Adaptive radiation therapy planning

A method for adapting a radiotherapy treatment plan for treating a target structure within a target region of a patient body, the radiotherapy treatment plan comprising irradiation parameters for controlling a delivery of radiation to the target region, the method comprising:

• storing a plurality of sets of influence parameters in a planning unit, the influence parameters quantifying an influence of the radiation on the target region per unit intensity emission in accordance with an anatomical configuration of the target region and each set of influence parameters being associated with an image of the target region representing a particular anatomical configuration of the target region,
• obtaining an image of the target region acquired by an imaging unit,
• the planning unit selecting the set of influence parameters from the stored sets on a basis of a comparison between the acquired image and at least one of the images associated with the sets of influence parameters, and
• the planning unit adapting the radiotherapy treatment plan on the basis of the selected set of influence parameters.

A tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon software instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for adapting a radiotherapy treatment plan for treating a target structure within a target region of a patient body, the radiotherapy treatment plan comprising irradiation parameters for controlling a delivery of radiation to the target region, the method comprising:

• storing a plurality of sets of influence parameters in a planning unit, the influence parameters quantifying an influence of the radiation on the target region per unit intensity emission in accordance with an anatomical configuration of the target region and each set of influence parameters being associated with an image of the target region representing a particular anatomical configuration of the target region;
• obtaining an image of the target region acquired by an imaging unit;
• and
• selecting, by the planning unit, the set of influence parameters from the stored sets on a basis of a comparison between the acquired image and at least one of the images associated with the sets of influence parameters, the planning unit adapting the radiotherapy treatment plan on the basis of the selected set of influence parameters.

An apparatus for adapting a radiotherapy treatment plan for treating a target structure within a target region, the treatment plan comprising irradiation parameters for controlling a delivery of radiation to the target region, the apparatus comprising:

• a controller comprising a processor;
• and a memory that stores instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to:
• store a plurality of sets of influence parameters in a planning unit, the influence parameters quantifying an influence of the radiation on the target region per unit intensity emission in accordance with an anatomical configuration of the target region, wherein each set of influence parameters are associated with an image of the target region representing a particular anatomical configuration of the target region;
• obtain an image of the target region acquired by an imaging unit;
• and
• select, by the planning unit, the set of influence parameters from the stored sets on a basis of a comparison between the acquired image and at least one of the images associated with the sets of influence parameters, the planning unit being adapted the treatment plan on the basis of the selected set of influence parameters.