Configuration management and retrieval system for proton beam therapy system

A radiation beam therapy system comprising a plurality of distributed functional components whose operation is coordinated to elicit a selected operational mode, the system comprising:

• a database component that stores a plurality of parameters associated with the distributed functional components,
• an interface component that allows a user to select an operational mode for which the database component identifies appropriate subsets of parameters that are associated with the distributed functional components and generates at least one system control file containing an appropriate subset of parameters used to configure a selected distributed functional component to operate in such a manner to elicit the selected operational mode;
• and
• a control file distribution component that provides each of the distributed functional components with the appropriate system control file such that the functional components are able to operate substantially independently of the database component while eliciting the selected operational mode.

A radiation beam therapy system comprising:

• a plurality of treatment devices including a radiation beam source and a beam transport device;
• a database that stores subsets of specific parameters associated with selected treatment devices, wherein the specific parameters comprise a logical collection of instructional information that can be used to configure the selected treatment devices for operation;
• an interface that allows a user to modify the subsets of specific parameters associated with selected treatment devices stored in the database;
• and
• a management component that extracts selected subsets of specific parameters from the database and generates system control files comprising the extracted subsets of specific parameters in a format recognizable by the selected treatment devices, wherein the system control files permit configuration of the selected treatment devices based, at least in part, on the instructional information comprised therein, the management component further distributes the system control files to the selected treatment devices to thereby permit the selected treatment devices to operate independently of the database.

A radiation beam therapy system comprising:

• at least one functional component that can be configured for treatment delivery via a subset of configurable parameters;
• a database component that stores the subset of configurable parameters as a logical collection of information, the database component having a user interface that allows a user to modify the logical collection of information;
• and
• a management component that communicates with the database component and the at least one functional component, wherein the management component identifies the subset of configurable parameters associated with the at least one functional component, generates a first file from the identified subset of configurable parameters, and distributes the first file to the at least one functional component so that, upon reception of the first file, the at least one functional component can extract the subset of configurable parameters from the first file and configure itself for treatment delivery.

A method for managing a plurality of distributed instruments used in treatment delivery for a radiation beam therapy system, the method comprising:

• storing operational instructions for each instrument within a centralized configuration management system having a database component in which the operational instructions are maintained;
• selecting an operational mode for the radiation beam therapy system and identifying a subset of operational instructions stored in the database component for each of the distributed instruments to be used in configuring the radiation beam therapy system to function in the selected operational mode;
• generating a data storage element for each of the distributed instruments containing the required operational instructions necessary to configure each distributed instrument to function in such a manner so as to result in the radiation beam therapy system functioning in the selected operational mode;
• and
• transferring the data storage element to the distributed instruments thereby providing the necessary operational instructions for a selected distributed instrument to operate without requiring further access to the centralized configuration management system to elicit functioning of the radiation beam therapy system in the desired operational mode.

A method of configuring a radiation beam therapy system having a plurality of functional components for directing a beam to at least one of a plurality of treatment locations, the method comprising:

• maintaining a plurality of configurable parameters in a database, the configurable parameters used to coordinate the function of the plurality of functional components thereby eliciting operational control of the radiation beam therapy system;
• selecting an operational mode in which the beam is to be directed to a particular treatment location with a desired set of operational parameters;
• identifying subsets of parameters from the plurality of configurable parameters maintained in the database that are used to configure and control the functional components in such a manner so as to direct the beam to the selected treatment location with the desired set of operational parameters generating at least one system control file which reflects the subsets of parameters used to configure and control the functional components;
• and
• distributing the at least one system control file to at least one of the plurality of functional components thereby directing the operation of the functional components.