JPH04295344A - X-ray simulator system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the accuracy of a treatment plan. CONSTITUTION:A living body is exposed to weak X-rays from an X-ray source and the lesion of the living body is observed by means of fluoroscopy. In this case, not only the lesion but also rectangular blades 27a for planning are observed. The rectangular blades 27a are moved as needed and the outline of the shadow of each rectangular blade 27a is made to coincide with that of the lesion. When the outlines coincide with each other, rays of light are applied to the living body from a light source and then the shadow of each rectangular blade 27a formed by the light is projected on the surface of the living body. Because the shadow formed by the light and projected on the surface of the living body is in a form similar to that of the lesion, an accurate treatment plan for the lesion is made possible by the shadow.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Purpose of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an X-ray simulator device applied to a treatment plan for a lesion in a living body using X-ray fluoroscopy.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Radiotherapy devices are known that irradiate high-intensity radiation to a lesion, which is a target object to be treated, in a living body to destroy and treat the lesion.

As shown in FIG. 5, this radiation therapy apparatus 1 includes a radiation source 2 that generates high-intensity radiation, a light source 3 that generates light rays, and an aperture section 4 that narrows down the radiation and the light rays. be. The aperture unit 4 is configured to form a variable common irradiation field E of radiation and light beams on the irradiated surface (body surface) S of the living body P. In the figure, M denotes a half mirror made of a low radiation attenuation member, which reflects the light beam from the light source 3 toward the irradiated surface S side. Furthermore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-220883, the aperture section 4 has a pair of rectangular blades arranged such that their longitudinal end faces face each other, and can be moved forward and backward independently in the longitudinal direction. A plurality of pairs are arranged in parallel, and the irradiation field E of high-intensity radiation is configured so that it can correspond to any shape of the lesion.

By the way, since the radiation emitted from the radiation source 2 of the radiotherapy device 1 is of high intensity, if normal tissue other than a lesion is irradiated with more radiation than necessary, the normal tissue may be destroyed. Therefore, destruction of normal tissue
need to be kept to a minimum. Therefore, a treatment plan is carried out in which a mark such as a line is added in advance to the contour of the irradiated surface S to which high-intensity radiation for treatment is irradiated. In addition, the difference in energy is too large to lower the intensity of radiation from the radiation source 2 of the radiation therapy device 1 and apply the radiation therapy device 1 to the treatment plan, so the radiation intensity becomes unstable during treatment. Not put into practical use. Therefore, in addition to the radiotherapy device 1, an X-ray simulator device 10 has been developed in recent years that can be applied to treatment plans for in-vivo lesions using low-intensity X-ray fluoroscopy.

As shown in FIG. 6, this recently developed X-ray simulator device 10 includes an X-ray source 12 that generates low-intensity weak X-rays, a light source 13 that generates light rays, a half mirror M, It includes an aperture section 14 that narrows down weak X-rays and light rays, an X-ray detector 15 that detects weak X-rays, and a TV monitor (not shown) that displays a fluoroscopic image. The aperture unit 14 is configured to form a variable common irradiation field E of weak X-rays and light beams on the irradiation surface S of the living body P.

The aperture section 14 of this conventional X-ray simulator device 10 blocks X-rays that exceed the exterior of the X-ray detector 15, and as shown in FIG. A combined X-ray shielding aperture section 16;
It has a planning constriction part 17 formed by combining thin wires 17a in a parallel cross shape. Also, the shielding rectangular blade 16
a, the wire 17a is configured to be able to move forward and backward in the directions shown in the figure. Treatment planning using this X-ray simulator device 10 is performed as follows.

First, weak X-rays are irradiated from the X-ray source 12 toward the living body P. When this weak X-ray is detected by the X-ray detector 15, a transparent image of the living body P is displayed on the TV monitor. The operator confirms on the fluoroscopic screen that the lesion is inside the cross-shaped wire 17a. After confirmation, the living body P is irradiated with light from the light source 13. The shadow of the wire 17a is projected onto the body surface S of the living body P. The operator makes a marking along the shadow of the wire 17a projected onto the body surface S. Next, the operator moves the living body P to the radiation therapy apparatus 1 and places it there. At this time, the X-ray source 1 of the X-ray simulator device 10 is
2 and the living body P and the distance L between the radiation source 2 of the radiation therapy apparatus 1 and the living body P are made to match. A living body P is irradiated with light from a light source 3 of a radiation therapy apparatus 1. Next, the operator controls the aperture unit 4 so that the irradiation field E of the light generated from the light source 3 matches the mark made in the previous treatment plan. When the mark matches the irradiation field E, therapeutic radiation is irradiated to treat the lesion.

[0008]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, although the aperture section of a radiation therapy device can correspond to the shape of the lesion that is the target treatment object, the aperture section of an X-ray simulator device can only correspond to a rectangular shape. Therefore, depending on the shape of the lesion, the destruction of normal tissue may become large, making it impossible to plan an accurate treatment. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an X-ray simulator device that improves the accuracy of treatment planning. [Structure of the invention]

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is applied to a treatment plan for in-vivo lesions by X-ray fluoroscopy or photography, and includes an X-ray source that generates weak X-rays, and an X-ray source that generates light rays. and a diaphragm portion capable of forming a variable common irradiation field of the weak X-rays and light beams on the irradiated surface of the living body.
The line simulator device is characterized in that a plurality of pairs of rectangular blades arranged in the aperture part so that their longitudinal end faces face each other are arranged in parallel so that they can move forward and backward independently in the longitudinal direction. .

0010

[Operation] The operation of the apparatus having the above structure will be explained.

First, weak X-rays are irradiated from an X-ray source toward a living body, and lesions within the living body are visualized by X-ray fluoroscopy or photography. In this case, not only the lesions but also the quadrate wings are visualized. The rectangular blade is moved appropriately to match the outline of the shadow of the rectangular blade to the outline of the lesion on the visualized image. Once they match, when the light source irradiates the living body with a light beam, the light shadow of the rectangular blade is projected onto the body surface of the living body. Since the shadow of the light projected onto the body surface of the living body has a shape similar to the shape of the lesion, this shadow enables accurate treatment planning for the lesion.

0012

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of an X-ray simulator device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present device 20 includes an X-ray source 12, a light source 13, a half mirror M, and an X-ray detector 15 similar to those of the conventional X-ray simulator device 1 shown in FIG. 6, and an aperture section 2 according to the present invention.
It is roughly composed of 4. Moreover, this device 20
A drive unit 31 that drives the aperture unit 24; a position detection unit 32 that detects the position of the planning rectangular blade 27a (described later) and the like that constitute the aperture unit 24; 31. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of the aperture section 24. As shown in FIG.

The aperture section 24 is similar to the aperture section 14 of the conventional X-ray simulator device 10 shown in FIG.
An X-ray shielding aperture section 16 for blocking X-rays exceeding the exterior of the X-ray source 12 is provided on the X-ray source 12 side, and a planning aperture section 27 is provided on the X-ray irradiation side.

As shown in FIG. 2, this planning aperture section 27 is capable of independently moving forward and backward in the longitudinal direction A a pair of planning rectangular blades 27a arranged such that their longitudinal end surfaces 27b face each other. A plurality of pairs (9 pairs in this example) are arranged in parallel. The shape of the planning rectangular blade 27a is 5 mm thick.
, a plate shape with a width of 10 mm and a length of 250 mm, but the dimensions are not limited thereto and may be other shapes such as a round bar. Further, the material of the planning rectangular blade 27a is a material capable of shielding X-rays and light rays, such as aluminum, but a semi-transparent X-ray shielding member may be used.

The drive unit 31 includes a motor (not shown) that drives the shielding rectangular blade 16a of the X-ray shielding aperture unit 16;
A motor (not shown) that drives the planning rectangular blade 27a is provided, and each blade 16 is driven based on a control signal from the control unit 33.
a, 27a.

[0017] The position detection unit 32 has a rectangular shielding blade 16a.
An encoder (not shown) that detects the position of the planning rectangular blade 27a and an encoder (not shown) that detects the position of the planning rectangular blade 27a
The pulse signal from each encoder is sent to the control section 33 as a position detection signal. The shape of the aperture of the planning rectangular blade 27a may be an arbitrary shape shown in FIG. 3 or a rectangular shape similar to that of the conventional device 10 shown in FIG.

The control unit 33 controls the drive unit 31 based on the position detection signals from each encoder of the position detection unit 32 based on the operator's operation, and shapes the planning rectangular blade 27a into the arbitrary shape shown in FIG. 3 or the shape shown in FIG. It has a rectangular shape as shown. Next, the operation of the embodiment device 20 configured as described above will be explained.

First, weak X-rays are emitted from the X-ray source 12 toward the living body P, and when the weak X-rays are detected by the X-ray detector 15, a transparent image of the living body P is displayed on the TV monitor. The operator looks at this fluoroscopic image and confirms that the lesion, which is the object to be treated, is within the irradiation field E. Planning square blade 27
The shadow of a is also projected on the TV monitor. The operator operates the control unit 33 so that the outline of the shadow of the planning rectangular blade 27a matches the outline of the lesion on the fluoroscopic screen of the TV monitor. The control unit 33 controls the planning rectangular blade 27a based on the operator's operation.
move. When the outline of the shadow of the planning rectangular blade 27a matches the outline of the lesion on the fluoroscopic screen of the TV monitor, the operator causes the light source 13 of the X-ray simulator device 20 to emit light. A light shadow having a shape similar to the shape of the lesion is formed on the body surface S of the living body P. The operator makes markings along the outline of this shadow.

Next, the living body P is moved to and placed in the radiation therapy apparatus 1. At this time, the X-ray simulator device 20
The distance L between the radiation source 12 and the living body P is made to match the distance L between the radiation source 2 of the radiation therapy apparatus 1 and the living body P. A living body P is irradiated with light from a light source 3 of a radiation therapy apparatus 1. Next, the operator controls the aperture unit 4 of the radiation therapy apparatus 1 so that the irradiation field E of the light from the light source 3 matches the mark made in the previous plan. When the light irradiation field E and the mark match, the operator irradiates therapeutic radiation from the radiation source 2 to treat the lesion.

According to the above-mentioned embodiment device 20,
Since the constriction section 24 is designed to correspond to the shape of the lesion that is the object to be treated, destruction of normal tissue around the lesion can be minimized, making the treatment plan more accurate. In addition,
The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made without changing the gist thereof.

[0022]

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention described in detail above, multiple pairs of rectangular blades that can move back and forth independently can emit light that is common to the X-ray irradiation field and has a shape similar to the shape of the lesion in the body. Since the irradiation field is formed on the irradiated surface of the living body, it is possible to provide an X-ray simulator device that improves the accuracy of treatment planning.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an aperture section of an X-ray simulator device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an X-ray simulator device according to an embodiment of the present invention. .

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating the aperture mode of the aperture section of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the aperture mode of the aperture section of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a radiation therapy apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional X-ray simulator device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a main part of the aperture section of the device shown in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Radiation therapy equipment 12 X-ray source 13. Light source 15 Detector 20 X-ray simulator device 27 Planning aperture part 27a　Planning square blade 27b End face of planning square blade E Common irradiation field S　Irradiated surface

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Applied to treatment planning of in-vivo lesions by X-ray fluoroscopy or photography, comprising an X-ray source that generates weak X-rays, a light source that generates light rays, and a variable common irradiation of the weak X-rays and light rays. In the X-ray simulator device, a pair of rectangular blades arranged in the aperture part such that their longitudinal end faces face each other are provided independently in the longitudinal direction. 1. An X-ray simulator device characterized in that a plurality of pairs of X-ray simulators are installed in parallel so that they can move forward and backward.