic deflector 8a and the outgoing deflecting electromagnet 8b, emitted from the annular accelerator 1, and transported as an outgoing beam. Take out to means 3.
The beam transport means 3 guides a charged particle beam, which is an outgoing beam, to the irradiation field forming device 4. In the irradiation field forming device 4, the extracted charged particle beam of the emitted beam forms an irradiation field with a constant beam diameter while adjusting the irradiation depth. The charged particle beam having the formed irradiation field is irradiated from the beam irradiation port 4p at the tip of the irradiation field forming apparatus 4 to the irradiation target patient J.
In addition, if the annular accelerator 1 is cyclic | annular, shapes, such as a rhombus, a hexagon, and a circle, will not be specifically limited.

<Control of annular accelerator 1>
The controller includes an incident accelerator 2 (ion source 2A, linear accelerator 2B), an incident inflector 2C, a divergent electromagnet 5, a deflecting electromagnet 6, a converging electromagnet 7, a high-frequency accelerating cavity, and an output electrostatic that constitute the annular accelerator 1. The deflector 8a, the outgoing deflection electromagnet 8b, and the like are controlled.

  Thereby, generation of charged particles in the ion source 2A, pre-acceleration by the linear accelerator 2B, incidence to the annular accelerator 1, acceleration and emission of the charged particle beam from the annular accelerator 1, and further, beam transport means 3 and irradiation field formation Control of irradiation to the irradiation target of the extracted charged particle beam (outgoing beam) that has passed through the apparatus 4 is performed.

  Charged particle monitors (not shown) are arranged everywhere in the incident accelerator 2, the annular accelerator 1, the beam transport means 3, etc., and the trajectory, current amount and energy of the charged particles are measured, and the measurement signal is sent to the controller. Control is performed by feedback.

<Device layout of particle beam irradiation apparatus S>
3A is a view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2A, FIG. 3B is a left side view of FIG. 3A, and FIG. 3C is a right side of FIG. FIG. 4A is a view in the B direction of the top view of FIG. 3A, FIG. 4B is a view of the D direction in the bottom view of FIG. 3A, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a view in the direction of arrow E in FIG.

In the particle beam irradiation apparatus S, there are three vertical planes perpendicular to the horizontal plane (the ground surface), the first vertical plane, the second vertical plane, and the third vertical plane on the equipment layout. .
Annular annular accelerator 1, incident accelerator 2 (ion source 2A, linear accelerator 2B), and irradiation field forming device 4 are arranged on the first, second, and third vertical planes (vertical planes), respectively. Yes. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus S, these devices (1, 2, 4) are integrated and rotate around the same common axis C.

(I-1) First vertical plane (vertical plane) p1
The first vertical plane (vertical plane) p <b> 1 is a plane that serves as a beam orbit surface of the annular annular accelerator 1. The first vertical plane (vertical plane) p1 is an axis passing through the center (annular center) of the circular orbit of the annular accelerator 1, that is, an axis parallel to the horizontal plane (ground surface). In the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p1, the annular accelerator 1 is disposed vertically (vertical direction) so that the annular accelerator 1 rotates. That is, the orbit of the charged particle beam of the annular accelerator 1 is in a plane (first vertical plane (vertical plane)) p1 perpendicular to the rotation axis C.

(I-2) Second vertical plane (vertical plane) p2
The second vertical plane (vertical plane p2) is a plane that is positioned in the vertical direction perpendicular to the rotation axis C and spaced from the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p1. The second vertical surface (vertical surface) p2 is a surface on which the irradiation field forming device 4 and the beam irradiation port 4p at the tip of the irradiation field forming device 4 are installed vertically toward the rotation axis C. The rotation axis The irradiation field forming device 4 and the beam irradiation port 4p are arranged so that the irradiation field forming device 4 and the beam irradiation port 4p rotate in the second vertical plane (vertical plane) p2 with C as the rotation center.

(I-3) Third vertical plane (vertical plane) p3
The third vertical plane (vertical plane) p3 is spaced apart from the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p1 in the vertical direction perpendicular to the rotation axis C, and is different from the second vertical plane (vertical plane) p2. It is a surface located on the opposite side.
An incident accelerator 2 (ion source 2A, linear accelerator 2B, etc.) is arranged in the third vertical plane (vertical plane) p3. With this configuration, the incident accelerator 2 (ion source 2A, linear accelerator 2B, etc.) rotates in the third vertical plane (vertical plane) with the rotation axis C as the rotation center.

And each apparatus of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is installed as follows on each of three vertical surfaces (vertical surface) p1, p2, and p3.
First, the annular accelerator 1 on the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p1 and the irradiation field forming apparatus 4 on the second vertical plane (vertical plane) p2 are deflected by the deflection electromagnets 3a and 3b of the beam transport means 3. The charged particle beam is extracted from the beam orbit of the annular accelerator 1 in the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p1. The extracted charged particle beam has an integral structure so as to be guided to the irradiation field forming device 4 disposed on the second vertical plane (vertical plane) p2.

Second, the annular accelerator 1 on the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p1 and the incident accelerator 2 (ion source 2A, linear accelerator 2B) on the third vertical plane (vertical plane) p3 are incident. A charged particle beam obtained from an injecting accelerator 2 (ion source 2A, linear accelerator 2B, etc.) on a third vertical plane (vertical plane) p3 by an inflector 2C (deflecting electromagnet) (see FIG. 2) It is made into an integral structure so that it may inject into the annular accelerator 1 of the vertical surface (vertical surface) p1.
As described above, the entire apparatus of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S has an apparatus layout that is arranged so as to be rotatable around the same rotation axis C.

<Rotation mechanism of annular accelerator 1>
Next, a mechanism for rotating the device of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S around the rotation axis C will be described.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view seen from one direction showing a state where the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is set on the rotation mechanism, and FIG. 6 shows a state where the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is set on the rotation mechanism. It is the perspective view seen from the reverse direction.
The cylindrical rotary mount T on which the apparatus of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is installed is set so that the rotation axis C becomes the central axis so that the apparatus of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S rotates around the rotation axis C.

Specifically, rotating means r1, r2, r3, r4 having turning rollers and motors for driving the turning rollers are installed on the bases d1, d2.
The rotary mount T is supported by the rotating means r1, r2, r3, r4 and is driven to rotate.
Around the rotating mount T, the annular accelerator 1 of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is fixed, and the incident accelerator 2 connected to the annular accelerator 1, the beam transport means 3 of the emission system, the irradiation field forming apparatus 4 and the like. Both are fixed.

  With the above configuration, the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is rotated about the rotation axis C by rotationally driving the rotation base T by the rotation means r1, r2, r3, r4. Then, the charged particle beam of the emitted beam is irradiated to the affected area of the patient J to be irradiated while rotating around the rotation axis C from the beam irradiation port 4p at the tip of the irradiation field forming device 4 of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S.

  In addition, although the cylindrical case was mentioned as an example and demonstrated as the rotation mount T, the rotation mount T may be a truss structure, the incident accelerator 2 connected to the annular accelerator 1, the beam transport means 3 of an output system, irradiation If the field forming device 4 and the like can be rotated together, the structure can be arbitrarily selected.

According to the said structure, there exists the following effect.
1. By disposing the annular accelerator 1, the beam transport means 3, and the irradiation field forming device 4 of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S around the same axis, the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is smaller and has an excellent weight balance as compared with the conventional particle beam irradiation apparatus. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus S, there is a heavy object symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis C (see FIG. 1), and the weight balance is very good when the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is rotated.

  Therefore, it is possible to reduce the counterweight for achieving a weight balance that has been conventionally required. For example, what conventionally required 60 tons of counterweights can be reduced to 40 tons, which can be reduced by about 1/3. Therefore, weight reduction can be achieved.

2. In addition, the annular accelerator 1, the beam transport means 3, and the irradiation field forming device 4 are configured to rotate around the rotation axis C with the rotation axis C as a connection between the head and tail of the patient J to be irradiated. Irradiation of an arbitrary part of the patient J to be irradiated can be performed easily and smoothly without changing the posture of the patient J as a target.

3. By rotating the particle beam irradiation apparatus S around the rotation axis C, the beam transport path from the conventional accelerator to the irradiation apparatus can be shortened, leading to cost reduction. The conventional gantry and the 10 to 20 m beam transport system 102 (see FIG. 12) are not required, and the size can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional gantry. Therefore, the space occupied by the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is reduced, and the installation space can be reduced. Therefore, the site is small.

4). As described above, by rotating the particle beam irradiation apparatus S around the rotation axis C, the beam transport system 102 of 10 to 20 m from the conventional accelerator to the irradiation apparatus can be shortened. In addition, the counter weight, which is essential for balancing the weight in the conventional rotating gantry, can be reduced, which can contribute to cost reduction.

5. Since the annular accelerator 1 of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S is arranged symmetrically about the rotation axis C, there is a heavy object (the deflection electromagnet 6, the diverging / converging electromagnets 5, 7) symmetrically about the rotation axis C, and the weight balance is extremely high. Good. Since the weight balance is extremely good, the rotation support structure can be simplified.

6). By disposing the annular accelerator 1, the beam transport means 3, and the irradiation field forming device 4 around the same rotation axis C, a particle beam irradiation system (device) that does not require adjustment of emittance asymmetry can be realized.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 12, an accelerator 101 is arranged on a horizontal plane, an outgoing beam is emitted from the accelerator 101 to a beam transport system 102, and rotated by a rotating gantry (see FIG. 1A of Patent Document 2) to be irradiated. J was irradiated with a charged particle beam. Therefore, the coordinates of the outgoing beam of the beam transport system 102 connected to the accelerator 101 are different from the coordinates of the outgoing beam irradiated from the rotating rotating gantry. Therefore, in order to accurately acquire the irradiation amount of the outgoing beam from the rotating gantry, it is necessary to install one or two emittance adjusting devices that adjust the emittance asymmetry to make the emittance symmetrical. In addition, there are many man-hours for adjusting emittance and labor costs are high.

In the present particle beam irradiation apparatus S, a rotating gantry is not required by arranging the annular accelerator 1, the beam transport means 3, and the irradiation field forming apparatus 4 around the same axis, so there is no rotating joint. Accordingly, the coordinates of the emitted beam can be emitted with the coordinates of the beam transport means 3 that is statically fixed to the annular accelerator 1, and it is not necessary to adjust the asymmetry of the emittance. Therefore, an emittance adjustment device is not necessary. In addition, the cost of the emittance adjusting device, the cost of maintaining accuracy by the emittance adjusting device, and the running cost are eliminated. Thus, an emittance maintenance program is not required.
Therefore, a large cost reduction effect can be expected.

7). The accuracy of the irradiation beam needs to be about 1 mm, but the path of the charged particle beam in the present particle beam irradiation apparatus S is short. Further, since the annular accelerator 1, the beam transport means 3, and the irradiation field forming device 4 are rotated around the rotation axis C, the weight balance is good and the counterweight is small. In addition, conventionally, the beam transport path has become heavy in order to increase the accuracy of the irradiation beam. However, in the present particle beam irradiation apparatus S, the beam transport path is short, so that the desired accuracy of the irradiation beam is achieved while being lightweight. It can be taken out.

8). Moreover, since the length from the annular accelerator 1 to the beam irradiation port 4p of the exit port is shorter than the conventional one (see FIG. 12) (see FIGS. 2A and 2B), the accuracy of the exit beam is easily obtained.

9. If the rotation axis C is the central axis of the annular accelerator 1, the particle beam irradiation apparatus S can be easily designed and manufactured.

10. Therefore, it is possible to provide a particle beam irradiation apparatus S that is smaller and more accurate than a conventional particle beam irradiation system (see FIG. 12) in which an accelerator is installed on a horizontal plane. In addition, it is possible to irradiate the irradiation target patient J from any direction.

11. From the above, it is possible to realize a high-precision and low-cost particle beam irradiation apparatus S that is compact, has an excellent weight balance, can be irradiated from any direction, and does not need to adjust emittance asymmetry.

12 Since the present invention makes it possible to reduce the size and cost of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S, for example, there is a great possibility that the carbon beam particle irradiation apparatus S having a size about twice that of a proton beam will be widely used. Become.

  In the first embodiment, the case of defining the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p1, the second vertical plane (vertical plane p2), and the third vertical plane (vertical plane) p3 has been described. If the beam transport means 3 and the irradiation field forming device 4 are rotated about the same rotation axis C, the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p1, the second vertical plane (vertical plane p2), the third The vertical plane (vertical plane) p3 need not be particularly used.

<< Embodiment 2 >>
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the foot side of a patient to be irradiated.
The particle beam irradiation apparatus 2S according to the second embodiment has a configuration in which the annular accelerator 1, the beam transport means 3, the irradiation field forming device 4 and the like according to the first embodiment are integrally rotated with respect to the rotation axis C. It is applied.
Since the configuration other than this is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same configuration is denoted by the same reference numeral, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

The cyclotron 21 is a device in which a charged particle beam is accelerated in a spiral shape.
In the particle beam irradiation apparatus 2S, the cyclotron 21, the beam transport means 3, the irradiation field forming apparatus 4 and the like are integrally configured, and rotate integrally around the rotation axis C.

(I-1) First vertical plane (vertical plane) p21
The first vertical plane (vertical plane) p21 is a plane perpendicular to the center line in which the charged particle beam of the cylindrical cyclotron 21 is accelerated in a spiral manner. In addition, the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p21 has an axis passing through the center of the spiral orbit of the cylindrical cyclotron 21, that is, an axis parallel to the horizontal plane (ground surface) as the rotation axis 2C. The cyclotron 21 is placed vertically (along the vertical direction) so that the cyclotron 21 rotates along one vertical plane (vertical plane) p21.

  That is, the spiral orbit of the charged particle beam of the cyclotron 21 has a trajectory that moves spirally in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the plane (first vertical plane (vertical plane)) p21 perpendicular to the rotation axis 2C. Have.

(I-2) Second vertical plane (vertical plane) p22
The second vertical surface (vertical surface p22) is a surface in the vertical direction perpendicular to the rotation axis 2C and spaced from the first vertical surface (vertical surface) p21. The second vertical plane (vertical plane) p22 is a plane on which the irradiation field forming device 4 and the beam irradiation port 4p at the tip thereof are installed perpendicularly to the rotation axis 2C, and the rotation axis 2C is the center of rotation. Within the second vertical plane (vertical plane) p22, the irradiation field forming device 4 is arranged so that the irradiation field forming device 4 and the beam irradiation port 4p at the tip thereof rotate.

And each apparatus of particle beam irradiation apparatus 2S is installed as follows on each two vertical surfaces (vertical surface) p21, p22.
The cyclotron 21 arranged along the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p21 and the irradiation field forming device 4 on the second vertical plane (vertical plane) p22 are deflected by the deflection electromagnets 3a and 3b of the beam transport means 3. The charged particle beam is extracted from the spiral beam orbit of the cyclotron 21. The extracted charged particle beam has an integrated structure so as to be guided to the irradiation field forming device 4 disposed on the second vertical plane (vertical plane) p22 and the beam irradiation port 4p at the tip thereof.

According to the above configuration, even in the case of the particle beam irradiation apparatus 2S in which the particle beam irradiation apparatus S of Embodiment 1 is applied to the cyclotron 21, the irradiation field forming apparatus 4 and the beam irradiation port 4p at the tip thereof are integrated with the cyclotron 21. Furthermore, since it rotates around the rotating shaft 2C, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.
Here, if the rotation axis 2C is an axis connecting the head and tail of the patient J to be irradiated, irradiation from any direction can be performed symmetrically on the patient J to be irradiated, so that irradiation can be performed easily and easily without adjustment. Yes.

  In the second embodiment, the case where the first vertical surface (vertical surface) p21 and the second vertical surface (vertical surface) p22 are defined has been described as an example. However, the irradiation field forming device 4 and the tip thereof are described. If the beam irradiation port 4p rotates around the rotation axis 2C integrally with the cyclotron 21, the first vertical plane (vertical plane) p21 and the second vertical plane (vertical plane) p22 do not need to be particularly defined.

<< Embodiment 3 >>
FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention viewed from the foot side of the patient to be irradiated, and FIG. 8B is the particle beam irradiation according to the third embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the apparatus from the patient's head side of irradiation object.
In the particle beam irradiation apparatus 3S according to the third embodiment, the irradiation field forming apparatus 34 and the beam irradiation port 34p at the tip of the irradiation field forming apparatus 34 are arranged in a plane formed by the circular orbit of the annular accelerator 31.
Since the configuration other than this is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same configuration is denoted by the same reference numeral, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The particle beam irradiation apparatus 3S includes a first vertical plane (vertical plane) p1 on which a trajectory around the charged particle beam of the annular accelerator 31 in the first embodiment is arranged, an irradiation field forming apparatus 34, and a beam irradiation port at the tip thereof. The second vertical plane (vertical plane) p2 on which 34p is disposed is the same common vertical plane (vertical plane) p31.

  Therefore, the charged particle beam is extracted inside (inward) from the beam orbit in the same vertical plane (vertical plane) p31 by the deflection electromagnet 33a of the beam transport means 33. And the taken-out charged particle beam is made into the equipment layout integratedly designed as an integral structure so that it may guide to the irradiation field formation apparatus 34 arrange | positioned on the same perpendicular surface (vertical surface) p31.

  In this respect, the configuration is such that a charged particle beam is emitted inside (inward) the beam orbit of the annular accelerator 31 that is a synchrotron and guided to an irradiation field forming device 34 installed on the same vertical plane (vertical plane) p31. It can be said that this is a modified embodiment of the first embodiment.

According to the said structure, since the irradiation field formation apparatus 34 has been arrange | positioned inside the annular accelerator 31, the particle beam irradiation apparatus 3S can be reduced in size. Therefore, the installation space and floor area of the particle beam irradiation apparatus 3S can be reduced.
Further, the number of deflection electromagnets of the beam transport means 33 is reduced by one compared to the first and second embodiments, and only one deflection electromagnet 33a is required, so that the cost can be reduced.
The operational effects of the first embodiment are similarly achieved.

<< Modification >>
FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically showing a particle beam irradiation apparatus according to a modification of the present invention.
In the particle beam irradiation apparatus S of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an example in which the annular accelerator 1 is arranged around the rotating mount T on a plane perpendicular to the rotating axis C, the rotating axis C being the central axis thereof. Explained.
The particle beam irradiation apparatus 4 </ b> S according to the modified example is configured such that an annular accelerator 41 is installed around the rotating mount T in a posture inclined with respect to the rotation axis C.
Since the configuration other than this is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same configuration is denoted by the same reference numeral, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

In the modification, as in the first embodiment, rotating means r1, r2, r3, r4 having turning rollers and motors for driving the turning rollers are installed on the pedestals d1, d2, and the cylindrical rotating stand T is the rotating means. It is supported by r1, r2, r3, r4 and rotated.
The annular accelerator 41 of the particle beam irradiation apparatus 4S is fixed while being inclined with respect to the rotation axis C of the cylindrical rotary mount T. Further, the incident accelerator 2 (ion source 2A, linear accelerator 2B), the beam transport means 3, the irradiation field forming device 4 and the like (not shown) similar to the embodiment are fixed to the rotary mount T integrally with the annular accelerator 41.

The patient J to be irradiated is laid such that the axis connecting the head and tail is the rotation axis C.
Then, the rotating base T is rotated by the rotating means r1, r2, r3, r4, so that the irradiation target patient J is irradiated with the particle beam from an arbitrary direction.
The annular accelerator 41 can be attached with an arbitrary inclination with respect to the rotation axis C.

Also in the modified particle beam irradiation apparatus 4S, around the rotation axis C, the incident accelerator 2 (ion source 2A, linear accelerator 2B), beam transport means 3, irradiation field forming apparatus 4 and the like are integrated with the annular accelerator 41. The patient J to be irradiated is irradiated with the particle beam, so that the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.
Further, in the modification, the annular accelerator 41 is installed to be inclined with respect to the rotation axis C. Therefore, when the space for installing the particle beam irradiation device 4S is an existing building and the installation space is limited, the annular accelerator 41 is installed. Since it can be installed at an arbitrary angle, the annular accelerator 41 is easy to install. Therefore, the degree of freedom for installing the particle beam irradiation apparatus 4S is high.

  When the beam line bi1 (shown by a solid line in FIG. 9) carrying the particle beam to the patient J to be irradiated is guided outside the annular accelerator 41, the rotation means r1, r2 and the rotation means r3, r4 There is a need to arrange all the devices of the particle beam irradiation apparatus 4S between them. However, if the beam line bi2 (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 9) for carrying the particle beam to the patient J to be irradiated is guided to the inside of the annular accelerator 41, all the devices of the particle beam irradiation device 4S are not necessarily rotated. , R2 and the rotation means r3, r4 are not necessarily arranged.

<< Other Embodiments >>
1. The rotation axes C and 2C around which the annular accelerators 1, 31, 41 and the cyclotron 21 of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S (21S, 31S, 41S) rotate are, as shown in FIG. 10, the annular accelerators 1, 31, 41 and the cyclotron. It may be arranged at any position within the trajectory T (shown by hatching in FIG. 10) around which the 21 particle beam circulates. FIG. 10 is a front view schematically showing the position of the rotation axis around which the annular accelerator and the cyclotron rotate.

2. The rotation axes C and 2C around which the annular accelerators 1, 31, and 41 and the cyclotron 21 rotate may have any angle and face in any direction as shown by the rotation axis 4C in FIG. (See FIG. 11). FIG. 11 is a perspective view when the rotation axis of the annular accelerator is tilted.
For example, by setting the rotation axis C to a direction closer to the horizontal direction than the vertical direction, the circular orbit of the charged particle beam of the annular accelerator 1, 31, 41 or the cyclotron 21 is in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis C. The annular accelerators 1, 31, 41 and the cyclotron 21 can be placed vertically in a vertically long space (see FIGS. 2, 5, 7, and 8).

  Further, for example, the rotation axis C is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction (angle θ = 45 degrees in FIG. 11), and the annular accelerators 1, 31, 41 and the cyclotron 21 are moved 135 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction. By inclining the angle, the space in the diagonal direction of the installation space of the particle beam irradiation apparatus S (21S, 31S, 41S) can be effectively used to arrange the annular accelerators 1, 31, 41 and the cyclotron 21.

3. The rotation axes C, 2C, and 4C of the annular accelerators 1, 31, and 41 and the cyclotron 21 do not necessarily coincide with the axis that connects the head and tail of the patient J to be irradiated, but from the viewpoint of ease of irradiation and simplicity. Most preferably, the rotation axes C, 2C, 4C and the axis connecting the head and tail of the patient J to be irradiated coincide with each other.

4). If the rotation axis C is arranged in a substantially horizontal direction and the beam orbit of the annular accelerators 1, 31, 41 and cyclotron 21 is substantially perpendicular to the rotation axes C, 2C, the particle beam irradiation apparatus can be designed and manufactured. Easy.

5. In the first to third embodiments and modifications, various configurations have been described. However, the configurations may be appropriately selected and combined.

6). The first to third embodiments and modified examples have been described by taking an example of the configuration of the present invention, and various specific forms can be adopted within the configuration described in the claims.

1, 31, 41 Annular accelerator (synchrotron)
2 Accelerator for injection 2A Ion source 4, 24, 34, 44 Irradiation field forming part 4p, 24p, 34p, 44p Irradiation part 21 Cyclotron C, 2C Rotating axis J Patient (irradiation object)
k Trajectory of particle beam S, 2S, 3S, 4S Particle beam irradiation device T Rotating mount (Rotating structure)

Claims (10)

An incident accelerator that accelerates charged particles generated by the ion source;
An annular accelerator for accelerating the charged particle beam sent from the incident accelerator to a predetermined energy;
An irradiation field forming unit that forms an irradiation field for irradiating an irradiation target with a charged particle beam emitted from the annular accelerator,
The annular accelerator, the incident accelerator, the irradiation field forming unit, and the irradiation unit rotate integrally around the same rotation axis. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus of Claim 1,
The rotation axis is an axis connecting the head and tail of the irradiation target. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2,
The rotation axis is arranged at a position penetrating the trajectory of the particle beam in the annular accelerator. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The rotation axis is a direction closer to the horizontal direction than the vertical direction. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The rotation axis is a substantially horizontal direction. A particle beam irradiation apparatus characterized by things. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A beam irradiation orbit of the annular accelerator is substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The rotation axis is a central axis that forms the annular accelerator. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The said irradiation field formation part and the said irradiation part are arrange | positioned inside the said annular accelerator. The particle beam irradiation apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The particle beam irradiation apparatus, wherein the incident accelerator, the annular accelerator, the irradiation field forming unit, and the irradiation unit are integrally fixed to a rotating structure that rotates about the rotation axis. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The annular accelerator is a synchrotron or a cyclotron.

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