TWI716908B - Radiotherapy system, recording media and operation method of radiotherapy system - Google Patents

Abstract

The radiation therapy system of the present invention includes: a proton beam generating device 103; a rotary irradiation device 105 that irradiates the proton beam generated by the proton beam generating device 103 toward the target 201 in the irradiated body 111; and a control device 102a that irradiates the proton beam The generating device 103 and the rotary irradiating device 105 are controlled; the converter 303, which is provided on the irradiated body 111; and the signal processing device 302, which determines whether or not sound waves are generated from the reference mark 101 based on the signal waveform measured by the converter 303, To determine whether the proton beam irradiates the planned position.

Description

Radiotherapy system, recording media and operation method of radiotherapy system

The invention relates to a radiotherapy system, a recording medium, and a method for operating the radiotherapy system.

In Non-Patent Document 1, about typical clinical scenarios, research results on the verification of the range in proton beam therapy using the proton acoustic signal induced by the Burr peak are described. [Prior Technical Literature] [Non-Patent Literature]

[Non-Patent Document 1] Ahmad M, Xiang L, Yousefi S and Xing L. "Theoretical detection threshold of the proton-acoustic range verification technique." Med Phys. 2015;42(10):5735-5744.

[The problem to be solved by the invention]

The particle beam therapy is attracting attention based on the height of the concentration of the line which is the characteristic of the Bulag wave peak. In particular, since it is possible to form a line amount distribution that matches the shape of the target, the scanning irradiation method is expected to be large.

However, in the current scanning irradiation, it is required to set a range of irradiation around the target, and there is still room for taking advantage of the concentration of the line quantity. As the background of the required range, there is uncertainty in the position of the beam in the body.

Therefore, it is considered that the method of directly and instantly confirming the condition of the beam irradiated according to the irradiation plan can be more advantageous.

As a method of directly and instantly confirming that the beam is irradiated according to the irradiation plan by measuring the irradiation position of the beam, the utilization of the "particle beam sound wave" described in Non-Patent Document 1 is proposed.

The so-called particle beam sound wave system refers to the elastic wave generated by the adiabatic expansion of the local area by the heat from the pulsed beam. The particle beam sound waves are also generated when the irradiated radiation is X-rays.

In the position identification using the particle beam sound wave, previously, the irradiation position of the outgoing beam was specified based on the time difference from the start time of beam irradiation to the measurement time of the particle beam sound wave by the sensor, and it was confirmed that the beam was irradiated according to the irradiation plan The situation.

However, since the speed of sound varies from place to place in a heterogeneous medium, there is a problem of error. In addition, since the intensity of the generated sound waves is low, there is a problem that in order to remove noise, it is necessary to repeat the measurement under the same conditions several times, and the processing of averaging the signal until the position is specified takes a lot of time.

The present invention provides a radiotherapy system, a recording medium, and an operation method of the radiotherapy system that can easily determine whether or not to irradiate radiation according to an irradiation plan compared with the prior art. [Technical means to solve the problem]

The present invention includes a plurality of means to solve the above-mentioned problems. If one example is cited, it is a radiotherapy system characterized in that it is a radiotherapy system that uses sound waves generated from a fiducial mark arranged in an irradiated body, and has: Radiation generating device; irradiation device, which irradiates the radiation generated by the radiation generating device toward the target in the irradiated body; control device, which controls the radiation generating device and the irradiation device; sonic wave sensor, which is installed in The irradiated body; and a signal processing device that determines whether or not a sound wave is generated from the reference mark based on the signal waveform measured by the sonic wave sensor, thereby determining whether the radiation is irradiated at a planned position.

Furthermore, if another example is cited, it is characterized in that the processing device in the radiation therapy system executes the following determination step: based on the signal of the sound wave generated from the fiducial mark generated when the radiation is irradiated toward the target in the irradiated body, it is determined whether there is Sound waves are generated from the reference mark, thereby determining whether the radiation is irradiated to the planned position.

Furthermore, if another example is cited, it is an actuation method of a radiation therapy system, which is characterized by having: a measuring step of measuring sound waves generated from a reference mark when radiation is irradiated toward a target in an irradiated body; and a determining step based on From the signal waveform of the sound wave measured in the measurement step, it is determined whether or not a sound wave is generated from the reference mark, thereby determining whether the radiation is irradiated to the planned position. [Effects of Invention]

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily determine whether or not radiation is irradiated according to the irradiation plan compared with the previous one. The problems, constitution, and effects other than the above are clarified by the description of the following examples.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the radiotherapy system, the recording medium, and the operation method of the radiotherapy system of the present invention will be described using figures.

<Example 1> The first embodiment of the radiotherapy system, the recording medium, and the operation method of the radiotherapy system of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 1 to 4B.

In this embodiment, as a radiation therapy system, a proton beam therapy system that irradiates a proton beam to a target is taken as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to the use of particles with heavier mass than protons (helium rays or carbon rays, etc.) Heavy particle beam therapy system or X-ray therapy system using X-rays.

First, the overall configuration of the proton beam therapy system will be described using FIG. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the proton beam therapy system of the present invention.

The proton beam therapy system 102 of this embodiment is a system that utilizes the sound waves generated from the fiducial mark 101 arranged in the irradiated body 111. As shown in FIG. 1, it has a proton beam generator 103, a proton beam delivery device 104, and a rotary The irradiation device 105, the control device 102a, the irradiation planning device 301, the signal processing device 302, the converter 303, and the database 304.

In FIG. 1, the proton beam generator 103 has an ion source 106, a front-stage accelerator 107 (for example, a linear accelerator), and a synchrotron 108.

The ions generated by the ion source 106 are first accelerated by the front accelerator 107. The proton beam (hereinafter, beam) emitted from the front-stage accelerator 107 enters the synchrotron 108 from the incident device 108a.

The beam incident to the synchrotron 108 will be deflected toward the substantially quadrilateral path formed by the electromagnet 108b by the magnetic field generated by the quadrupole electromagnet 108c, etc., to be finely adjusted and circumscribed, and the beam will be accelerated each time it passes through the acceleration cavity 108d. The beam accelerated to a predetermined energy is emitted from the emission polarizer 109 to the proton beam transport device 104 using the high frequency applied by the high-frequency emission device 108e.

The proton beam transport device 104 includes a plurality of deflection electromagnets 105 a and quadrupole electromagnets 105 b, and connects the synchrotron 108 and the nozzle 110.

The beam transported by the proton beam transport device 104 to the rotary irradiation device 105 is finally irradiated to the irradiated body 111 through the nozzle 110 of the rotary irradiation device 105.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the synchrotron 108 is used as the beam acceleration device, but the invention does not matter what kind of acceleration device is. For example, various well-known accelerators such as a cyclotron, a synchrocyclotron, a laser accelerator, and a linear accelerator can be used.

The rotating irradiation device 105 is a device for irradiating the beam generated by the proton beam generating device 103 toward the target 201 in the irradiated body 111, and has a rotating bracket (not shown) and a nozzle 110. The nozzle 110 arranged on the rotating support rotates together with the rotating support. A part of the proton beam delivery device 104 is mounted on a rotating support.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the rotary irradiation device 105 with a rotating stand is taken as an example for description, but the irradiation device may also be a fixed type.

In addition, when the irradiation device is not limited to one, multiple irradiation devices can be installed.

Furthermore, the proton beam transport device 104 can be omitted and the beam can be directly transported from the synchrotron 108 to the rotary irradiation device 105.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the nozzle 110 using the scanning irradiation method.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the scanning irradiation method, the target 201 is divided into minute areas (points) 202, and a beam of a narrow diameter (pen-shaped beam) is irradiated to each point 202.

In the scanning irradiation method, if a predetermined amount of beam is irradiated to a certain point 202, the irradiation is stopped or the irradiation is maintained to scan the beam toward the next predetermined point 202. The scanning electromagnet 203 mounted on the nozzle 110 is used for beam scanning in the horizontal direction (X direction and Y direction in FIG. 2).

If a predetermined amount of beam is irradiated to all points 202 about a certain depth, the beam is scanned in the depth direction (the Z direction in FIG. 2).

The scanning of the beam in the depth direction is achieved by changing the acceleration conditions of the synchrotron 108, or changing the energy of the beam by passing the beam through a range converter (not shown) mounted on the nozzle 110, etc. get on.

Repeating this sequence of steps will eventually form a uniform linear distribution on the target 201 as a whole.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the scanning irradiation method is used as a method to form a uniform line quantity distribution on the target, but the same effect can be obtained by using the scatterer irradiation method.

The control device 102a is a device that controls the actions of the devices that constitute the proton beam generating device 103, the proton beam transport device 104, and the rotary irradiation device 105 including the synchrotron 108, etc., and consists of one or more processors, CPU ( Central Processing Unit, central processing unit) and other components. The control of the operation of each machine using the control device 102a is executed by various programs. The program is stored in the database 304 or internal recording medium or external recording medium, and is read and executed by the CPU.

Furthermore, the control processing of the actions executed by the control device 102a can be combined in one program, or can be dispersed in a plurality of programs, or a combination thereof. In addition, part or all of the program can be realized by dedicated hardware, and can also be modularized. Furthermore, various programs can also be installed on each computer through a program distribution server or a storage medium.

The database 304 stores programs that control the actions of the various machines constituting the synchrotron 108, the rotary irradiation device 105, and the proton beam transport device 104, or multiple irradiation plan data (irradiation parameters such as bracket angle, plan point data, etc.), etc. The memory device. The database 304 exchanges data with the control device 102a via a wired or wireless network line.

The irradiation planning device 301 is a device for making an irradiation plan for irradiating the beam to the target 201, for example, determining the energy, irradiation position, and irradiation amount of each point 202.

The irradiation planning device 301 of this embodiment calculates the line quantity distribution of the beam in the irradiated body 111, and estimates whether the reference mark 101 is in contact with the beam based on the calculation result of the line quantity distribution. The estimation result is output to the signal processing device 302.

The converter 303 provided in the irradiated body 111 is a device for measuring the sound wave generated from the irradiation position (point 202) or the reference mark 101 when the beam is irradiated toward the target 201 in the irradiated body 111, and performs the measurement step. The pressure value (sound wave waveform) at each time measured by the converter 303 is output to the signal processing device 302.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a case where one converter 303 is provided is described, but a plurality of converters 303 may also be provided. Also, an array sensor or the like may be used instead of the converter 303.

The signal processing device 302 is a device that determines whether or not a sound wave is generated from the reference mark 101 based on the signal waveform measured by the converter 303, thereby determining whether the beam is irradiated to the planned position, and executes the determination step and the determination step.

For example, the signal processing device 302 of this embodiment performs frequency analysis on the sound wave waveform measured by the converter 303, and when the intensity of the frequency shown by the following formula (2) exceeds a predetermined threshold, the judgment is used as a reference The way the mark 101 contacts the beam is set.

In addition, the signal processing device 302 of this embodiment compares the estimation result related to the contact between the reference mark 101 and the beam estimated by the irradiation planning device 301 with the determination result based on the measurement of the converter 303, and when there is a difference When it is determined that the beam is not irradiated as planned, the beam irradiation stop signal is output to the control device 102a (stop step sequence).

In addition, the signal processing device 302 may also have the same configuration as the control device 102a. In addition, the signal processing device 302 may be integrated into the control device 102a.

Figure 3 shows the structure of the irradiated body in the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the fiducial mark 101 is pierced in the vicinity of the target 201. Ideally, the fiducial mark 101 is preferably inserted between the target 201 and OAR (Organ At Risk).

In this embodiment, the shape of the reference mark 101 is a ball. Furthermore, the fiducial mark 101 does not need to be a spherical shape, and may have other shapes (for example, a cube or a spiral shape). However, in order to detect the sound waves generated from the fiducial mark 101 with high sensitivity, the spherical shape is preferable.

Furthermore, the degree of the spherical shape of the reference mark 101 is not particularly limited, but it is preferably a level that does not exist in the irradiated body 111, such as "JIS B 1501: 2009 Rolling Bearings-Steel Balls". It meets the G10 level according to the grade scale recorded in

Moreover, in this embodiment, the material of the fiducial mark 101 assumes gold, but it is not limited to gold. Even if it is platinum or stainless steel, and resins and other materials different from gold, the same effect can be obtained.

The fiducial mark 101 always monitors the position in the three-dimensional space of the irradiated body 111 by the X-ray fluoroscopy device (not shown) provided on the rotary irradiation device 105. Therefore, the present invention can be used together with the dynamic tracking irradiation using the reference mark 101. The fiducial mark 101 is placed near the target 201, so it moves with the target 201 under the influence of respiration, heart rate, etc. By irradiating the beam only when the reference mark 101 is at a predetermined position, the influence of the movement of the target 201 with respect to the linear distribution can be suppressed.

The planning method of beam irradiation in this embodiment will be explained using FIG. 3.

The irradiation planning device 301 optimizes the beam irradiation amount of each point 202 as described above. In addition, for the three-dimensional CT image of the irradiated body 111 obtained in advance, the three-dimensional line quantity distribution of the beam at each point 202 is calculated. Then, when the line distribution of each beam is overlapped, the beam exposure of each point 202 is optimized in a manner that can form a uniform line distribution on the target 201. The optimized beam irradiation amount of each point 202 is output as a prescription to the database 304, and then output to the proton beam therapy system 102 before irradiation.

In addition, the irradiation planning device 301 of the present embodiment estimates whether the reference mark 101 is in contact with the beam to each point 202 based on the calculation result of the linear amount distribution as described above. The estimation result is output to the signal processing device 302.

Next, using FIGS. 3 to 4B, the details of the particle beam sound measurement step and the determination step, which are characteristic steps in the proton beam therapy system 102 of the present embodiment, will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, before the beam is irradiated, a transducer 303 for measuring the sound wave of the particle beam is installed on the surface of the irradiated body 111.

Furthermore, since the three-dimensional position of the fiducial mark 101 in the irradiated body 111 is known by X-ray imaging, etc., the converter 303 can be used to measure the sound waves generated from the fiducial mark 101 whose position is determined in advance. Those with sensor sensitivity. In addition, the installation position may also be a configuration specialized for the detection of sound waves from the reference mark 101.

The proton beam therapy system 102 executes beam irradiation to each point 202 according to the input from the irradiation planning device 301. When the beam is irradiated, the pressure value (sound wave waveform) for each time measured by the converter 303 is output to the signal processing device 302.

Here, at the time of beam irradiation of the short pulse where the heat and stress confinement is established, the amount of line D from the beam is converted into the pressure P based on the following equation (1).

[Number 1]

In formula (1), ρ is the density of the medium. Γ is the Grüneisen constant (Grüneisen parameter) (represents the amount of deviation (non-harmonic) from the harmonic vibration in the lattice vibration of the solid, which is equivalent to the ratio of the second elastic constant to the third elastic constant), Varies by substance. It is about 0.1 in soft tissues such as water and 3.5 in gold.

If the beam touches the spherical reference mark 101, resonance is caused, and a spherical wave is generated from the reference mark 101. The spherical wave can be represented by a spherical Bessel function of order 0, and the frequency f of the spherical wave is obtained by the following equation (2).

[Number 2]

In formula (2), n is an integer, v is the speed of sound, and r is the radius of the reference mark.

Furthermore, assuming that the pulse of the irradiation beam is a Gaussian distribution of the standard deviation σ, the intensity A of the sound wave generated from the reference mark is calculated by the following equation (3).

[Number 3]

As described above, the converter 303 measures the particle beam sound waves generated by the beam irradiation, and transmits the measurement result to the signal processing device 302 in real time. The signal processing device 302 analyzes the acquired sound wave waveform at each time, and determines whether the beam irradiated to each point 202 is in contact with the reference mark 101.

Hereinafter, the details of the determination step in the signal processing device 302 will be described using FIGS. 4A and 4B.

4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the flow of determining the characteristics of the signal waveform of the particle beam sound wave. FIG. 4A is a diagram when the beam is not in contact with the reference mark 101, and FIG. 4B is the beam and the reference mark 101 The picture of the contact situation.

First, the signal processing device 302 obtains the sound wave waveform for each time from the converter 303 (steps 401a, 401b).

Next, the signal processing device 302 performs frequency analysis on the acquired sound wave waveform (steps 402a, 402b).

Here, when the beam is not in contact with the reference mark 101, as shown by the symbols 401a and 402a in FIG. 4A, the sound wave measured by the converter 303 does not include waves of various frequency components, and essentially only a specific Frequency of sound waves. The sound wave is a particle beam sound wave generated by a point 202 in the target 201. Therefore, as shown by the symbol 403a in FIG. 4A, the signal intensity of the sound wave of the frequency 404 corresponding to the reference mark 101 is a value close to 0, and its intensity is lower than the threshold 405.

In contrast, when the beam is in contact with the reference mark 101, as shown by the symbols 401b and 402b in FIG. 4B, in addition to the particle beam sound waves of a specific frequency generated in the point 202, the measurement is also made of the particle beam sound waves generated from the reference mark 101 Particle beam sound waves of various frequencies. Therefore, as shown by the symbol 403b in FIG. 4B, the signal intensity of the sound wave of the frequency 404 corresponding to the reference mark 101 exceeds the predetermined threshold 405 and is detected.

Therefore, the signal processing device 302 focuses on the frequency 404 corresponding to the reference mark 101 represented by the formula (2), and determines whether the intensity exceeds the predetermined threshold 405 (steps 403a, 403b). When it is determined that the threshold value 405 is or less (step 403a), it is determined that the beam is not in contact with the reference mark 101, and when it is determined that the threshold value 405 is exceeded (step 403b), it is determined that the beam is in contact with the reference mark 101.

Furthermore, the signal processing device 302 compares the estimation result obtained from the irradiation planning device 301 with the measurement result regarding the contact between the reference mark 101 and the beam. In the case where the two are consistent, it is determined that the beam irradiation according to the irradiation plan is implemented, and in the case of inconsistency, it is determined that the beam irradiation is not implemented according to the irradiation plan.

For example, depending on the positional relationship between the point 202 and the reference mark 101, the beam is also in contact with the reference mark 101. As shown in FIG. 4B, in addition to the particle beam sound wave generated by the point 202, the beam generated by the reference mark 101 should also be observed. Particle beam sound waves.

This is equivalent to when the point 202 is very close to the reference mark 101, when the reference mark 101 is placed in the target 201, when the point 202 is close to the reference mark 101, and when the irradiation position spans the point 202 and the reference mark 101 , When the fiducial mark 101 is provided in the target 201, the point 202 of the irradiation target is arranged inside the fiducial mark 101, etc.

In the irradiation of such a point 202, the situation where the particle beam sound wave generated by the reference mark 101 is not observed means that the beam is not irradiated to the planned position of the irradiation.

On the contrary, when the point 202 is separated from the reference mark 101, as shown in FIG. 4A, only the particle beam sound wave generated by the point 202 should be measured and the particle beam sound wave generated by the reference mark 101 should not be observed. Therefore, in this case, when the particle beam sound wave generated by the reference mark 101 is observed, it means that the beam is not irradiated to the position of the irradiation plan.

Therefore, the signal processing device 302 reports the determination result to the operator of the proton beam therapy system 102 via the user interface 102a1, and sends the determination result to the control device 102a.

Furthermore, the user interface 102a1 includes input devices such as a touch panel or a display, a display and a keyboard or a mouse.

In particular, when the signal processing device 302 determines that the beam irradiation according to the irradiation plan is not performed, it outputs the irradiation stop signal for the beam for automatically stopping the beam irradiation to the control device 102a.

When an irradiation stop signal is input, the control device 102a executes an action of stopping beam irradiation by the proton beam generator 103, the proton beam transport device 104, and the rotary irradiation device 105. For example, there is a method such as stopping the application of high frequency for emission of the high frequency emission device 108e.

Next, the effect of this embodiment will be described.

The proton beam therapy system 102 of the first embodiment of the present invention described above includes: a proton beam generating device 103; a rotary irradiation device 105 that irradiates the beam generated by the proton beam generating device 103 toward the target 201 in the irradiated body 111; control The device 102a, which controls the proton beam generator 103 and the rotary irradiation device 105; the converter 303, which is arranged on the irradiated body 111; and the signal processing device 302, which is based on the signal waveform measured by the converter 303, It is determined whether or not sound waves are generated from the reference mark 101, thereby determining whether the beam is irradiated to the planned position.

This eliminates the need to use the time difference from the start time of beam irradiation to the time when the sound wave of the particle beam is measured by the converter 303, and it is possible to quickly and accurately confirm whether the beam follows Irradiation plan exposure.

In addition, since the position of the sound source (reference mark 101) and the frequency of the sound wave generated by the sound source are known, a sound wave sensor and sensor configuration specializing in the measurement of the sound wave can be applied. Therefore, the detection sensitivity can be improved, the number of measurements required for the signal averaging process for removing noise can be reduced, and the time and effort can be greatly reduced.

Furthermore, by narrowing the pulse width of the irradiation beam, the intensity of the sound wave generated from the reference mark 101 can be enhanced, and the number of measurements required for the signal averaging process for removing noise can be reduced. According to these effects, it is possible to efficiently confirm that the beam is irradiated according to the irradiation plan.

In addition, the signal processing device 302 performs frequency analysis on the sound wave waveform measured by the converter 303, and when the intensity of the frequency shown by integer × sound velocity ÷ (2 × radius of reference mark 101) exceeds a predetermined threshold, It is determined that the reference mark 101 is in contact with the beam, and it can be determined whether the sound wave generated from the reference mark 101 is detected with high accuracy.

Furthermore, since it is equipped with an irradiation planning device 301 that calculates the beam amount distribution in the irradiated body 111 and estimates whether the reference mark 101 is in contact with the beam based on the calculation result of the beam amount distribution, it can provide whether the beam is irradiated to the planned position The benchmark can more accurately determine whether the beam is irradiated to the planned position.

In addition, the signal processing device 302 compares the estimation result related to the contact of the reference mark 101 and the beam estimated by the irradiation planning device 301 with the determination result based on the measurement by the converter 303, and determines that it is The beam is not irradiated according to the plan, and the beam irradiation stop signal is output to the control device 102a, so that the beam can be stopped when the beam is not irradiated to the planned position, and quick countermeasures can be realized.

Furthermore, since the reference mark 101 has a spherical shape, the sound wave from the reference mark 101 becomes a spherical wave, and the measurement becomes easier.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the case where one reference mark 101 is provided in the irradiated body 111 is described, but the reference mark 101 can be provided in plural, and it can be arranged to surround the periphery of the target 201.

In addition, when a plurality of reference marks 101 are provided, it is preferable that the frequency of the sound wave generated from the reference mark 101 is different among all the reference marks 101. Therefore, in the above formula (2), it is preferable that: The speed of sound v is inconsistent with any one of the radius r of the reference mark, that is, the plurality of reference marks are set to different diameters and different materials. However, in terms of the convenience of preparing fiducial marks, it is desirable that the materials are all the same and the diameters are all different, or the diameters are all the same and the materials are all different.

Furthermore, when a plurality of reference marks 101 are provided, it is desirable to provide the same number of converters 303, and it is more desirable that the specifications of the installed converters 303 or the direction of installation are determined by The sound wave generated by the reference mark 101 is specialized.

Moreover, when a plurality of reference marks 101 are provided, it is preferable that the signal processing device 302 determines whether the frequency of the particle beam sound wave generated by the reference mark 101 is generated by the corresponding reference mark 101. For example, it is ideal to determine that the beam is not irradiated as planned when the intensity of the sound wave of a frequency different from the assumed frequency component is higher than a predetermined value.

<Example 2> The operation method of the radiation therapy system, the recording medium, and the radiation therapy system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 5 and 6. The same components as in the first embodiment are assigned the same symbols, and the description is omitted.

The radiotherapy system, the recording medium, and the operation method of the radiotherapy system of this embodiment are preferably applied to the technology related to the measurement of the beam range of the proton beam therapy system 102 and the like described in the first embodiment.

First, the configuration for quantitatively and instantly confirming the range of the beam in this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, a water prosthesis is used as the simulated irradiated body 111A instead of the irradiated body 111. A total of five gold reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e are set inside the water prosthesis along the irradiation direction of the beam. The reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e are all in a spherical state, and all have different diameters. Fig. 5 shows a case where the diameter is larger in the order of reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e provided on the upstream side of the beam.

Furthermore, the case of using a water prosthesis as the simulated irradiated body 111A will be described. However, as long as the material is different from the reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e, it is not a water prosthesis, even if it is a solid phantom ( Resin, plastic) also obtain the same effect.

In this embodiment, the converter 303 also measures the particle beam sound waves generated by the beam irradiation, and sends the measurement result to the signal processing device 302A in real time.

The signal processing device 302A analyzes the acquired sound wave waveform at each time, and determines whether the irradiation beam is in contact with the respective reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e. FIG. 6 shows an example of the frequency distribution of the sound wave waveform obtained by the signal processing device 302A.

The signal processing device 302A focuses on the frequency bands 404a, 404b, 404c, 404d, and 404e corresponding to the respective reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e shown by equation (2), and respectively determines whether the intensity exceeds a predetermined threshold 405.

When the signal processing device 302A determines that the threshold value 405 is exceeded, it determines that the beam reaches the reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e, that is, touches. On the other hand, when it is determined that the threshold value 405 is or less, it is determined that the beam has not reached the reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e.

Next, the signal processing device 302A sets the positions of the reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, 101e at the place where the beam travels the deepest among the reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e that the beam reaches. Is the range of the beam (determination step).

Finally, the signal processing device 302A reports the determination result and range information to the operator of the proton beam therapy system 102 via the user interface 102a1 (FIG. 1).

The other configurations and operations are substantially the same as those of the radiation therapy system, recording medium, and radiation therapy system of the first embodiment described above, and the details are omitted.

In the radiation therapy system of the second embodiment of the present invention, a simulated irradiated body 111A with two or more fiducial marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e is further provided, and the signal processing device 302A is based on self-simulation in the determination step The signal waveform of the sound waves generated by the reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e in the irradiated body 111A is used to measure the range of the beam.

As a result, since the position of the sound source (reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, 101e) and the frequency of the generated sound wave are known, a special sound wave sensor and sensor can be used to measure the sound wave.器Configuration. The improved detection sensitivity can reduce the number of measurements required for the averaging process of the signal to remove noise. In addition, the range of the beam can be confirmed quantitatively and instantly.

In addition, since the simulated irradiated body 111A is a water prosthesis, it can also be used for beam correction.

In addition, since there are a plurality of reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, 101e, and the diameters are all different, the frequency of the sound waves generated from each reference mark 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, 101e can be easily adjusted to different frequencies , It is easier to determine which reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e the beam reaches.

Furthermore, in FIG. 5, the case where the larger the diameter of the fiducial marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e provided on the upstream side of the beam is explained, it is not limited to this. To the downstream side, the larger the diameter of the fiducial mark is arranged, or the fiducial mark with different diameters is appropriately arranged in the simulated irradiated body 111A without considering the size of the diameter of the fiducial mark.

In addition, the case where the materials of the reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e are all gold has been described, but it is not necessary that all of them be the same material, and may be set to have no the same material.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the frequency of the sound wave generated from the reference mark is different from all the reference marks. Therefore, according to the above formula (2), the sound velocity v does not coincide with the radius r of the reference mark, that is, only a plurality of If the fiducial mark does not have the same diameter and the same material, you can easily determine whether the beam irradiation position is as planned.

In addition, the case where the reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, and 101e are spherical is described, but the reference marks 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, 101e are not limited to the case of a spherical shape, and may be cubes, etc. Other shapes.

＜Other＞ In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and includes various modifications. The above-mentioned embodiments have been explained in detail in order to explain the present invention easily and understandably, and are not necessarily limited to having all the explained configurations.

In addition, it is also possible to replace a part of the configuration of a certain embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of a certain embodiment. In addition, with regard to a part of the configuration of each embodiment, other configurations can also be added, deleted, and replaced.

101, 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d, 101e‧‧‧ fiducial mark 102‧‧‧Proton beam therapy system (radiation therapy system) 102a‧‧‧Control device 102a1‧‧‧User Interface 103‧‧‧Proton beam generator (radiation generator) 104‧‧‧Proton beam delivery device 105‧‧‧Rotary irradiation device (irradiation device) 105a‧‧‧Deflection electromagnet 105b‧‧‧Quad Electromagnet 106‧‧‧Ion source 107‧‧‧Front accelerator 108‧‧‧Synchronizer 108a‧‧‧Injector 108b‧‧‧Electromagnet 108c‧‧‧Quad Electromagnet 108d‧‧‧Acceleration cavity 108e‧‧‧High frequency emission device 109‧‧‧Exit Polarizer 110‧‧‧Nozzle 111‧‧‧irradiated body 111A‧‧‧Simulated irradiated body 201‧‧‧Target 202‧‧‧point 301‧‧‧ Irradiation planning device 302, 302A‧‧‧Signal processing device 303‧‧‧Converter (sonic sensor) 304‧‧‧Database Step 1 of 401a, 401b‧‧‧ beam and fiducial mark contact judgment Step 2 of 402a, 402b‧‧‧ beam and fiducial mark contact judgment Step 3 of 403a, 403b‧‧‧ beam and fiducial mark contact judgment 404, 404a, 404b, 404c, 404d, 404e‧‧‧The frequency band of the particle beam sound wave generated from the reference mark 405‧‧‧The threshold for judging the contact between the beam and the fiducial mark

Fig. 1 is an overall view of the proton beam therapy system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the nozzle of the proton beam therapy system of Fig. 1 using the scanning irradiation method. Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram of the device for measuring and analyzing the particle beam sound waves generated from the reference mark of the proton beam therapy system of Fig. 1. Fig. 4A is a procedure for determining the contact between the beam and the fiducial mark based on the measurement data of the particle beam sound wave of the signal processing device in Fig. 3. Fig. 4B is a procedure for determining the contact between the beam and the fiducial mark based on the measurement data of the particle beam sound wave of the signal processing device in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a configuration diagram of an apparatus for measuring and analyzing a particle beam sound wave generated from a reference mark of the beam range measuring system of the proton beam therapy system as the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a procedure for determining the contact between the beam and the fiducial mark based on the measurement data of the particle beam sound wave of the signal processing device in Fig. 5.

101‧‧‧ Reference mark

102a‧‧‧Control device

111‧‧‧irradiated body

201‧‧‧Target

301‧‧‧ Irradiation planning device

302‧‧‧Signal processing device

303‧‧‧Converter (sonic sensor)

304‧‧‧Database

Claims (14)

A radiotherapy system, characterized in that it is a radiotherapy system that uses sound waves generated from a fiducial mark arranged in an irradiated body, and includes: a radiation generating device; an irradiation device that directs the radiation generated by the radiation generating device toward The target irradiation in the irradiated body; a control device that controls the radiation generating device and the irradiation device; an sonic wave sensor that is provided on the irradiated body; and a signal processing device based on the sonic sensor The signal waveform measured by the detector determines whether or not a sound wave is generated from the reference mark, thereby determining whether the radiation is irradiated at the planned position. The radiotherapy system of claim 1, wherein the signal processing device performs frequency analysis on the sound wave waveform measured by the sound wave sensor, and calculates the frequency of the frequency shown by the integer × the speed of sound ÷ (2 × the radius of the reference mark) When the intensity exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the reference mark is in contact with the radiation. The radiation therapy system of claim 1, further comprising an irradiation planning device that calculates the radiation dose distribution of the radiation in the irradiated body, and estimates whether the reference mark is in contact with the radiation based on the calculation result of the radiation dose distribution . Such as the radiotherapy system of claim 3, where The signal processing device compares the estimation result related to the contact between the reference mark estimated by the irradiation planning device and the radiation with the judgment result based on the measurement by the sonic sensor, and judges the radiation when there is a difference Irradiation is not performed as planned, and the radiation stop signal is output to the control device. The radiation therapy system of claim 1, further comprising a simulated irradiated body having two or more reference marks. The radiation therapy system of claim 5, wherein the simulated irradiated body is a water prosthesis. The radiotherapy system of claim 1, wherein the reference mark is in a spherical shape. For example, the radiation therapy system of claim 7 has a plurality of the above-mentioned reference marks, and the diameters are all different. For example, the radiation therapy system of claim 1, which has a plurality of the above-mentioned reference marks, and the materials are all different. A recording medium characterized by readable and memorizing the following program: the processing device in the radiation therapy system executes the following determination steps: based on the sound waves generated from the fiducial marks generated when radiation is directed toward the target in the irradiated body Signal, it is determined that there is No sound waves are generated from the reference mark to determine whether the radiation is irradiated at the planned position. In the determination step sequence, the measured sound wave waveform is analyzed by frequency, and the result is calculated by integer × speed of sound ÷ (2 × reference mark When the intensity of the frequency indicated by the radius) exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the reference mark is in contact with the radiation. A recording medium characterized by readable and memorizing the following program: the processing device in the radiation therapy system executes the following determination steps: based on the sound waves generated from the fiducial marks generated when radiation is directed toward the target in the irradiated body To determine whether or not a sound wave is generated from the reference mark to determine whether the radiation is irradiated at the planned position, the irradiation planning device is made to perform the following estimation procedure: calculate the radiation amount distribution of the radiation in the irradiated body, based on the above The calculation result of the line quantity distribution estimates whether the reference mark is in contact with the radiation. For example, the recording medium of claim 11, in which the processing device is caused to execute the following stop procedure: the estimation result in the estimation procedure is compared with the determination result in the determination procedure, and when there is a difference, it is determined as the radiation Irradiation is not as planned, and the above-mentioned radiation irradiation stop signal is output. An actuation method of a radiation therapy system, characterized by having: a measuring step, which measures the sound waves generated from a reference mark when radiation is irradiated toward a target in an irradiated body; and The determination step is to determine whether or not a sound wave is generated from the reference mark based on the signal waveform of the sound wave measured in the measurement step, thereby determining whether the radiation is irradiated to a planned position. Such as the operation method of claim 13, wherein in the measurement step, a simulated irradiated body with two or more of the above-mentioned reference marks is used as the irradiated body, and in the determination step, based on the simulated irradiated body The signal waveform of the sound wave generated by the reference mark is used to measure the range of the above-mentioned radiation.

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