Method for planning radiotherapy treatment

A computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

• identify the plurality of treatment targets in the treatment volume;
• define a set of treatment objectives for the treatment volume;
• separate the plurality of treatment targets into at least a first group and a second group, wherein each group comprises one or more treatment targets for which a separation therebetween is below a threshold amount, and wherein each treatment target in the first group is separated from each treatment target in the second group by at least the threshold amount;
• input the first group of treatment targets and the treatment objectives into a first optimisation program to generate a first set of treatment parameters;
• input the second group of treatment targets and the treatment objectives into a second optimisation program to generate a second set of treatment parameters;
• and
• input the first and second groups of treatment targets, the first and second sets of treatment parameters, and the treatment objectives into a third optimisation program to generate a third set of treatment parameters

A radiotherapy system comprising at least one radiation source, a patient support positioned relative to the radiation source, and a computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

• identify the plurality of treatment targets in the treatment volume;
• define a set of treatment objectives for the treatment volume;
• separate the plurality of treatment targets into at least a first group and a second group, wherein each group comprises one or more treatment targets for which a separation therebetween is below a threshold amount, and wherein each treatment target in the first group is separated from each treatment target in the second group by at least the threshold amount;
• input the first group of treatment targets and the treatment objectives into a first optimisation program to generate a first set of treatment parameters;
• input the second group of treatment targets and the treatment objectives into a second optimisation program to generate a second set of treatment parameters;
• and
• input the first and second groups of treatment targets, the first and second sets of treatment parameters, and the treatment objectives into a third optimisation program to generate a third set of treatment parameters.