JP4984906B2 - Charged particle beam irradiation equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, by placing the mounting table mounting the object to be irradiated to a predetermined position of the irradiation chamber, relates to a charged particle beam irradiation apparatus for irradiating a charged particle beam to the irradiation object.

Conventionally, as a charged particle beam irradiation apparatus that irradiates a charged particle beam, for example, a proton beam therapy apparatus that treats a tumor by irradiating a proton beam is known. In the treatment of such a tumor, it is necessary to formulate an irradiation plan such as an absolute dose, a dose distribution, and an irradiation position according to the shape and position of the tumor, and perform irradiation with a charged particle beam with high accuracy according to this irradiation plan. When irradiating a patient with a proton beam, the accuracy of the irradiation position is particularly important in order to avoid irradiation of important organs, brain stem, optic nerve, spinal cord and the like. And the proton beam therapy apparatus applied to the treatment of such a tumor is equipped with the irradiation chamber (rotating gantry) which has a proton beam irradiation part rotatable around a patient, The freedom degree of movement of a proton beam irradiation part (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 11-47287 A

  Here, in recent years, in charged particle beam irradiation apparatuses, it is desired to improve the accuracy of the irradiation position of the charged particle beam, and there is a need to improve the positioning accuracy of the irradiated object in the irradiation chamber.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a charged particle beam irradiation apparatus which improves the positioning accuracy of an irradiated object in an irradiation chamber.

The charged particle beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention is a charge in which a mounting table on which an object to be irradiated is placed is arranged at a predetermined position in an irradiation chamber constituted by a rotating gantry , and the object to be irradiated is irradiated with a charged particle beam. In the particle beam irradiation apparatus, a first detector that detects annihilation γ-rays generated from an irradiation target position that is a position where the radiopharmaceutical injected into the irradiation object reaches, and annihilation γ-rays generated by the first detector Irradiation target position detecting means for detecting the irradiation target position based on the detection result, a charged particle beam attached to the rotating gantry and capable of rotating around the mounting table and irradiated to the irradiated object, and nuclei in the irradiated body A second detector for detecting annihilation γ-rays from positron emission nuclei generated by the nuclear reaction of the nuclei, and charged particles for detecting the arrival position of charged particle beams based on the detection results of annihilation γ-rays by the second detector Line arrival置検detecting means and, irradiation control unit for adjusting the beam of the charged particle beam so that the detected illuminated target position by the detected charged particle beam arrival position and the target position detection unit by the charged particle beam arrival position detecting means matches It is characterized in that it comprises, when.

According to the charged particle beam irradiation apparatus configured as described above, annihilation γ rays generated from the arrival position of the radiopharmaceutical injected into the irradiation object are detected by the first detector in the irradiation chamber. Based on the detection result of the annihilation γ rays by the detector, the irradiation target position that is the arrival position of the radiopharmaceutical can be detected. Thereby, the irradiation target position can be detected while the irradiated object is placed on the mounting table in the irradiation chamber. In addition, according to the charged particle beam irradiation apparatus, the annihilation γ-rays from the positron emission nuclei generated by the nuclear reaction between the charged particle beam irradiated to the irradiated body and the nuclei in the irradiated body in the irradiation chamber are second. The arrival position of the actually irradiated charged particle beam can be detected based on the detection result of the annihilation γ-ray detected by the second detector. For this reason, since the irradiation target position and the arrival position of the actually irradiated charged particle beam can be confirmed in the irradiation chamber, the positional deviation between the irradiation target position and the actual irradiation position of the charged particle beam has been reached. Can be corrected, and the irradiated object can be positioned at an appropriate position. As a result, the positioning accuracy of the irradiated object is improved. An irradiation control unit that adjusts the beam of the charged particle beam so that the charged particle beam arrival position detected by the charged particle beam arrival position detection unit and the irradiation target position detected by the target position detection unit coincide with each other. By further providing, the beam of the charged particle beam can be appropriately adjusted according to the arrival position of the actually irradiated charged particle beam. Further, since the second detector is attached to the rotating gantry and can be rotated around the mounting table, the second detector is rotated around the irradiated object mounted on the mounting table in accordance with the rotation of the rotating gantry. It can be rotated, and the annihilation gamma ray can be measured immediately after the irradiation with the charged particle beam. Further, it is not necessary to provide a separate rotation drive unit for the second detector. Further, since the second detector rotates in synchronization with the rotating gantry, it is possible to detect annihilation γ-rays while maintaining the positional relationship between the second detector and the charged particle beam irradiation unit in the rotation direction. .

  Here, it is preferable to further include a mounting table controller that adjusts the position of the mounting table so that the irradiation target position detected by the irradiation target position detection unit is irradiated with the charged particle beam. Thereby, according to an irradiation target position, a mounting base can be appropriately positioned.

  Moreover, it is preferable to further include an X-ray fluoroscopic image acquisition means for acquiring an X-ray fluoroscopic image of the irradiated object. Thereby, it becomes possible to confirm the target irradiation position in the irradiated body using the X-ray fluoroscopic image, and the positioning accuracy of the irradiated body can be further improved.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the irradiation chamber has a charged particle beam irradiation unit that can rotate around the irradiated object. Thereby, the freedom degree of a movement of a charged particle beam irradiation part is improved.

According to the charged particle beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention, in the irradiation chamber, irradiating the target position, and so actually it is possible to confirm the arrival position of the irradiated charged particle beam actually irradiated and the irradiation target position The positional deviation of the arrival position of the charged particle beam thus corrected can be corrected to arrange the irradiated object at an appropriate position, and the positioning accuracy of the irradiated object in the irradiation chamber can be improved.

  Hereinafter, a preferred first embodiment of a charged particle beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the description of the drawings, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. This embodiment demonstrates the case where a charged particle beam irradiation apparatus is used as a proton beam therapy apparatus.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the proton beam therapy apparatus 100 is an apparatus that irradiates a tumor (irradiation target) P in the body of a patient (irradiated body) 51 with a proton beam (charged particle beam). .

  The proton beam treatment apparatus 100 includes a proton beam irradiation unit (charged particle beam irradiation unit) 1 that is attached to a rotating gantry 103 (irradiation chamber) and is rotatable around a treatment table (mounting table) 105. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the proton beam irradiation unit 1 is arranged in order in the proton beam irradiation direction A, and sequentially passes the proton beam and shapes the beam, the scatterer 5, the ridge filter unit 7, and the fine degrader. 9, the block collimator 11, the bolus 13, the multi-leaf collimator 15, and the irradiation control part 17 which controls the drive of each part of an apparatus are provided.

  A proton beam generated by a cyclotron 3 functioning as a proton beam generator is sent to the proton beam irradiation unit 1 through a transport device. Then, by passing the thin proton beam that has been fed through, for example, a scatterer (beam expanding portion) 5 made of lead having a thickness of several millimeters, the beam is expanded in a direction perpendicular to the irradiation direction A, and a wide beam is obtained. Expanding.

  The proton beam from the scatterer 5 has a ridge filter portion (peak adjustment) for distributing the proton beam energy depth corresponding to the thickness of the tumor P in the patient 51 (length in the irradiation direction A). The light is incident on the filter unit 7. The ridge filter portion 7 has a plurality of filters 7a in which metal rods whose thickness changes stepwise are arranged in a bowl shape, and the plurality of filters 7a have different protons due to differences in the shape of the metal rods. An extended Bragg peak (hereinafter referred to as “SOBP”) of the line is formed. The ridge filter unit 7 is driven by the control of the irradiation control unit 17 and has a mechanism for inserting a filter appropriately selected from the plurality of filters 7a into a proton beam passing position. With this configuration, the ridge filter unit 7 can selectively change the filter 7a that passes the proton beam, and can adjust the width and position of the SOBP peak of the proton beam.

  The proton beam that has passed through the ridge filter unit 7 adjusts the beam energy in accordance with the depth of the tumor P in the patient body 51 to be treated, and a fine degrader (beam energy) for adjusting the maximum reachable depth. The light is incident on the adjusting unit 9. The fine degrader 9 is composed of, for example, two wedge-shaped opposing acrylic blocks 9a and 9b. By adjusting the overlapping of the blocks 9a and 9b under the control of the irradiation control unit 17, the proton beam is generated. The thickness of the passing part can be continuously changed. The proton beam loses energy in accordance with the thickness of the substance that has passed through, and the depth that the proton beam reaches within the patient 51 changes. Therefore, by adjusting the fine degrader 9, the position of the SOBP of the proton beam is changed to the tumor in the patient 51. It can be adjusted to the position of P in the depth direction (irradiation direction A).

  The proton beam that has passed through the fine degrader 9 is incident on a block collimator 11 for roughly shaping the planar shape of the proton beam (the shape viewed from the irradiation direction A). The reason why the block collimator 11 performs shaping in addition to the multi-leaf collimator 15 described later is to prevent secondary radiation from being generated by the block collimator 11 near the patient.

  The proton beam that has passed through the block collimator 11 is input to a bolus (compensation filter) 13 that is, for example, a resin-made irregular filter, and correction is performed regarding the cross-sectional shape of the maximum depth of the tumor P and tissue non-uniformity. . The shape of the bolus 13 is calculated based on the outline of the tumor and the electron density of the surrounding tissue obtained from, for example, X-ray CT data. By using such a bolus 13, the three-dimensional shape of the farthest part of the proton beam (the portion with the maximum reachable depth) is shaped according to the shape of the maximum depth portion of the tumor P. Concentration can be further enhanced.

  The proton beam passing through the bolus 13 is incident on a multi-leaf collimator (shape variable collimator) 15. The multi-leaf collimator 15 is configured by arranging two shielding portions 15a and 15b made of brass and having a large number of comb teeth with a width of several mm so that the tips of the comb teeth are abutted on the center. Then, under the control of the irradiation control unit 17, the shielding units 15 a and 15 b advance and retract each of the numerous comb teeth in the longitudinal direction, so that the multileaf collimator 15 is positioned at the opening 15 c through which the proton beam passes. And the shape can be changed.

  The proton beam beam that has passed through the multi-leaf collimator 15 is cut into a contour corresponding to the shape of the opening 15c. Therefore, the multi-leaf collimator 15 changes the shape of the opening 15c to change the desired shape of the incident proton beam. A plane position and a plane shape can be cut out. Thus, the proton beam cut out in a desired planar shape at a desired planar position is irradiated to the patient 51 as a therapeutic proton beam. Then, by changing the planar position and planar shape of the opening 15c of the multi-collimator 15 and repeating the irradiation while sequentially moving the irradiation field position in the horizontal direction (direction orthogonal to the irradiation direction A), the entire tumor P is protonated. Irradiate a line beam.

  Furthermore, this 1 proton beam irradiation part 1 is provided with the dose monitor 23 as a means to monitor the irradiation dose irradiated to the irradiation field. The dose monitor 23 is provided between the fine degrader 9 and the block collimator 11 and detects the dose of the proton beam that passes therethrough. The dose monitor 23 transmits the detected dose as the monitor signal s1 to the irradiation control unit 17, and the irradiation control unit 17 can recognize the irradiation dose irradiated to the irradiation field based on the monitor signal s1.

  In addition, the proton therapy apparatus 100 is provided with an X-ray imaging apparatus (X-ray fluoroscopic image acquisition means) that acquires X-ray fluoroscopic images of the patient 51. This X-ray imaging apparatus includes an X-ray generator and an X-ray detector that detects X-rays transmitted through the patient 51. These X-ray generator and X-ray detector are fixed to the rotating gantry 103 and are rotatable around the patient 51. In this embodiment, two X-ray generators are provided, and these X-ray generators are arranged at positions different by 90 degrees. An X-ray detector is disposed at a position facing the X-ray generator. The X-ray imaging apparatus can create an X-ray fluoroscopic image of the patient 51 based on the data detected by the X-ray detector, and can detect a bone and a metal marker to measure the position of the patient 51.

  Here, the proton therapy apparatus 100 is a PET apparatus having a pair of PET cameras (first detector and second detector) 30 attached to the rotating gantry 103 and capable of rotating around the treatment table 105. 31 is provided. That is, the PET camera 30 is rotatable around the X axis integrally with the proton beam irradiation unit 1 attached to the rotating gantry 103. In addition to the PET camera 30, the PET apparatus 31 includes an image processing unit, a recording unit, a display unit, and the like (not shown). The image processing unit performs image processing based on the image information acquired by the PET camera 30, and generates a PET image. The recording unit records the generated PET image and the like. The generated PET image is displayed by the display unit.

The PET cameras 30 are disposed on both sides of the patient 51 on the treatment table 105 and detect annihilation γ rays. Specifically, the patient 51 is administered (injected) with a radiopharmaceutical (for example, ¹¹ C methionine) that accumulates in the tumor P, and the PET camera 30 detects annihilation γ rays generated from the tumor P (the arrival position of the radiopharmaceutical). Is detected. The PET apparatus 31 functions as an irradiation target position detection unit that detects the position of the tumor P based on the detection result of the annihilation γ rays by the PET camera 30.

  Further, the PET camera 30 can detect annihilation γ-rays from the positron emission nucleus generated by the nuclear reaction between the incident proton nucleus of the proton beam irradiated to the patient 51 and the nucleus in the tumor P. Further, the PET apparatus 31 serves as a proton beam (charged particle beam) arrival position detection means for detecting the arrival position of the proton beam actually irradiated on the basis of the detection result of the annihilation γ rays by the PET camera 30 in the patient 51. It functions. That is, the PET apparatus 31 measures annihilation γ-rays from positron-emitting nuclides generated in the body by a mutual nuclear reaction between the incident proton nuclei of the proton beam used in the treatment and the nuclei in the patient 51, and generates each nuclides. By measuring the intensity distribution, the actual proton beam arrival position in the patient 51 can be detected.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the PET camera 30 is movable in the direction of the rotation center axis X (hereinafter referred to as “X axis”) of the rotating gantry 103 and is also movable in the Y axis direction orthogonal to the X axis. It is said that. A PET camera support portion 32 that supports each of the pair of PET cameras 30 includes a support member 33 extending in the X-axis direction, an X-axis direction moving member 34 that moves in the X-axis direction along the support member 33, A Y-axis direction extending member 35 provided at the tip 34a of the X-axis direction moving member 34 and extending in the Y-axis direction, and a Y-axis direction movement moving in the Y-axis direction along the Y-axis direction extending member 35 Member 36. The PET camera 30 is fixed to the Y-axis direction moving member 36, and is arranged so that the detection surfaces 30a face each other.

  The support member 33 is formed with an overhang portion 33 a that protrudes outward in the Y-axis direction, and this overhang portion 33 a is fixed to the frame 103 a (see FIG. 2) of the rotating gantry 103. The support member 33 is disposed on the back side (right side in the drawing) of the back panel 103 b of the rotating gantry 103. The support member 33 and the X-axis direction moving member 34 are formed with a slide guide 38 that guides the direction in which the X-axis direction moving member 34 moves, and the X-axis direction moving member 34 passes through the slide guide 38 in the X-axis direction. Is supported so as to be movable. The X-axis direction moving member 34 is driven by an air cylinder 37 fixed to the support member 33, and can reciprocate in the X-axis direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the Y-axis direction extending member 35 and the Y-axis direction moving member 36 are provided with a slide guide 39 for guiding the direction in which the Y-axis direction moving member 36 moves. Is supported through a slide guide 39 so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction. The Y-axis direction moving member 36 is driven by a motor 40 fixed to the Y-axis direction extending member 35, and can reciprocate in the Y-axis direction.

  The motor 40 is arranged such that its output shaft 41 extends in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction in FIG. 5) perpendicular to the X-axis and the Y-axis. The output shaft 41 is connected via a coupling 42 to a drive shaft 43 extending in the Z-axis direction. The drive shaft 43 is rotatably supported by the Y-axis direction extending member 35 by a pair of bearings 44. A gear 45 is provided between the pair of bearings 44 of the drive shaft 43. A brake 46 and a potentiometer 47 are installed at the end of the drive shaft 43 opposite to the coupling 42.

  A rack 48 that meshes with the gear 45 is formed in the Y-axis direction moving member 36 in the Y-axis direction. Then, by driving the motor 40 to rotate, the driving force is transmitted by the gear 45 and the rack 48, and the Y-axis direction moving member 36 reciprocates in the Y-axis direction. Thereby, the PET camera 30 can be brought close to the patient 51. By placing the PET camera 30 close to the patient, the detection accuracy of annihilation gamma rays is improved.

  The PET camera 30 can be stored on the back side of the back panel 103 b of the rotating gantry 103, and is driven by the air cylinder 37 and arranged on both sides of the patient 51 at the time of measurement.

  In addition, the proton therapy apparatus 100 includes a treatment table position control unit (mounting table control unit) that adjusts the position of the treatment table 105. The treatment table position control unit controls the position of the treatment table 105 based on the PET image acquired by the PET apparatus 31 and the X-ray fluoroscopic image acquired by the X-ray imaging apparatus. The position of the treatment table 105 is adjusted so that a proton beam is irradiated to the tumor P of the patient 51 on 105.

  The irradiation control unit 17 refers to the information stored in the tumor map (target object map) 19 created based on the three-dimensional shape of the tumor P of the patient 51, in particular, the ridge filter unit 7, the fine degrader 9, And the operation of the multi-leaf collimator 15. Here, the bolus 13 prepared in advance is set at a predetermined position so that the shape of the farthest part of the irradiation field is shaped corresponding to the complicated shape of the maximum depth portion of the tumor. Yes.

  Further, the irradiation control unit 17 performs proton beam adjustment according to the arrival position of the proton beam detected by the PET apparatus. That is, the irradiation control unit 17 controls the operations of the ridge filter unit 7, the fine degrader 9, and the multi-leaf collimator 15 so that the actual arrival position of the proton beam in the patient 51 matches the position of the tumor P. Then adjust the proton beam.

  Next, a proton beam irradiation method (charged particle beam irradiation method) using the thus configured proton beam treatment apparatus 100 will be described.

When the proton beam therapy apparatus 100 is not used, the PET camera 30 is housed on the back side of the back panel 103b. Here, as an example, proton beam therapy for a patient with a brain tumor will be described. First, the patient 51 is laid on the treatment table 105 in the rotating gantry 103. The longitudinal direction of the patient 51 is arranged along the X-axis direction. Next, ¹¹ C methionine is administered to the patient 51 (S1), and it waits for ¹¹ C methionine to accumulate in the brain tumor (S2). Subsequently, annihilation γ rays released from ¹¹ C methionine accumulated in the brain tumor are measured by the PET camera 30 (first detection step, S3). At this time, the air cylinder 37 is driven, the PET camera 30 is moved in the X-axis direction and arranged on both sides of the patient 51, and the motor 40 is driven to move the PET camera 30 in the Y-axis direction. Adjust the interval between 30. When performing three-dimensional image measurement, the rotating gantry 103 is rotated to measure annihilation gamma rays.

  Next, based on the measurement result by the PET camera 30, a PET image is created to detect the position of the brain tumor (irradiation target position detection step, S4). Subsequently, fluoroscopic imaging is performed by an X-ray imaging apparatus to create an X-ray image of the patient 51 (X-ray fluoroscopic image acquisition process), and the positions of bones and metal markers are confirmed. Note that the order of PET imaging and X-ray imaging may be interchanged, and imaging may be performed multiple times alternately. Further, as necessary, the rotary gantry 103 is rotated to change the positions of the X-ray generator and the X-ray detector.

  Next, an irradiation plan is made based on the PET image and the X-ray image (S6). Here, as the irradiation plan, for example, the absolute dose, the dose distribution, the position of the patient 51, etc. are determined. Subsequently, based on the determined irradiation plan, the position of the treatment table 105 is adjusted (mounting table position adjustment step, S7), and the patient 51 is placed at an appropriate position.

  Next, beam adjustment is performed according to the determined irradiation plan, the rotating gantry 103 is rotated as necessary, the position of the proton beam irradiation unit 1 is changed, and the proton beam is irradiated once toward the tumor (S8). ). Then, the annihilation γ-rays from the positron emission nuclei generated by the nuclear reaction between the irradiated proton beam and the nuclei in the patient 51 are measured by the PET camera 30 (second detection step, S9). At this time, the PET cameras 30 are moved in the Y-axis direction so as to approach each other, and the PET camera 30 is brought close to the patient 51 to detect annihilation γ rays. Further, the measurement may be performed by rotating the PET camera 30. Subsequently, based on the measurement result by the PET camera 30, a PET image is created, the arrival position of the proton beam in the body of the patient 51 is detected, and the actual irradiation field is confirmed (charged particle beam arrival position detection step, S10). .

  Next, the arrival position of the actually irradiated proton beam in the patient 51 is compared with the irradiation target position (tumor position) according to the irradiation plan. The beam is adjusted so as to be irradiated within the allowable range (beam adjustment step, S11). After the beam adjustment is completed, a proton beam is irradiated (S12). In addition, you may implement S8-S11 again.

  According to such a proton beam treatment apparatus 100, the rotating gantry 103 is provided with the PET camera 30, and is generated by the nuclear reaction between the incident proton nucleus of the irradiated proton beam and the nucleus in the tumor. The annihilation γ-rays from the positron emitting nuclei can be measured, so the arrival position of the actually irradiated proton beam can be confirmed. That is, the arrival position of the proton beam can be detected while irradiating the proton beam during treatment. Further, since the PET camera 30 is fixed to the rotating gantry 103, the PET camera 30 can be rotated around the patient 51 in accordance with the rotation of the rotating gantry 103, and the annihilation γ-rays immediately after the proton beam is irradiated. Measurements can be made. In addition, the degree of freedom of movement of the PET camera 30 is improved, three-dimensional measurement can be performed using the miniaturized PET camera 30, and there is no need to provide another rotation driving unit for the PET camera 30. . Further, since the PET camera 30 rotates in synchronization with the proton beam irradiation unit 1, it is possible to detect annihilation γ rays while maintaining the positional relationship between the PET camera 30 and the proton beam irradiation unit 1 in the rotation direction. It is said that.

  The PET camera 30 can be moved in the X-axis direction and can be stored on the back side of the back panel 103 b of the rotating gantry 103. Thus, by moving the PET camera 30 in the X-axis direction, the detection range of the PET camera 30 can be expanded. Further, by appropriately moving the PET camera 30, the PET camera 30 does not hinder the rotation of the proton beam irradiation unit 1. Furthermore, the PET camera 30 does not get in the way when the patient 51 is carried into and out of the rotating gantry 103. Further, since the PET camera 30 can be moved in accordance with the size of the irradiated object, it is easy to confirm the irradiation position of a desired part.

  Further, since the PET camera 30 can move in the direction (Y-axis direction) that sandwiches the patient 51 and the distance between the PET cameras 30 can be arbitrarily changed, the PET camera 30 can be moved in the Y-axis direction. By making it approach 51, the detection accuracy of annihilation gamma rays can be improved.

  Conventionally, for example, in the case of radiation therapy for brain tumors, the patient's head has been fixed using a fixing tool in order to realize the positioning of the patient with high accuracy, which has been a heavy burden on the patient. In the proton beam irradiation apparatus and the proton beam irradiation method according to the present invention, the position of the tumor can be confirmed using the PET camera 30 while the patient 51 is laid on the treatment table 105 in the irradiation chamber. The patient 51 can be positioned at an appropriate position by correcting the positional deviation from the arrival position of the irradiated proton beam. Thereby, since positioning of a patient can be performed with high precision, simplification of patient fixation is achieved and the burden on the patient can be reduced.

  Next, a proton beam therapy apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The proton beam treatment apparatus according to the second embodiment is different from the proton beam treatment apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment in that the PET camera 60 according to the second embodiment can further rotate around the Y axis, and the PET camera 60. This is that the shape of the detection surface 60a is different.

  The PET camera support unit 61 that supports the PET camera 60 includes a camera fixing unit 62 that fixes the PET camera 60 to the inner end 36 a of the Y-axis direction moving member 36. A motor 63 that rotationally drives the PET camera 60 is attached to the camera fixing unit 62. The motor 63 has an output shaft 64 arranged along the Y-axis direction. A PET camera 60 is connected to the output shaft 64 of the motor 63 and is rotatable about the Y axis.

  The detection surface 60a of the PET camera 60 is curved in an arc shape, and the pair of detection surfaces 60a are disposed to face each other. The PET camera 60 is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is along the X-axis direction during storage and when moving in the X-axis direction (state shown in FIG. 9). When measuring γ rays, the PET camera 60 is arranged so that the center axis of the arc is parallel to the X-axis direction. Note that the rotation of the PET camera 60 is stopped at a position that is not parallel to the X-axis direction, and measurement from various angles is also possible.

  Even if comprised in this way, the effect similar to the proton beam treatment apparatus 100 of 1st Embodiment can be acquired, and in addition, since the PET camera 60 can be rotated around the Y axis, the movement of the PET camera 60 can be reduced. The degree of freedom is further improved, the irradiation position can be measured from various directions, and the measurement accuracy is improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, the PET camera is configured to be rotatable about the X axis, but may be configured not to rotate about the X axis, or may be configured to be rotatable in other directions. Further, although the PET cameras are configured to be movable in a direction approaching each other, the PET cameras may be configured not to move in a direction approaching each other. Moreover, although the PET camera is moved using an air cylinder and a motor, the PET camera may be moved using another driving device such as a hydraulic cylinder. Further, the movement in the X-axis direction and the movement in the Y-axis direction of the PET camera may not be moved linearly, but may be moved in a curved shape or an arc shape.

  In the above embodiment, the PET camera is attached to the rotating gantry and is rotatable around the X axis integrally with the proton beam irradiation unit. However, the PET camera is rotated integrally with the rotating gantry and the proton beam irradiation unit. You don't have to. For example, a separate driving device for rotationally driving the PET camera may be provided, and the PET camera may be rotated so as to follow the rotation of the rotating gantry and the proton beam irradiation unit. The PET camera may be rotated regardless.

  In the above embodiment, an X-ray apparatus is provided and X-ray imaging is performed. However, X-ray imaging may be omitted. In the above embodiment, the radiopharmaceutical is methionine, but other radiopharmaceuticals may be applied depending on the irradiation target. Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the brain tumor, you may apply with respect to another tumor.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although this invention is applied to the proton beam irradiation apparatus which irradiates a proton beam, this invention is applicable also to other charged particle beam irradiation apparatuses, such as a carbon beam irradiation apparatus. .

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the 1st detector and the 2nd detector are made into the same PET camera, it is good also as a structure provided with a separate PET camera.

1 is a perspective view showing a proton beam therapy apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the proton beam therapy apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows each element which comprises the proton beam irradiation part in FIG. It is a top view which shows the PET camera in FIG. 1, and a PET camera support part. It is a VV arrow line view of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the proton beam irradiation method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the PET camera of the proton beam therapy apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and a PET camera support part. It is a VIII-VIII arrow line view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Proton beam irradiation part (charged particle beam irradiation part), 17 ... Irradiation control part, 30 ... PET camera (1st detector, 2nd detector), 51 ... Patient (irradiated body), 100 ... Proton Line therapy device, 103 ... Rotating gantry (irradiation chamber), 105 ... Treatment table (mounting table), P ... Tumor (irradiation target), X ... X-axis direction, Y ... Y-axis direction.

Claims (4)

In a charged particle beam irradiation apparatus in which a mounting table on which an object to be irradiated is placed is arranged at a predetermined position in an irradiation chamber constituted by a rotating gantry , and the charged particle beam is irradiated to the object to be irradiated.
A first detector for detecting annihilation γ-rays generated from an irradiation target position, which is a position where a radiopharmaceutical injected into the irradiated body has reached;
Irradiation target position detection means for detecting the irradiation target position based on the detection result of the annihilation γ-ray by the first detector;
The gantry is attached to the rotating gantry and can be rotated around the mounting table, and from a positron emitting nucleus generated by a nuclear reaction between a charged particle beam irradiated on the irradiated object and a nucleus in the irradiated object. A second detector for detecting annihilation gamma rays;
Charged particle beam arrival position detection means for detecting a charged particle beam arrival position based on the detection result of annihilation γ rays by the second detector;
An irradiation control unit that adjusts the charged particle beam so that the charged particle beam arrival position detected by the charged particle beam arrival position detection unit matches the irradiation target position detected by the target position detection unit; ,
A charged particle beam irradiation apparatus comprising:   The charge according to claim 1, further comprising a mounting table control unit that adjusts the position of the mounting table so that the irradiation target position detected by the irradiation target position detection unit is irradiated with a charged particle beam. Particle beam irradiation device.   The charged particle beam irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising X-ray fluoroscopic image acquisition means for acquiring an X-ray fluoroscopic image of the irradiated object. The charged particle beam irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation chamber includes a charged particle beam irradiation unit that is rotatable around the irradiated object.

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