Motor arrangement and methods for a multi-leaf collimator
AssigneeSiemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.
InventorsJohn Juschka, Bjorn Werner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The motors of a multi-leaf collimator for driving the leaves are tilted away from horizontal. The motors are oriented at an angle upwards from the top or downwards from the bottom of a plane formed by the leaves of the multi-leaf collimator. By tilting or angling the motors relative to the multi-leaf collimator, motors with a single standard or a few different shaft lengths may be used. The motors may be more tightly packed, allowing for shorter leaves. Since Tungsten is expensive, costs may be saved by the shortening of the leaves. Standardization of the motor parts may also reduce costs. Due to the reduced weight of the resulting multi-leaf collimator, wear of the bearings of the linac or gantry arm may be reduced.
Claims20
A multi-leaf collimator for controlling a beam of radiation, the multi-leaf collimator comprising:
- a leaf;
- and
- a motor having a motor shaft operatively connected with the leaf for moving the leaf, the motor shaft at a first angle greater than 20 degrees from a plane perpendicular to a center axis of the beam of radiation.
A multi-leaf collimator for controlling a beam of radiation, the multi-leaf collimator comprising:
- a plurality of leaves movable along a first axis within a path of the beam of radiation, the plurality of leaves distributed along a second axis substantially perpendicular to the first axis and to a path of propagation of the beam of radiation;
- and
- a plurality of motors each having a motor shaft operatively connected with one of the leaves for moving the leaf, the motor shaft at a first angle greater than 20 degrees from the first axis and a second angle greater than 20 degrees from the second axis.
A radiotherapy system with a selectable field of application of radiation, the radiotherapy system comprising:
- a source of radiation;
- and
- a multi-leaf collimator adjacent to the source of radiation, the multi-leaf collimator comprising:
- first and second banks of leaves operable to define an aperture in a first plane;
- and
- first and second pluralities of motors operatively connected with the first and second banks of leaves, respectively;
- wherein the motors are at an angle greater than 20 degrees from the first plane.
A method for moving a leaf of a multi-leaf collimator, the method comprising:
- (a) rotating a gear about a first axis;
- and
- (b) moving a leaf along a second axis in response to (a), the leaf having opposite largest surfaces substantially parallel with the second axis;
- wherein the first axis extends at least 20 degrees from a normal to one of the largest surfaces of the leaf, the normal perpendicular to the second axis, the first axis being at least within 70 degrees of the normal in a direction along the second axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.