JP6511110B2 - Particle beam irradiation system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a particle beam irradiation system suitable for particle beam therapy using charged particle beams (ion beams) such as protons and heavy ions, and which can realize change control of beam energy and update of operation cycle in a short time. on line irradiation system.

  BACKGROUND ART As radiation treatment for cancer, particle beam therapy is known in which an affected area of a patient's cancer is irradiated with an ion beam such as proton or heavy ion to treat. As an ion beam irradiation method, there is a scanning irradiation method as disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1.

  In addition, as a control method for realizing change control of beam energy required by the scanning irradiation method in a short time when a synchrotron is adopted as an ion beam generator, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2 and Non-patent Document 2 As disclosed, there is a multistage extraction control operation that realizes irradiation of ion beams of a plurality of energies within one operation cycle with an ion synchrotron.

Patent No. 4873563 gazette JP 2011-124149 A

Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 64, Vol. 8 (August 1993), pp. 2084- 20 (REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS VOLUME 64 NUMBER 8 (AUGUST 1993) P 2074-2093) Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 624 (September 2010), pp. 33-38 (Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 624 (2010) 33-38)

  In the scanning irradiation method, irradiation control to the irradiation field in the depth direction of the affected part (hereinafter referred to as a layer) is realized by controlling the energy of the ion beam to be irradiated. Therefore, in order to improve the dose rate when the scanning irradiation method is applied, it is necessary to realize the energy change of the ion beam supplied from the ion beam generator in a short time. Further, in the scanning irradiation method, since it is necessary to control the beam energy to be irradiated according to the size (depth from the body surface) of the affected area, the energy of the beam to be irradiated for each patient to be irradiated or for each irradiated area You need to control the combination.

  When a synchrotron is employed as an ion beam generator, a series of operations such as incidence, acceleration, extraction and deceleration are controlled as one operation cycle. As in the scanning irradiation method, when repeatedly performing the energy change control of the ion beam, the synchrotron needs to update the operation cycle, so there is a problem that it takes time to change the energy. As a countermeasure against this, a multistage emission operation of emitting beams of a plurality of energy within one operation cycle as shown in Patent Document 1 and Non-patent Document 2 is shown. For example, Non-Patent Document 2 prepares operation control data in which all the energy ranges that can be irradiated by synchrotron are integrated into one, and extend the flat top and emit the beam only by the energy to irradiate the beam. It becomes possible to irradiate the affected area with a beam of all the energy to be irradiated in one operation control. Furthermore, since all energy beams can be irradiated by one operation control, the synchrotron can always realize irradiation with the same operation control data, so that the operation control of the synchrotron in the particle beam therapy system is simplified. There is.

  However, to effectively realize the operation control shown in Patent Document 1 and Non-patent Document 2, all energy to be irradiated to the affected area in one operation cycle with respect to the accumulated beam charge amount of the synchrotron A sufficient amount of charge for the irradiation of For example, if the accumulated beam charge amount necessary for treatment irradiation can not be obtained due to some cause during acceleration control of the synchrotron, the accumulated beam charge amount in the synchrotron will be depleted halfway in the irradiation energy range set in advance. When the accumulated beam charge amount in the synchrotron is depleted, it is necessary to interrupt the irradiation of the ion beam, transition from extraction control to deceleration control, and update the operation control of the synchrotron. When applying operation control data in which all the energy ranges that can be irradiated by the synchrotron are integrated into one as operation control data of the synchrotron, the transition from the emission energy concerned directly to deceleration control to secure continuity of the set value Can not. Therefore, it is necessary to update the energy change control data between the emission energy and the deceleration control. The time for the transition from the output energy to the deceleration control is one of the factors that can not reduce the dose rate and shorten the treatment time. Similarly, there is a problem that it is not possible to make a direct transition to the deceleration control from the emission energy even when an abnormality occurs in the device constituting the particle beam therapy system and the irradiation of the ion beam is interrupted.

  In addition, when applying operation control data that combines all the energy ranges that can be irradiated by synchrotron into one, the absorbed dose range (Spread-Out Bragg Peak) or less according to the thickness of the affected area, SOBP and Under irradiation conditions where the notation is narrow, the control time from the incident beam energy of the synchrotron to the irradiation start energy and the irradiation end energy to the deceleration end energy are dead times that do not contribute to the beam irradiation with respect to the irradiation time of the beam. Because the proportion of control time tends to increase, beam irradiation in the desired energy range can not be performed in a short operation cycle, which may also be mentioned as one of the factors that can not reduce the dose rate and shorten the treatment time. . Since the SOBP differs depending on the patient and the affected area to be irradiated, the irradiation energy necessary for forming a predetermined SOBP is selected as the operation control data of the synchrotron, and the update control of the operation control data corresponding to the selected irradiation energy is It will be necessary.

  In Patent Document 2, a current reference conversion for obtaining a magnetic field reference generation unit that outputs magnetic flux density information according to elapsed time and a coil current that generates a magnetic field according to magnetic flux density information regarding coil current excited in a magnetic field coil of an accelerator A controller of an accelerator with a head is shown. Then, by combining the magnetic flux density information output from the magnetic field reference generation unit with four types of patterns (initial increase pattern, decrease pattern, increase pattern, end pattern), beams of a plurality of energies within one operation cycle are output. A control method to realize the emission is shown. According to Patent Document 2, four types of magnetic flux density patterns are combined, and it is possible to emit ion beams of a plurality of energies within one operation cycle. Based on this function, it is possible to select the irradiation energy required to form a predetermined SOBP, while, on the other hand, the timing for selecting and outputting four types of patterns is written in advance to the timing control device. As in the document 1 and non-patent document 2, when the irradiation of the ion beam is interrupted, the outgoing energy can not be directly transitioned to the deceleration control, and the energy change control data between the outgoing energy and the deceleration control must be updated. For example, the problem that can not be transitioned to the deceleration control (end pattern in Patent Document 2) is not solved.

The object of the present invention is to realize the update of the operation cycle in a short time when the irradiation of the ion beam is interrupted in the multistage extraction control operation to realize the change control of the exit beam energy of the synchrotron in a short time, and the dose rate to provide a particle beam irradiation system to improve.

Another object of the present invention is a particle beam which improves the dose rate by performing beam irradiation in a desired energy range in a short operation cycle in multistage emission control operation to realize change control of emission beam energy of synchrotron in a short time It is to provide an illumination system.

Another object of the present invention, in a multistage extraction control operation to achieve in a short time to change control of the extraction beam energy of the synchrotron, suppresses the beam loss during energy change period, the particle beam irradiation system to improve the dose rate To provide.

In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims is adopted.
The present invention includes a plurality of means for solving the above problems, and an example thereof is a synchrotron that accelerates and emits an ion beam, and irradiation that irradiates the ion beam emitted from the synchrotron. Operation control data of the apparatus and the device constituting the synchrotron, one or more initial acceleration control data, a plurality of extraction control data for emitting ion beams of a plurality of energies, and a plurality of connection among the plurality of extraction control data energy change control data, the composed of a plurality a plurality of deceleration control data corresponding to the emission control data, said during a single operation cycle of the initial acceleration by the initial acceleration control data to the deceleration by the deceleration control data control for emitting the ion beam in the plurality of energy by the plurality of extraction control data and the energy change control data A particle beam irradiation system and a control unit for performing, the control device, when decelerating the ion beam, the selection of the deceleration control data corresponding to the emission control data during the operation cycle It features.

  According to the present invention, since the beam of desired irradiation energy can be irradiated in a short time, the treatment time can be shortened and the dose rate can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the beam loss at times other than the beam emission period, so that the beam utilization efficiency can be improved. And with the improvement of beam utilization efficiency, the treatment time can be shortened and the dose rate can be improved.

It is a figure showing composition of particle beam irradiation system which is one suitable example of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the irradiation apparatus by the scanning irradiation method which is one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the control data of the some apparatus which comprises the synchrotron which is one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the control system (control apparatus) which implement | achieves the multistage radiation | emission operation | movement which is one Example of this invention, and the information transmission between each apparatus. It is a figure which shows the irradiation preparation flow before starting the multistage radiation | emission operation | movement which is one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the control flow at the time of the multistage radiation | emission operation | movement which is one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an output of the control data at the time of multistage radiation | emission operation | movement by the combination of the control data shown in FIG. 3 which is one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an output of the control data at the time of multistage radiation | emission operation | movement by the combination of the control data shown in FIG. 3 which is one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the output example in the quadrupole electromagnet of the control data at the time of the multistage radiation | emission operation | movement by the combination of control data which is one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an output in the hexapole electromagnet of the control data at the time of the multistage radiation | emission operation | movement by the combination of control data which is one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the driving | operation sequence of the conventional synchrotron.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described using the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing the configuration of a particle beam irradiation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

  The particle beam irradiation system 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, includes an ion beam generator 11, a beam transport device 14, and an irradiation field forming device (irradiated particle beam irradiation device, hereinafter referred to as irradiation device) 30. The beam transport device 14 communicates the ion beam generator 11 with the irradiation device 30 disposed in the treatment room.

  The ion beam generator 11 comprises an ion source (not shown), a pre-accelerator 12 and a synchrotron 13. The ion source is connected to the pre-stage accelerator 12, and the pre-stage accelerator 12 is connected to the synchrotron 13. The pre-stage accelerator 12 accelerates the ion beam 10 generated by the ion source to an energy that can be injected into the synchrotron 13. The ion beam 10 a accelerated by the pre-stage accelerator 12 is incident on the synchrotron 13.

  The synchrotron 13 applies a high frequency voltage to the ion beam 10b circulating along the orbit, and accelerates the target energy by a high frequency accelerating device (high frequency accelerating cavity) 17, and betatron oscillation of the ion beam 10b orbiting The high-frequency electrode for emission 20a whose amplitude is to be increased, and the extraction deflector 20b for extracting the ion beam 10b from the orbit.

  The ion beam 10 b incident on the synchrotron 13 is accelerated by an accelerating high frequency voltage applied to the high frequency accelerating cavity 17 so that the ion beam 10 b is accelerated to a desired energy. At this time, the magnetic field strengths of the deflection electromagnet 18, the quadrupole electromagnet 19, the hexapole electromagnet 21 and the like according to the increase of the circulation energy of the ion beam 10b so that the circulation orbit of the ion beam 10b circulating in the synchrotron 13 becomes constant. And, the frequency of the high frequency voltage applied to the high frequency accelerating cavity 17 is increased.

  The ion beam 10b accelerated to a desired energy is controlled by the extraction condition setting control, and the excitation amount of the quadrupole electromagnet 19 and the hexapole electromagnet 21 is controlled to be a condition under which the ion beam 10b can be ejected (the stability limit condition of the orbital beam ) Is established. After the emission condition setting control is completed, an output high frequency voltage is applied to the high frequency electrode for output 20 a to increase the betatron vibration amplitude of the ion beam 10 b circulating in the synchrotron 13. Due to the increase of the betatron oscillation amplitude, the circulating ion beam 10 b exceeding the stability limit condition is emitted from the synchrotron 13 to the beam transport device 14 and transported to the irradiation device 30. The beam emission control from the synchrotron 13 can be realized at high speed by performing ON / OFF control of the high frequency voltage applied to the high frequency output electrode 20a.

  After the beam emission control from the synchrotron 13 is completed, the stability limit condition of the circulating ion beam 10b formed at the time of setting the extraction condition is controlled by controlling the excitation amount of the four pole electromagnet 19 and the six pole electromagnet 21 by emission condition cancellation control. To release.

  After completion of the emission condition cancellation control, the frequencies of the magnetic field of the deflection electromagnet 18, the quadrupole electromagnet 19, the hexapole electromagnet 21 and the like and the frequency of the high frequency voltage applied to the accelerating cavity 17 are lowered to make ions around the synchrotron 13. The beam 10b is decelerated to transition to the next operation cycle.

The irradiation device 30 controls the ion beam 10 c guided by the beam transport device 14 in accordance with the depth from the body surface of the patient 36 and the shape of the affected area, to the affected area 37 of the patient 36 on the treatment bed. Irradiate.
As the irradiation method, there is a scanning irradiation method (see page 2086 of Non-Patent Document 1, see FIG. 45 etc.), and the irradiation device 30 is based on the scanning irradiation method. Since the scanning irradiation method directly irradiates the affected area 37 with the ion beam 10d, the utilization efficiency of the ion beam 10d is high, and it is characterized in that the irradiation of the ion beam 10d conforming to the shape of the affected area is possible.

  The adjustment of the beam range in the depth direction of the affected area 37 realizes irradiation of a desired affected area 37 by changing the energy of the ion beam 10. In particular, in the scanning irradiation method, the irradiation treatment of the patient 36 is performed to adjust the range of the ion beam 10 to the depth of the affected area 37 by adjusting the energy of the ion beam 10b circulating in the synchrotron 13 and then emitting it. Multiple energy change control is required during that time. Further, as a beam irradiation method in the planar direction of the affected part, there are a spot scanning irradiation method, a raster scanning irradiation method, and the like. In the spot scanning irradiation method, the irradiation plane of the affected area 37 is divided into dose management areas called spots, the scanning is stopped for each spot, the beam is irradiated until the set irradiation dose 311 is reached, and then the beam is stopped. Move to the next irradiation spot position. As described above, the spot scanning irradiation method is an irradiation method in which the irradiation start position is updated for each spot. In the raster scanning irradiation method, a dose management area is set as in the spot scanning irradiation method, but the beam scanning is performed while scanning the scanning path without stopping the beam scanning for each spot. Therefore, the uniformity of the irradiation dose is improved by reducing the irradiation dose per one time and implementing the repainting irradiation which is performed multiple times repeatedly. As described above, the raster scanning irradiation method is an irradiation method in which the irradiation start position is updated for each scanning path. Also in the spot scanning method, similarly to the raster scanning method, the irradiation dose given at one irradiation to one spot position is set low, and the final irradiation dose is reached by scanning the irradiation plane a plurality of times. You may control as follows.

  The structure of the irradiation apparatus 30 is shown in FIG. The irradiation device 30 has scanning electromagnets 32a and 32b, and scans the beam with the scanning electromagnets 32a and 32b according to the shape of the diseased part on the affected part plane. The irradiation apparatus 30 also has a dose monitor 31 for measuring the irradiation dose 311 of the ion beam 10d to be irradiated to the patient 36 and a beam shape monitor (not shown), and the dose intensity and beam of the ion beam 10d to be irradiated by these Check the shape one by one. The ion beam 10 d scanned by the scanning electromagnet 32 is matched with the shape of the affected area 37 of the patient 36 by the collimator 34 to form an irradiation field.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the particle beam irradiation system 1 of the present embodiment includes a control system (control device) 100. The control device 100 plans an accelerator control device 40 that controls the ion beam generator 11 and the beam transport device 14, a general control device 41 that integrally controls the entire particle beam irradiation system 1, and a beam irradiation condition for the patient 36. The treatment planning unit 43, a storage unit 42 for storing information planned by the treatment planning unit 43, control information of the synchrotron 13 which is an ion beam generating unit and the beam transport unit 14, etc. The irradiation control unit 44 controls the irradiation dose of the ion beam 10d to be irradiated, the timing system 50 for realizing synchronous control of the devices constituting the synchrotron 13, and the general control unit 41 independent to secure the safety of the patient 36 The interlock system 60 controls the power supply 46 of each device constituting the synchrotron 13 And a control unit 45. The storage device 42 may be provided in the general control device 41 as a part of the general control device 41.

  The power source 46 is a generic term for power sources of a plurality of devices constituting the synchrotron 13. In FIG. 1, a power source 46B of the deflection electromagnet 18, a power source 46Q of the four pole electromagnet 19 and a power source 46S of the six pole electromagnet 21 as power sources of the plurality of devices. , The power supply 46F of the high frequency accelerating cavity 17 is shown. Similarly, the power control unit 45 is a generic term for a plurality of power control units corresponding to the power of a plurality of devices, and in FIG. 1 is a control unit 45B of the power supply 46B, a control unit 45Q of the power supply 46Q, and a control unit 45S of the power supply 46S. A controller 45F of the power supply 46F is shown.

Here, the matters examined by the present inventors will be described using the descriptions of the respective documents. The operation sequence of the conventional synchrotron 13 is shown in FIG.
The synchrotron 13 performs a series of control such as acceleration, emission, and deceleration in one operation cycle. Before and after the emission control, it is necessary to control the extraction condition setting control necessary for emitting the ion beam 10b in the synchrotron 13, such as the extraction condition setting and the emission condition cancellation, and the extraction condition cancellation control after the termination of the emission control. .

  In the conventional operation control of the synchrotron 13, control data in accordance with a series of control is prepared as pattern data in the memory of the power supply control device 45, and the power supply control device 45 controls the timing of the devices constituting the synchrotron 13. The control data is updated based on the timing signal 51 output from the timing system 50 that manages the

As shown in FIG. 9, since the synchrotron 13 controls from acceleration to deceleration in one operation cycle, in order to change the energy of the ion beam 10c to be emitted, the deceleration control is performed after the completion of the extraction control. After transition and decelerating the remaining beam, the operation cycle is updated. Then, the ion beam 10b is accelerated again after updating the operation cycle, thereby realizing change control to a desired energy.
Therefore, in the conventional operation control of the synchrotron 13, the energy change time of the ion beam 10b takes almost the same time as one operation cycle, so the treatment time becomes longer and the dose rate is improved. It was a challenge.

  As a countermeasure against this, there is shown a multistage emission operation in which beams of a plurality of energies are emitted within one operation cycle as shown in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2 and Non-patent Document 2 described above.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a multistage extraction control operation of an ion synchrotron that realizes the extraction of ion beams 10 of a plurality of energies within one operation cycle. Such multistage emission control operation can realize shortening of the energy change time in the scanning irradiation method.

  In addition, Non-Patent Document 2 includes step-like operation control data (p. 34, FIG. 2 of Non-Patent Document 2) including energy change control and extraction control corresponding to a plurality of energies emitted from the ion synchrotron. The operation (page 35 of FIG. 3 of nonpatent literature 2) which prepares beforehand and extends the flat part of the operation control data of the radiation | emission control part corresponding to the ion beam energy to radiate | emit is shown.

  As described in Non-Patent Document 2, when control for preparing operation control data capable of emitting a plurality of energies in advance as pattern data is applied, the amount of ion beam necessary to complete all irradiation is When it is stored in the synchrotron, there is an effect that the irradiation of all the energy can be completed in one operation cycle, but the amount of ion beam necessary to complete all the irradiation is accumulated in the synchrotron If not, it is necessary to execute the deceleration control after the ion beam amount is depleted, then update the operation cycle to perform the incidence and acceleration of the ion beam 10b again. At this time, since it is necessary to consider the continuity of the operation control data in order to make transition from emission control of the energy depleted in the ion beam 10 to deceleration control, the energy stored in the ion beam 10b is stored at a later stage than the energy depleted. It is necessary to update the operation control data of all existing energy change controls, and it is not possible to directly shift to the deceleration control from the operation control data. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes time to update the operation cycle of the synchrotron 13. Even in the case where an abnormality occurs in the devices constituting the particle beam irradiation system 1, there is a problem that it is not possible to directly shift to the deceleration control from the operation control data.

  In Patent Document 2, a current reference conversion for obtaining a magnetic field reference generation unit that outputs magnetic flux density information according to elapsed time and a coil current that generates a magnetic field according to magnetic flux density information regarding coil current excited in a magnetic field coil of an accelerator The control device of the accelerator provided with the unit is shown, among which the magnetic flux density information output by the magnetic field reference generation unit is combined with four types of patterns (initial raising pattern, decreasing pattern, increasing pattern, ending pattern). By outputting, there is shown a control method for achieving beam emission of a plurality of energy within one operation cycle. According to Patent Document 2, although four types of magnetic flux density patterns are combined, it is possible to emit a plurality of energy ion beams 10 within one operation cycle, while on the other hand, the combination order of these four types of patterns is synchrotron Since the timing signal for selecting and instructing the operation control data of is written in the timing control device in advance, it is not possible to directly transition to the deceleration control from the emission energy in order to secure the continuity of the set value. For this reason, it is not possible to quickly perform deceleration control at the time of beam exhaustion and equipment malfunction, so it takes time to update the operation cycle of the synchrotron. In addition, since the current reference converter sequentially outputs the excitation current of the deflection electromagnet and the quadrupole electromagnet while sequentially calculating it, it is necessary to change the calculation parameter each time the pattern is changed, which makes the device configuration and control means complicated. There is also.

  Further, Non-Patent Document 2 prepares operation control data in which all energy ranges that can be irradiated by synchrotron are integrated into one, and extend the flat top and emit the beam only with the energy to irradiate the beam. .

  As described above, in the conventional multistage emission operation method, after accelerating to the emission energy of the first stage and emitting the beam, the irradiation energy is changed to the next irradiation energy without transition to deceleration control. After changing the energy, the beam is emitted and changed to the next irradiation energy. Repeat such emission and energy change. Therefore, at the time of energy change, it is necessary to operate so as not to cause beam loss.

For example, in the synchrotron disclosed in Non-Patent Document 2, operation control data in which all the energy ranges that can be irradiated by the synchrotron are integrated is prepared, and the flat top is extended only by the energy for irradiating the beam. Beam is emitted. Therefore, the excitation pattern of the quadrupole and hexapole electromagnets that form the beam emission condition at the time of energy change is the excitation amount corresponding to the next irradiation energy without releasing the emission condition, and from the acceleration control pattern It has a continuous data structure.
However, if energy change control is performed without releasing the emission condition, there is a risk that beam loss may occur at the time of energy change. Therefore, in Non-Patent Document 2, a quadrupole electromagnet (QDS) for controlling the emission condition is provided separately from the quadrupole electromagnet shown above. Then, the emission condition is set by adding the excitation amount of the quadrupole electromagnet (QDS) and the excitation amount of the quadrupole electromagnet for accelerating and emitting the beam stably with the synchrotron. Therefore, the radiation conditions are set by exciting the quadrupole electromagnet (QDS), and the radiation conditions of the beam are canceled by stopping the excitation of the quadrupole electromagnet (QDS).
Thus, setting and canceling of the radiation condition at the time of multistage radiation control can be implemented by preparing a quadrupole electromagnet (QDS). However, since it is necessary to provide a quadruple electromagnet (QDS) separately from the quadruple electromagnet which realizes the conventional function necessary for the operation of the synchrotron, the upsizing of the synchrotron can not be avoided, and the problem that the cost becomes high is mentioned. Be The present invention relates to a multistage extraction control operation that enables the ion synchrotron to emit ion beams 10 of a plurality of energies within one operation cycle, and according to the present invention, control of changing beam energy and updating of the operation cycle are performed. It is possible to provide an ion synchrotron that can be realized in a short time. The details will be described below.

  First, a control data structure at the time of multistage emission operation and an operation sequence using the control data, which are features of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7A and 7B.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing a configuration of control data (operation control data) of a plurality of devices constituting the synchrotron 13, and shows an exciting current of the deflection electromagnet 18 as a representative example of the control data of the devices. Actually, as shown in Non-Patent Document 2, data of the number of stages corresponding to the number of energy of the beam to be irradiated is prepared, but in the present embodiment, three stages are described. Further, in the present embodiment, operation control data 70 in which beams are sequentially irradiated from low energy to high energy are shown, but similar effects can be obtained even when beams are sequentially irradiated from high energy to low energy.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control system (control device) 100 for realizing the multistage emission operation which is a feature of the present embodiment, and information transmission between the respective devices. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an irradiation preparation flow before starting the multistage emission operation. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a control flow during multistage emission operation. FIGS. 7A and 7B show output examples of control data at the time of multistage emission operation based on the combination of control data shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the operation control data 70 of the device (the deflection electromagnet 18 in the illustrated example) constituting the synchrotron 13 includes initial acceleration control data 701a (represented by 701 below) and a plurality of energies (shown in FIG. In the example, a plurality of extraction control data 702a to 702c (represented by 702 below) for emitting the ion beam 10 of three types of energy Ea, Eb and Ec) and a plurality of connection between the plurality of extraction control data 702 Energy change control data 705ab and 705bc (represented by 705 below) and a plurality of deceleration control data 706a to 706c (represented by 706 below) corresponding to the plurality of emission control data 702 are included. The emission control data 702 includes emission condition setting data 703a to 703c (represented by 703 below) and emission condition cancellation data 704a to 704c (represented by 704 below). By combining these control data, the emission control of beams of a plurality of energies is performed, and by providing deceleration control data 706a, 706b, 706c corresponding to a plurality of emission energies, any emission energy can be rapidly reduced to a deceleration control. Transition is possible.

  Further, the target energy can be quickly reached from the initial acceleration control data 701 and the plurality of energy change control data 705 connecting the plurality of emission control data 702.

  In addition, a plurality of deceleration control data 706 a and 706 b (hereinafter represented by 706 as appropriate) are provided corresponding to the plurality of emission control data 702 constituting the operation control data 70. The control data 701, 702, 705, 706 are prepared as time-series data of current / voltage which is a control amount directly given to the corresponding device. For example, in the case of control data of the deflection electromagnet 18, it is composed of time series data of excitation current and voltage (not shown) set in the power supply 46B of the deflection electromagnet 18 necessary to generate a predetermined deflection magnetic field strength. .

  Also, these control data are stored in the storage unit 42. The storage device 42 stores, as module data, control data that enables beam emission of all the energy corresponding to the irradiation conditions of all possible patients 36, including the control data shown in FIG. For example, assuming that the number of emitted energy corresponding to the irradiation conditions of a plurality of assumed patients 36 is 100, 100 initial acceleration control data 701, 100 emission control data 702, and 99 energy changes Control data 705 and 100 deceleration control data 706 are stored in the storage device 42 as module data. When preparing the irradiation, when the irradiation condition of the specific patient 36 is given, the general control device 41 selects the corresponding control data from the control data stored in the storage device 42 and causes the power control device 45 to store it. Note that module data that enables all energy beam emission may be stored in the internal storage device of the general control device 41.

Further, the operation control data 70 of the multistage emission stored in advance in the storage device 42 may be prepared as time series data of the magnetic field intensity in the synchrotron 13.
In this case, in the process in which the operation control data 70 is stored in the power supply control device 45 via the general control device 41 and the accelerator control device 40, the operation control data 70 indicates the magnetic field intensity in the general control device 41 or the accelerator control device 40. Is converted into time series data of excitation current and voltage, and stored in the power control unit 45 as time series data of excitation current and voltage. The power control unit 45 outputs a power control command value 451 corresponding to time series data to the power supply 46.

  The operation control data 70 is associated with the timing signal 51 output from the timing system 50, respectively. The timing signal 51 of this embodiment includes an acceleration control start timing signal 511, an extraction condition setting timing signal 512, an extraction control standby timing signal 513, an extraction condition cancellation timing signal 514, an energy change control timing signal 515, and a deceleration control start timing signal 516. , The deceleration control end timing signal 517. When the timing signal 51 is input to the power control device 45, the power control device 45 selects the control data 701 to 706 associated with the timing signal 51, and updates data from the initial address of the selected control data 701 to 706. Start control.

Update control of the operation control data 70 in response to the input of the timing signal 51 will be described with reference to FIG. The power supply controller 45 updates the initial acceleration control data 701a from the incident energy (Einj) to the outgoing energy (Ea) of the first stage by the input of the acceleration control timing signal 511 to accelerate the beam.
The irradiation condition setting data 703 a is updated by the input of the irradiation condition setting timing signal 512. When the emission condition setting data 703a is updated, the power control unit 45 stops the update of the emission condition setting data 703a by the input of the emission control standby timing signal 513, and the accelerator control device 40 outputs the emission high frequency electrode 20a to the emission high frequency electrode 20a. The beam emission control is carried out by applying a high frequency voltage. The irradiation control device 44 sequentially measures the irradiation dose 311 during emission control, outputs a dose expiration signal 442 based on the measurement result, stops the application of the high frequency voltage for emission, and ends the emission control. Thereafter, the emission condition cancellation data 704 a is started to be updated by the input of the emission condition cancellation timing signal 514. The timing system 50 outputs the energy change control timing signal 515 according to the accumulated beam charge amount 151 at the end of the emission control and the presence or absence of the next irradiation energy, and transits to the energy change control (from the emission condition cancellation data 704a The energy change control data 705 ab is output, and the deceleration control timing signal 516 is output, and it is determined whether transition to deceleration control (transition from emission condition cancellation data 704 a to deceleration control data 706 a) is made. The respective control data constituting the operation control data 70 are the end value of the emission condition cancellation data 704 and the start value of the energy change control data 705 which transits to the next irradiation energy (for example, the end value of 704a of FIG. 3 and the start of 705ab The same value so that the end value of the extraction condition cancellation data 704 and the start value of the deceleration control data to decelerate to the incident energy (for example, the end value of 704a and the start value of 706a in FIG. 3) can be connected continuously I will leave. By realizing the operation control based on the input of the timing signal 51, it is possible to easily change and update the operation control data 70 according to the input of the timing signal 51.

  Further, when the multistage extraction operation is performed, the interlock system 60 receives the energy determination signal 402 output from the accelerator control device 40, the energy change request signal 443 output from the irradiation control device 44, and the deceleration control request signal 444. The interlock signal 61 is output based on the irradiation completion signal 445 and the status information 452 indicating the soundness of the device output from the power control device 45. The interlock signal 61 includes an energy change command 611, an emission control command 614, an irradiation completion command 612, and a deceleration control command 613. The timing system 50 outputs the energy change control timing signal 515 based on the energy change command 611 output from the interlock system 60, and the emission condition setting timing signal 512 based on the emission control command 614 output from the interlock system 60. The emission condition cancellation timing signal 514 is output based on the irradiation completion command 612 output from the interlock system 60, and the deceleration control start timing signal 516 is output based on the deceleration control command 613.

  An irradiation preparation flow at the time of carrying out a multistage emission operation using control data of the apparatus constituting the synchrotron 13 shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG.

  First, the treatment planning device 43 registers treatment planning information 431 including the irradiation conditions and the like necessary for treatment of the patient 36 in the storage device 42. The general control device 41 reads the irradiation condition 421 from the storage device 42 based on the setting information of the irradiation condition (step S801). The general control device 41 selects energy required for irradiation, each irradiation dose, irradiation order, and control data from the storage device 42 from the irradiation conditions (step S802). In the storage device 42, as described above, the initial acceleration control data 701, the emission control data 702, the emission condition setting data 703, the emission condition release data 704, the energy change control data 705, the deceleration control data 706 shown in FIG. Control data enabling beam emission of all the energy corresponding to irradiation conditions of all possible patients 36 including is stored as module data, and the general control device 41 controls data based on the irradiation conditions 421. Select and load 701-706.

  The general control device 41 transmits, to the timing system 50, energy information necessary for irradiation, an irradiation sequence, and timing control data 411a corresponding to the energy (step S803).

  The timing system 50 stores, in the memory, the energy information necessary for irradiation transmitted from the general control device 41, the irradiation sequence, and the timing control data 411a corresponding to the energy (step S804). Similarly, the general control unit 41 transmits energy information necessary for irradiation, an irradiation sequence, and control data 411b and 411c corresponding to the energy to the accelerator control unit 40 and the irradiation control unit 44 (step S805). Among them, the control data 411b transmitted to the accelerator control device 40 includes operation control data (control data 701 to 706) of each device and a timing signal (timing signals 511 to 517) corresponding to the operation control data, and the irradiation is performed. The control data 411 c transmitted to the control device 44 includes the irradiation sequence of each irradiation energy and the target irradiation dose.

The accelerator control device 40 controls the operation control data (control data 701 to 706) of each device and the timing signal corresponding to the operation control data with respect to each power supply control device 45 of the devices constituting the synchrotron 13 and the beam transport device 14. The control data 401 of each device, which is data of (timing signals 511 to 517), is transmitted (step S806), and the power control device 45 operates the operation control data of each device and the data 401 of the timing signal corresponding to the operation control data. It is stored in the memory (step S807). Thereafter, the irradiation control device 44 stores the irradiation sequence of each irradiation energy and the target irradiation dose in the memory (step S808) .

  Next, an irradiation flow at the time of performing a multistage emission operation using the control data of the device constituting the synchrotron 13 shown in FIG. 3 will be described using FIG. 4 and FIG.

  When an irradiation start command (not shown) is inputted from the user to the general control device 41, operation control of the synchrotron 13 is started. The general control unit 41 outputs a control start command 412 indicating the start of the operation cycle of the synchrotron 13 to the timing system 50, the accelerator control unit 40 and the irradiation control unit 44. The timing system 50, the accelerator control apparatus 40, and the irradiation control apparatus 44 set target energy based on the control start command 412 (step S809). Based on the set target energy, the timing system 50 sets target energy information of the beam to be emitted from now, and the accelerator control device 40 sets the target energy for each power control device. The irradiation control device 44 sets a target dose value of each dose control area of the energy from the target energy.

The timing system 50 outputs the acceleration control start timing signal 511 based on the control start command 412, and the power supply control device 45 starts updating the initial acceleration control data 701 (step S810).
When the initial acceleration control ends, the accelerator control device 40 confirms the arrival energy after the end of the acceleration (step S811), and determines whether the arrival energy confirmed after the end of the acceleration matches the target energy (step S812). In this determination, when the operation cycle is updated after the end of deceleration control described later, the energy reached at the end of the initial acceleration control and the target energy to be emitted next are different. To determine whether to transition to

The accelerator control device 40 outputs an energy determination signal 402 indicating the energy determination result in step S812 to the interlock system 60. The interlock system 60 outputs an energy change command 611 to the timing system 50 when it is determined that the energy reached after the end of acceleration does not match the target energy, and the timing system 50 controls the energy change control timing to the power supply controller 45. The signal 515 is output, and the power control unit 45 updates the energy change control data 705 (step S 824).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the arrival energy after the end of acceleration and the target energy match, the interlock system 60 outputs the emission control command 614 to the timing system 50, and the timing system 50 sets the emission conditions to the power control device 45. The timing signal 512 is output, and the power supply control device 45 starts updating the emission condition setting data 703 (step S813).

  The timing system 50 outputs the emission control standby timing signal 513 in accordance with the completion of the update of the emission condition setting data 703, ends the update of the emission condition setting data 703 in the power control device 45, and holds the final update value. The interlock system 60 uses status information 452 such as soundness and energy confirmation information of equipment output from each power control device 45 and measurement value of accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the accumulated beam amount detection means 15 in the synchrotron 13 Based on the emission control permission signal 441 and the like output from the irradiation control device 44, it is determined whether the emission control of the beam is possible (step S814).

  If the determination result in step S814 is determined to be abnormal (NG), the interlock system 60 outputs the deceleration control command 613 to the timing system 50, and the timing system 50 transmits the deceleration control start timing to the power supply control device 45. A signal 516 is output. The power supply control device 45 updates the deceleration control data 706 (step S822).

  On the other hand, when the judgment result is judged to be normal (OK), the interlock system 60 outputs the radiation permission command 615 to the accelerator control device 40, and the accelerator control device 40 emits radiation to the high frequency electrode 20a for radiation. The beam emission control is carried out by applying a high frequency voltage (step S815).

  During beam emission control, the irradiation dose 311 of the irradiation beam is sequentially measured by the dose monitor 31 installed in the irradiation device 30, and the irradiation control device 44 calculates the integrated dose in each dose management area. At this time, the irradiation control device 44 compares the target dose and the integrated dose in the relevant dose control area of the energy and determines whether the integrated dose has reached the target dose (hereinafter, the dose has expired) ( Step S816).

If it is determined that the integrated dose in the dose management area has not expired, the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 is measured by the accumulated beam amount detecting means 15, and the irradiation control device 44 is sufficient for the continuation of beam irradiation. It is determined whether or not there is a sufficient accumulated beam charge amount 151 (step S 818), and if it is determined that the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 is a sufficient amount for continuation of beam irradiation, beam emission control To continue.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 is depleted, the irradiation control device 44 outputs the deceleration control request signal 444 to the interlock system 60. The interlock system 60 outputs the deceleration control command 613 to the timing system 50, and the timing system 50 outputs the deceleration control start timing signal 516 to the power control device 45. The power supply control device 45 updates the deceleration control data 706 (step S822).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S816 that the integrated dose in the dose management area has expired, the irradiation control device 44 determines whether the irradiation area of the energy has been completed, ie, all the dose management areas with the energy have been completed. It is determined whether or not (step S817).

  When it is determined that the irradiation to all the dose management areas with the energy is not completed, the beam irradiation area that the irradiation has not been completed by the scanning electromagnet 32, that is, the dose management area in which the irradiation is not completed The irradiation position is updated (step S841). After that, as in the case where the dose has not expired in step S816, the irradiation control device 44 determines whether or not there is an accumulated beam charge amount 151 sufficient to continue the beam irradiation (step S818). If the accumulated beam charge amount 151 is an amount sufficient to continue the beam irradiation, the beam irradiation is performed (step S815). When the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 is depleted, the irradiation control device 44 outputs a deceleration control request signal 444 to the interlock system 60. The interlock system 60 outputs the deceleration control command 613 to the timing system 50, and the timing system 50 outputs the deceleration control start timing signal 516 to the power control device 45. The power supply control device 45 updates the deceleration control data 706 (step S822).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S817 that the irradiation to all the dose management areas with the energy is completed, the irradiation control device 44 outputs the irradiation completion signal 445 to the interlock system 60. The interlock system 60 outputs the irradiation completion command 612 to the timing system 50. The timing system 50 outputs the emission condition cancellation timing signal 514 to the power supply control device 45, and the power supply control device 45 starts updating the emission condition cancellation data 704 (step S819).

  After the update control of the emission condition cancellation data 704 is completed, the irradiation control device 44 determines whether the next target energy data exists (step S820). If it is determined that the next target energy is present, the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 is measured by the accumulated beam amount detection means 15, and the irradiation control unit 44 is sufficient for beam irradiation of the next target energy. If it is determined that the accumulated beam charge amount 151 is present (step S 840) and it is determined that the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 is a sufficient amount for beam irradiation, the irradiation control device 44 determines the target energy The data is updated (step S821). On the other hand, when it is determined that the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 is depleted, the irradiation control device 44 outputs the deceleration control request signal 444 to the interlock system 60. The interlock system 60 outputs the deceleration control command 613 to the timing system 50, and the timing system 50 outputs the deceleration control start timing signal 516 to the power control device 45. The power supply control device 45 updates the deceleration control data 706 (step S822).

When the irradiation area for controlling the dose is finely specified as in the spot scanning irradiation method, the process of determining the accumulated beam charge amount 151 described in step S 840 is omitted, and the accumulation is performed as shown in step S 818. The irradiation can be appropriately performed by sequentially determining the beam charge amount 151.
On the other hand, when performing irradiation in a layer with a uniform continuous beam like raster scanning irradiation, in order to facilitate uniform coverage of the irradiation dose and to increase the dose rate, beam depletion occurs during the irradiation It is desirable to control so as not to Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, it is determined whether the accumulated beam charge amount 151 is sufficient for beam irradiation of the next target energy, or the processing of updating the target energy data is performed after performing the determination processing shown in step S840. There is.
When it is determined in step S840 that the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 is an amount sufficient for beam irradiation, the irradiation control device 44 updates the target energy data (step S821) and then transmits the interlock system 60 to the interlock system 60. In response, an energy change request signal 443 is output. The interlock system 60 outputs an energy change command 611 to the timing system 50, and the timing system 50 outputs an energy change control timing signal 515 to the power supply control device 45. The power supply control device 45 updates the energy change control data 705 based on the energy change control timing signal 515 (step S824).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S820 that the next target energy data does not exist, that is, when the irradiation of all the energy ends, the irradiation control device 44 outputs the deceleration control request signal 444 to the interlock system 60. Do. The interlock system 60 outputs the deceleration control command 613 to the timing system 50, and the timing system 50 outputs the deceleration control start timing signal 516 to the power control device 45. The power supply control device 45 updates the deceleration control data 706 (step S822).

  The timing system 50 outputs the deceleration control end timing signal 517 when the update of the deceleration control data 706 is completed. The interlock system 60 confirms whether or not the irradiation of all the energy has been completed based on the input of the deceleration control end timing signal 517 (step S823). When the irradiation of all the energy is completed, the operation cycle is ended.

  In addition, when the transition to the deceleration control is made without completing the irradiation of all the energy (step S823), the process returns to the start of the operation cycle again, and the initial acceleration control is started again.

  When returning to the start of the operation cycle and starting the initial acceleration control again, since the target energy required for the next irradiation and the reached energy at the initial acceleration control are different, energy change control data until the reached energy matches the target energy Update control is performed (the flow of step S812 → step S824 → step S811 → step S812 in FIG. 6 is repeated). If the reached energy and the target energy coincide with each other, the process shifts to update control of the emission condition setting data 703 (step S813).

  FIGS. 7A and 7B show examples of control data output during multistage emission operation, which is a feature of this embodiment. 7A and 7B show an output example using the operation control data 70 shown in FIG. 3, and the number of energy that can be emitted within one operation cycle is three types Ea, Eb and Ec. FIG. 7A shows a change in the excitation current value of the deflection electromagnet 18 in the case where the ion beam 10 of all the three types of energy (Ea, Eb, Ec) is controlled in one operation cycle, and FIG. After emitting the ion beam 10 of two types (Ea, Eb) of energy in the first operation cycle, the stored ion beam is depleted and transition to deceleration control to update the operation cycle, and the third type in the next operation cycle The change of the exciting current value of the deflection electromagnet 18 in the case of emitting the ion beam 10 of (Ec) is shown. In general, since the excitation current value of the deflection electromagnet 18 and the beam energy are in a roughly proportional relationship, FIGS. 7A and 7B can also be read as beam energy change during multistage emission operation.

  What is common to FIGS. 7A and 7B is that each timing signal 511 to 517 corresponding to each control data 701 to 706 is set, and each control data 701 to 706 is set based on the input of each timing signal 511 to 517. It has been updated.

  First, an output example of multistage emission control will be described using FIG. 7A. When the acceleration control timing signal 511 is input from the timing system 50, the power supply control device 45 selects the initial acceleration data 701 and starts excitation current data update control. When the initial acceleration control ends, the emission condition setting timing signal 512 is input from the timing system 50 to the power control device 45. The power supply control device 45 outputs emission condition setting data 703 a corresponding to the emission energy Ea of the first stage. After that, the power control unit 45 holds the final update value by the input of the emission control standby timing signal 513, and the emission control is performed. When the emission control is completed, the emission condition cancellation timing signal 514 is output from the timing system 50 to the power supply control device 45, and the power supply control device 45 starts the update output of the extraction condition cancellation data 704a.

  The stored beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 is measured simultaneously with the end of the update control of the emission condition cancellation data 704a. After confirming that the accumulated beam charge amount 151 satisfies the beam emission amount of the next energy, the timing system 50 outputs the energy change control timing signal 515. The power supply control device 45 selects the energy change control data 705ab connecting the current emission energy Ea and the next emission energy Eb, and starts update output of the control data. After that, the above-described emission condition setting control, emission control, emission condition cancellation control, and energy change control are repeated until the emission control of the last energy Ec is finished.

  After the update control of the emission condition cancellation data 704c of the last energy Ec ends, the timing system 50 outputs the deceleration control start timing signal 516. In response to the input of the deceleration control timing signal 516, the power supply control device 45 selects the deceleration control data 706c corresponding to the previous emission condition cancellation data 704c, and starts updating and outputting the deceleration control data. In the deceleration control of this embodiment, since the beam is controlled to be emitted from the low energy side to the high energy side (Ea <Eb <Ec), initialization excitation is performed up to the maximum energy (Einit) in the deceleration control. There is.

  At the end of the deceleration control, the timing system 50 outputs a deceleration control end timing signal 517 to check whether emission control of all the energy is completed. When emission control of all the energy is completed, the operation cycle of the synchrotron 13 is ended.

  Next, as shown to FIG. 7B, the case where the driving | running period is updated at the time of multistage radiation | emission operation | movement is demonstrated. Here, the reference numerals in the figure are the same as in FIG. 7A, and in FIG. 7B, the end of the emission control of the second energy Eb will be described.

  At the end of emission control of the second energy Eb, the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 is measured. If it is determined that the measurement result can not satisfy the next beam emission amount due to beam exhaustion or the like, the timing system 50 outputs a deceleration control start timing signal 516 corresponding to the energy for which the emission control has been completed. Based on the input of the deceleration control start timing signal 516, the power supply control device 45 starts update control of the deceleration control data 706b that can be continuously connected to the previous extraction condition cancellation data 704b.

  According to the input of the deceleration control end timing signal 517, it is confirmed whether emission control of all the energy is completed. When the emission control of all the energy is not completed, the acceleration control timing signal 511 is output after changing the target energy from Eb to Ec.

  The input of the acceleration control timing signal 511 starts updating of the initial acceleration control data 701. After the initial acceleration control is completed, the reached energy is compared with the target energy. At this time, since the arrival energy of the initial acceleration control data 701 is Ea and the target energy is Ec, the energy change control timing signal 515 is output. The power supply control device 45 updates the energy change control data 705ab based on the energy change control timing signal 515 and carries out the energy change control. After the end of the energy change control, the reached energy and the target energy are again compared. Since the energy reached after the energy change control is Eb and the target energy is Ec, the energy change control timing signal 515 is continuously output to update the energy change control data 705bc. Repeating such control accelerates the reaching energy to the same Ec as the target energy. Thereafter, the same control as the emission control and the deceleration control described above is performed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the control data 701 to 706 have the deceleration control data 706 corresponding to a plurality of energies in the multistage emission control operation for realizing the change control of the emission beam energy of the synchrotron 13 in a short time. By making it possible to quickly shift to deceleration control from any energy, when the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 runs short and the irradiation of the ion beam 10 is interrupted, the operation cycle can be updated in a short time. It is possible to improve the dose rate and shorten the treatment time.

  In addition, even when the equipment constituting the particle beam irradiation system is abnormal and the irradiation of the ion beam 10 is interrupted, the outgoing energy is directly transferred to the deceleration control to realize the update of the operation cycle in a short time and safely. be able to.

  In addition, after completion of deceleration control due to occurrence of beam irradiation interruption factor such as beam exhaustion, energy of non-irradiated beam exists, and when updating the operation cycle, after completion of initial acceleration control or after completion of energy change control If the reaching energy does not match the next target energy, the energy change control is immediately performed to accelerate the reaching energy to the target energy without updating the emission control data (the emission condition setting control and the emission condition canceling control). Therefore, it is possible to realize energy change control in a short time, improve the dose rate and shorten the treatment time.

  Further, since the control data 701 to 706 constituting the operation control data 70 are constituted by time-series data of current / voltage which is a control amount directly given to the device constituting the synchrotron 13, the change calculation of the parameter becomes unnecessary. The equipment configuration and control means can be simplified.

  Furthermore, control data for enabling beam emission of all the energy corresponding to the assumed irradiation conditions of any patient 36 is stored as module data in the storage device 42, and the general control device 41 stores the irradiation conditions 421 in the irradiation conditions 421. Based on the control data 701 to 706 are selected and stored in the power control device 45. Since the operation control data 70 is configured based on the irradiation condition 421, dead time not contributing to beam irradiation (control time from the incident beam energy of the synchrotron 13 to the irradiation start energy and control time from the irradiation end energy to the deceleration end energy Since the radiation of the desired energy range is performed with a short operation cycle, the dose rate can be improved and the treatment time can be shortened.

  Next, FIG. 8A shows an output example of control data at the time of multistage emission operation of the four-pole electromagnet 19 of the synchrotron 13 and FIG. 8B shows an output example of control data at the multistage emission operation of the hexapole electromagnet 21. In the following embodiment, operation control data stored in the storage unit 42 is prepared as time series data of magnetic field intensity in the synchrotron 13.

  In order to control the betatron frequency of the particles in circulation of the synchrotron 13, the quadrupole electromagnet 19 is provided to form a stability limit for taking out the particles from the synchrotron 13.

  FIG. 8A is an operation control pattern of multistage radiation corresponding to different radiation energy in the quadrupole electromagnet 19.

Here, the particle beam irradiation system of the present embodiment brings the betatron frequency close to the resonance line by changing the magnetic field strength, and makes the operation control possible in order to make the beam emission possible state or release state. It has emission condition data 702 to be used. Further, in the present embodiment, the emission condition data 702 is divided into two data modules of emission condition setting data 703 and emission condition cancellation data 704. Further, the end value of the start value and the exit condition release data 704 of the exit condition setting data 703, for example, the end value 704a ₂ start value 703a ₁ and 704a of 703a in FIG. 8A, the same value as can be continuously connected ( For example, 703a ₁ and 704a _{2 in} FIG. 8A have the same magnetic field strength B _d E _a ).
Moreover, the start value of the end value of the emission condition setting data 703 and the exit condition release data 704, for example, the start value 704a ₁ exit values 703a ₂ and 704a of 703a in FIG. 8A and 703a ₂ of the same value (e.g., FIG. 8A 704a _The same magnetic field strength B _s E _a ) is set to 1 and kept constant during that time.
By realizing such control, it is possible to prevent the current command value from becoming discontinuous when transitioning to energy change without implementing emission control.

  In the present embodiment, although the emission condition setting data 703 and the emission condition cancellation data 704 show the change of the magnetic field strength in a straight line on the inner side, the same is true even when the magnetic field strength changes smoothly on the inner side. The effect of

As described above, by matching the start point of the emission condition setting data 703 with the end point of the emission condition cancellation data 704, the control after the energy change (or the initial acceleration) is the case of the beam emission control and the control of the energy change control. In any of the cases, the continuity of the current command value can be secured, the calculation etc. for securing the continuity of the current value can be reduced, and control efficiency and simplification can be achieved. Further, by matching the end point of the emission condition setting data 703 with the start point of the emission condition cancellation data, the continuity of the current command value is changed in switching between control for forming a beam emission enable state and control for cancellation. Since it is secured, calculation etc. for securing the continuity of the current value can be reduced, and efficient and simplified control can be achieved.
In addition, it is possible to suppress the beam loss because the emission condition is not set during the energy change.
Furthermore, a quadruple electromagnet (QDS) aiming only at setting / releasing of the radiation condition is not necessary, so it is possible to suppress an increase in size of the synchrotron and to suppress an increase in cost.

First, when the acceleration control start timing signal 511 is output from the timing system 50, the power supply control device 45 selects the initial acceleration control data 701a and starts updating control of the excitation current data.
After the end of the acceleration control, the accelerator control device 40 confirms the energy of the circulating ion beam 10 b and outputs an energy determination signal 402 to the interlock system 60. When the reached energy matches the target energy (in this case, both the reached energy and the target energy are Ea), the interlock system 60 outputs the emission control command 614 to the timing system 50.
The timing system 50 outputs a radiation condition setting timing signal 512 based on the radiation control command 614 from the interlock system 60. The power supply control device 45 updates the emission control data 702a corresponding to the emission energy Ea based on the emission condition setting timing signal 512, and can emit the magnetic field intensity from the emission preparation state B _d E _a in the emission condition setting data 703a. It changes to the normal state B _s E _a . In parallel with this, the irradiation control device 44 outputs the emission control permission signal 441, the application processing of the high frequency signal for emission is performed, and the power control device 45 holds the final update value by the input of the emission control standby timing signal 513. Beam emission control is implemented.
When the irradiation dose to the affected area 37 has expired due to the beam emission control, the irradiation control device 44 stops the output of the emission control permission signal 441 and stops the application process of the emission high frequency signal. Then, the power control device 45 updates the emission condition cancellation data 704a corresponding to the emission energy Ea based on the emission condition cancellation timing signal 514, and the magnetic field intensity can be emitted in the emission condition cancellation data 704a from the state B _s E _a Change to the preparation state B _d E _a .

The irradiation control device 44 subsequently outputs an energy change request signal 443 to the interlock system 60 based on the presence or absence of the next irradiation energy and the measurement result of the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13.
The interlock system 60 outputs an energy change command 611 to the timing system 50, and the timing system 50 outputs an energy change control timing signal 515 to accelerate the stored beam to the next energy. The power supply control device 45 starts update control of the energy change control data 705ab corresponding to the emitted energy Eb based on the energy change control timing signal 515.
After completion of beam acceleration based on the energy change control data 705ab, the accelerator control device 40 confirms the agreement between the reached energy and the target energy, as in the beam emission control of the emission energy Ea of the first stage. Then, using the emission control data 702b corresponding to the emission energy Eb, the power supply control device 45 changes the magnetic field strength in the emission condition setting data 703b from the state B _d E _{b of the} preparation for emission to the state B _s E _b Emits a beam. After stopping the beam, the emission condition cancellation data 704b is used to change the magnetic field intensity from the state B _s E _b capable of emission to the state B _d E _b of the radiation preparation in the emission condition cancellation data 704b.

At the end of the emission control of the second-stage emission energy Eb, the irradiation control unit 44 confirms that there is the next irradiation data (step S 820 in FIG. 6), and then the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13 Measure If it is determined that the measurement result can not satisfy the next beam emission amount, the irradiation control device 44 transmits the deceleration control request signal 444 to the interlock system 60.
The interlock system 60 transmits the deceleration control command 613 to the timing system 50 based on the deceleration control request signal 444. The timing system 50 outputs a deceleration control start timing signal 516 based on the input of the deceleration control command 613. The power supply control device 45 selects the deceleration control data 706b corresponding to the previous emission energy Eb according to the deceleration control start timing signal 516, starts update control of the deceleration control data 706b, and corresponds to the initialization energy (Einit). The magnetic field strength BE _init is changed to the magnetic field strength BE _inj corresponding to the incident energy (Einj).

  The timing system 50 outputs the deceleration end timing signal 517 at the same time as the end of the update of the deceleration control data 706b, and then updates the operation cycle after changing the target energy from Eb to Ec because there is the next irradiation data. The acceleration control start timing signal 511 is output.

The power supply control device 45 starts updating control of the initial acceleration control data 701 a in response to the input of the acceleration control start timing signal 511.
After completion of the acceleration control, the accelerator control device 40 compares the reached energy with the target energy. At this time, the reaching energy in the initial acceleration control data 701a is Ea, while the target energy is Ec. Because of this, the emitted energy does not match (Ea ≠ Ec).
Therefore, the irradiation control device 44 does not output the emission control permission signal 441 and does not apply the high frequency signal for emission until the arrival energy and the target energy match. On the other hand, the timing system 50 repeatedly outputs the energy change control timing signal 515 until the target energy is reached. The power supply control device 45 sequentially updates and controls the energy change control data 705ab and the energy change control data 705bc based on the timing signal from the timing system 50.
After accelerating the beam until the reaching energy matches the target energy Ec, the power supply control device 45 updates the emitting condition setting data 703c corresponding to the emitting energy Ec based on the emitting condition setting timing signal 512, and emits the magnetic field intensity. from state _B d _{E c} of preparation alters the extractable state _B s _{E c.} In parallel with this, the irradiation control device 44 outputs the emission control permission signal 441 and the application processing of the emission high frequency signal is performed, and the power control device 45 holds the final updated value by the input of the emission control standby timing signal 513 And the beam is emitted.
After the end of the beam extraction control, the power controller 45, emits conditions based on the release timing signal 514 to update the emission condition release data 704c corresponding to the emission energy Ec, exit conditions of the magnetic field strength from the extractable state B _s E _c Is changed to the released state B _d E _c , and the irradiation control device 44 confirms the next irradiation data. In this output example, the irradiation control device 44 transmits the irradiation completion signal 445 to the interlock system 60 because there is no next irradiation energy (Ec is the final energy). The interlock system 60 transmits, to the timing system 50, an irradiation completion command 612 indicating that there is no control of the next operation cycle. The timing system 50 outputs a deceleration control start timing signal 516. The power supply control device 45 transitions to deceleration control based on the deceleration control start timing signal 516.
In the deceleration control, the deceleration control data 706c corresponding to the previous emission energy Ec is selected, and update control of the deceleration control data 706c is started. In the deceleration control data 706c, in order to keep the magnetic field history for each operation cycle constant, deceleration control is performed to BE _inj corresponding to the incident energy (Einj) after increasing to the magnetic field strength BE _init corresponding to the initialization energy (Einit) Do. The timing system 50 outputs the deceleration control end timing signal 517 at the same time as the end of the update of the deceleration control data 706 c, and completes the irradiation based on the irradiation completion command 612.

  FIG. 8B is an operation control pattern of multistage radiation corresponding to different radiation energy in the hexapole electromagnet 21.

Also in the hexapole electromagnet 21, the emission control data 702 is divided into the emission condition setting data 703 and the emission condition cancellation data 704.
On top of that, the start and end values of the emission conditions cancellation data 704 of the exit condition setting data 703, for example, and end values 704a ₂ start value 703a ₁ and 704a of 703a in FIG. 8B, the same as it continuously connected A value (for example, _{703 a 1} and _{704 a 2 in} FIG. 8B have the same magnetic field strength BE _inj ). Moreover, the start value of the end value of the emission condition setting data 703 and the exit condition release data 704, for example, the start value 704a ₁ exit values 703a ₂ and 704a of 703a in FIG. 8B and 703a ₂ of the same value (e.g., FIG. 8B 704a ₁ and the same magnetic field strength BE _a ), and in the meantime, keep a constant value.
By realizing such control, it is possible to reduce the loss of the beam due to the discontinuity of the current command value when the emission control is omitted and the energy is changed.

  In the present embodiment, although the emission condition setting data 703 and the emission condition cancellation data 704 show the change of the magnetic field strength in a straight line on the inner side, the same is true even when the magnetic field strength changes smoothly on the inner side. The effect of

As described above, by matching the start point of the emission condition setting data 703 with the end point of the emission condition cancellation data 704, the control after the energy change (or the initial acceleration) is the case of the beam emission control and the control of the energy change control. In any of the cases, the continuity of the current command value can be secured, the calculation etc. for securing the continuity of the current value can be reduced, and control efficiency and simplification can be achieved. Further, by matching the end point of the emission condition setting data 703 with the start point of the emission condition cancellation data, the continuity of the current command value is changed in switching between control for forming a beam emission enable state and control for cancellation. Since it is secured, calculation etc. for securing the continuity of the current value can be reduced, and efficient and simplified control can be achieved.
In addition, it is possible to suppress the beam loss because the emission condition is not set during the energy change.

First, when the acceleration control start timing signal 511 is output from the timing system 50, the power supply control device 45 selects the initial acceleration control data 701a and starts updating control of the excitation current data.
After the end of the acceleration control, the accelerator control device 40 confirms the energy of the circulating ion beam 10 b and outputs an energy determination signal 402 to the interlock system 60. When the reached energy matches the target energy (in this case, both the reached energy and the target energy are Ea), the interlock system 60 outputs the emission control command 614 to the timing system 50.
The timing system 50 outputs a radiation condition setting timing signal 512 based on the radiation control command 614 from the interlock system 60. The power supply control device 45 updates the emission control data 702a corresponding to the emission energy Ea based on the emission condition setting timing signal 512, and the magnetic field strength can be emitted from the state BE _{inj of the} emission preparation in the emission condition setting data 703a. Change to BE _a . In parallel with this, the irradiation control device 44 outputs the emission control permission signal 441, the application processing of the high frequency signal for emission is performed, and the power control device 45 holds the final update value by the input of the emission control standby timing signal 513. Beam emission control is implemented.
When the irradiation dose to the affected area 37 has expired due to the beam emission control, the irradiation control device 44 stops the output of the emission control permission signal 441 and stops the application process of the emission high frequency signal. Then, the power control unit 45 updates the exit condition release data 704a corresponding to the emission energy Ea based on the exit condition release timing signal 514, the extraction preparing the magnetic field strength in the exit condition release data 704a from the output possible state BE _a Change to the state BE _inj .

The irradiation control device 44 subsequently outputs an energy change request signal 443 to the interlock system 60 based on the presence or absence of the next irradiation energy and the measurement result of the accumulated beam charge amount 151 in the synchrotron 13.
The interlock system 60 outputs an energy change command 611 to the timing system 50, and the timing system 50 outputs an energy change control timing signal 515 to accelerate the stored beam to the next energy. The power supply control device 45 starts update control of the energy change control data 705ab corresponding to the emitted energy Eb based on the energy change control timing signal 515.
After the end of beam acceleration based on the energy change control data 705ab, the accelerator control device 40 confirms the coincidence between the reaching energy and the target energy as in the beam emission control of the emission energy Ea of the first stage, and the power supply controller 45 sets the emission energy Eb. using the extraction control data 702b corresponding, in the exit condition setting data 703b is changed from the state bE _inj the extractable state bE _b of extraction preparing the magnetic field strength for emitting a beam. After the beam stop with exit condition release data 704b, to vary the magnetic field strength in the exit condition release data 704b from the emission ready BE _b to the state _{BE inj} of extraction preparation.

At the end of the emission control of the second-stage emission energy Eb, the irradiation control unit 44 confirms that there is the next irradiation data (step S 820 in FIG. 6), and measures the accumulated beam amount 151 in the synchrotron Do. If it is determined that the measurement result can not satisfy the next beam emission amount, the irradiation control device 44 transmits the deceleration control request signal 444 to the interlock system 60.
The interlock system 60 transmits the deceleration control command 613 to the timing system 50 based on the deceleration control request signal 444. The timing system 50 outputs a deceleration control start timing signal 516 based on the input of the deceleration control command 613. The power supply control device 45 selects the deceleration control data 706b corresponding to the previous emission energy Eb according to the deceleration control start timing signal 516, and starts the update control of the deceleration control data 706b.

  The timing system 50 outputs the deceleration end timing signal 517 at the same time as the end of the update of the deceleration control data 706b, and then updates the operation cycle after changing the target energy from Eb to Ec because there is the next irradiation data. The acceleration control start timing signal 511 is output.

The power supply control device 45 starts updating control of the acceleration control data 701 a by the input of the acceleration control start timing signal 511.
After completion of the acceleration control, the accelerator control device 40 compares the reached energy with the target energy. At this time, since the arrival energy in the initial acceleration control data 701a is Ea and the target energy is Ec, the emission energy does not match (Ea ≠ Ec).
Therefore, the irradiation control device 44 does not output the emission control permission signal 441 and does not apply the high frequency signal for emission until the arrival energy and the target energy match. On the other hand, the timing system 50 repeatedly outputs the energy change control timing signal 515 until the target energy is reached. The power supply control device 45 sequentially updates and controls the energy change control data 705ab and the energy change control data 705bc based on the timing signal from the timing system 50.
After accelerating the beam until the reached energy matches the target energy Ec, the irradiation control device 44 outputs the emission control permission signal 441, and the power control device 45 corresponds to the emission energy Ec based on the emission condition setting timing signal 512. update the extraction control data 702c, application treatment of the extraction radiofrequency signal by changing the emitting ready bE _c magnetic field strength from the state bE _inj of extraction preparation in the exit condition setting data 703c is made, the extraction control stand By the input of the timing signal 513, the power control unit 45 holds the final update value and the beam is emitted. Beam emitted after the control has been completed, the power supply control unit 45 updates the exit condition release data 704c corresponding to the emission energy Ec based on the exit condition release timing signal 514, emitted condition field strength from the output possible state BE _{c Is} changed to the released state BE _inj , and the irradiation control device 44 confirms the next irradiation data. In this output example, the irradiation control device 44 transmits the irradiation completion signal 445 to the interlock system 60 because there is no next irradiation energy (Ec is the final energy). The interlock system 60 transmits, to the timing system 50, an irradiation completion command 612 indicating that there is no control of the next operation cycle. The timing system 50 outputs a deceleration control start timing signal 516. The power supply control device 45 transitions to deceleration control based on the deceleration control start timing signal 516.
In the deceleration control, the deceleration control data 706c corresponding to the previous emission energy Ec is selected, and update control of the deceleration control data 706c is started. The timing system 50 outputs the deceleration control end timing signal 517 at the same time as the end of the update of the deceleration control data 706 c, and completes the irradiation based on the irradiation completion command 612.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the operation control data of the device constituting the synchrotron includes initial acceleration control data, a plurality of emission control data provided corresponding to a plurality of energies emitted from the synchrotron, and a plurality of A plurality of energy change control data for connecting between the emission control data of and a plurality of deceleration control data corresponding to the plurality of emission control data. A plurality of emission control data is from the condition suitable for beam emission to the condition suitable for beam emission, and the condition suitable for beam emission from the condition suitable for beam acceleration / deceleration to the condition suitable for beam acceleration / deceleration. It comprises so that the radiation | emission condition cancellation | release data to return may be included.
Further, the start point of the emission condition setting data and the end point of the extraction condition release data, and the end point of the emission condition setting data and the start point of the emission condition release data are respectively the same value.
Then, by combining these control data and performing emission control of beams of a plurality of energies, it is possible to shorten the arrival to the desired energy, suppress the beam loss during the energy change period, and improve the dose rate. The treatment time can be shortened.
As described above, beam energy change control and operation cycle update can be realized in a short time.

Also, in the combination of these operation control data, after the energy change control including the initial acceleration control, if the desired outgoing energy and the energy reached by the energy change control are different, the energy change control until the desired outgoing energy is reached Connect data.
Thereby, it is possible to reach a desired outgoing radiation energy in a short time, improve the dose rate, and shorten the treatment time.

  Further, according to the present invention, since quadruple electromagnets (QDS) for setting and canceling the radiation conditions at the time of multistage radiation control are unnecessary, the upsizing of the synchrotron is suppressed and generation of cost for applying the electromagnets and power supply Can be suppressed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible. The embodiments described above are described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described.

1 Particle Beam Irradiation System 100 Control System (Control Device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ion beam 11 ion beam generator 12 pre-stage accelerator 13 synchrotron 14 beam transport device 15 accumulated beam amount detecting means 151 accumulated beam charge amount 17 high frequency accelerating device (high frequency accelerating cavity)
18 deflection electromagnet 19 quadrupole electromagnet 20a high frequency electrode for emission 20b deflector for emission 21 hexapole electromagnet 30 irradiation field forming apparatus (irradiation apparatus)
31 dose monitor 311 irradiation dose 32 scanning electromagnet 34 collimator 36 patient 37 diseased part 40 accelerator control device 401 control data of each device 402 energy judgment signal 41 general control device 411 timing control data 412 control start command 42 storage device 421 irradiation condition 43 treatment plan Device 431 Treatment plan information 44 Irradiation control device 441 Injection control permission signal 442 Dose expiration signal 443 Energy change request signal 444 Deceleration control request signal 445 Irradiation completion signal 45 Power control device 451 Power control command value 452 Status information 46 Power 50 Timing system 51 Timing signal 511 Acceleration control start timing signal 512 Ejection condition setting timing signal 513 Ejection control standby timing signal 514 Ejection condition cancellation timing signal 515 Energy change control timing Signal 516 deceleration control start timing signal 517 deceleration control end timing signal 60 interlock system 61 interlock signal 611 energy change command 612 irradiation completion command 613 deceleration control command 614 emission control command 615 emission permission command 70 operation control data 701 initial acceleration control Data 702 Ejection control data 703 Ejection condition setting data 704 Ejection condition cancellation data 705 Energy change control data 706 Deceleration control data

Claims (7)

A synchrotron that accelerates and emits an ion beam,
An irradiation device for irradiating the ion beam emitted from the synchrotron;
The operation control data of the device constituting the synchrotron includes one or more initial acceleration control data, a plurality of emission control data for emitting ion beams of a plurality of energies, and a plurality of energy changes for connecting the plurality of emission control data control data, said plurality of composed of a plurality of deceleration control data corresponding to the extraction control data, said plurality of emission during a single operation cycle of the initial acceleration by the initial acceleration control data to the deceleration by the deceleration control data a particle beam irradiation system comprising a control device for performing control by the control data and the energy change control data for emitting an ion beam of the plurality of energy, and
The particle beam irradiation system , wherein the control device selects the deceleration control data corresponding to the extraction control data during the operation cycle when decelerating the ion beam . In the particle beam irradiation system according to claim 1,
Control data, the particle beam irradiation system being selected based on the presence or absence of depletion of the accumulated beam charge amount in said synchrotron combined. The particle beam irradiation system according to claim 1 or 2
The control device as the emission control data, the particle beam irradiation system comprising: the emission condition setting data for setting the emission condition and an exit condition release data for releasing the exit condition. In the particle beam irradiation system according to claim 3,
The emission control data matches the initial value of the emission condition setting data with the final value of the emission condition cancellation data, and makes the final value of the emission condition setting data coincide with the initial value of the emission condition cancellation data Particle beam irradiation system characterized by In the particle beam irradiation system according to claim 3 or 4,
A particle beam irradiation system characterized in that the emission condition setting data and the emission condition cancellation data of the emission control data are used to control a quadrupole electromagnet and a hexapole electromagnet arranged in the synchrotron. The particle beam irradiation system according to any one of claims 3 to 5,
The particle beam irradiation system according to claim 1, wherein the controller starts updating the extraction condition setting data when it determines that the reached energy and the target energy match after the end of acceleration. In the particle beam irradiation system according to claim 2,
The particle beam irradiation system, wherein the control device updates the deceleration control data when it is determined that the accumulated beam charge amount is depleted.

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