Intraoperative radiation therapy system

An intraoperative radiation therapy system, comprising:

• a robot arm assembly having a plurality of arm members configured to provide a plurality of movement axes in the robot arm assembly to increase positional flexibility and reach of the robot arm assembly;
• a treatment head coupled to at least a distal arm member of the plurality of arm members of the robot arm assembly, the treatment head having a working end adapted to emit a therapeutic beam towards a target area for radiation therapy, the treatment head adapted to be aligned with an applicator adapted to be fixed near the target area of a patient, the applicator configured to shape the therapeutic beam from the treatment head to the target area for a treatment;
• at least one sensor array coupled to the working end of the treatment head, the at least one sensor array having a plurality of sensors adapted to detect a surface on the applicator within a detection range and measure a relative distance to the detected surface;
• at least one haptic control assembly coupled to the treatment head, the haptic control assembly configured to selectively move the plurality of arm members of the robot arm assembly to align in a coarse alignment the working end of the treatment head with an end of the applicator along an applicator axis to position the end of the applicator within the detection range of the at least one sensor array on the treatment head by selective operation of the at least one haptic control assembly;
• and
• a controller in communication with a control panel in the intraoperative radiation therapy system, the controller, based on input from the control panel, selectively controls the robot arm assembly and the treatment head after the coarse alignment to provide an autonomous fine alignment of the treatment head with the end of the applicator based on sensed data from the at least one sensor array.

A method for intraoperative radiation therapy treatment, comprising the steps of:

• providing an intraoperative radiation therapy treatment system including:
• a robot assembly having at least one elongate arm and at least five movement axes to increase positional flexibility and reach;
• at least one applicator adapted to be fixed near a target area of a patient, the at least one applicator having an elongate tube and an open endcap detachably mounted to one end of the tube, the at least one applicator defining an applicator axis;
• a treatment head coupled to an elongate arm of the at least one elongate arm, the treatment head having a working end adapted to emit a therapeutic beam towards the target area for radiation therapy;
• at least one haptic control assembly coupled to the treatment head, the haptic control assembly configured to move the treatment head for a coarse alignment within detection range of the endcap on the applicator;
• a sensor array coupled to the working end of the treatment head, the sensor array having a plurality of sensors including axial alignment sensors and radial alignment sensors each with a given operational range, the axial alignment sensors and the radial alignment sensors adapted to detect surfaces on the endcap and measure relative distance therebetween;
• and
• a control panel having a plurality of switches in communication with a controller for controlling movements of the robot assembly and the treatment head;
• operating the at least one haptic control assembly to move the treatment head into a coarse alignment position for a coarse alignment of the treatment head with respect to the endcap and within a sensing range of the sensor array;
• sensing relative proximity between the endcap and the treatment head along a top surface and an outer surface of the endcap and generating relative proximity data therefrom;
• determining axial alignment and radial alignment of the treatment head with respect to the endcap by comparing given dimensions of the endcap with the generated relative proximity data, mismatched proximity readings among the axial alignment sensors and among the radial alignment sensors indicating a misaligned condition of the treatment head;
• and
• performing automatic fine alignment of the treatment head by selective operation of the control panel in association with the controller to automatically manipulate the robot assembly and the treatment head until proximity data among the axial alignment sensors match with each other and proximity data among the radial alignment sensors match with each other.