Optimization of thermoradiotherapy treatment

A computer-based method for generating a set of treatment plans including a radiation treatment plan and a hyperthermia treatment plan, for thermoradiotherapy treatment for a treatment volume of a patient, the method comprising:

• a. obtaining an optimization problem including at least one objective function related to the multimodality treatment including hyperthermia and radiation, wherein the objective function models a combined biological effect of temperature and dose for each of a plurality of voxels of the treatment volume using a biophysical model with temperature-dependent parameters and is subject to constraints of at least one radiotherapy delivery device and at least one hyperthermia applicator;
• b. generating at least one of the radiation treatment plan and the hyperthermia treatment plan by optimizing the objective function value evaluated for the predicted combined effect over the set of treatment plans wherein the optimization simultaneously adjusts hyperthermia power deposition parameters and radiation dose-distribution variables within a single coupled optimization problem, such that the temperature field and radiation dose at the voxels evolve interdependently during the optimization;
• and
• c. delivering thermoradiotherapy treatment to the patient in accordance with the set of treatment plans.