Apparatus for treating a patient
AssigneeElekta Limited
InventorsKevin J. Brown, William R. Harwood, Terence Bates
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A treatment source (4) such as a radiation source, is attached to the inner surface 50a of a drum 50, which drum 50 is mounted to a support (3) so as to be rotatable with respect to the support (3) about a central axis (R) displaced from the treatment source (4). The source provides a treatment beam (X) having a treatment beam axis (TB) extending through the rotation axis (R). A patient support (6) for receiving a patient (2) to locate a target treatment area (6) on the treatment beam axis (TB) is housed at least partially within the passageway defined by the inner surface 50a. The overall size of the apparatus is thus reduced. A preferred treatment technique, to which the apparatus may be adapted, is also described.
Claims20
Apparatus for treating a patient by exposing a treatment area of the patient to radiation, the apparatus comprising:
- a support;
- a hollow body having a central aperture which defines a passageway extending through the body, the hollow body being mounted to the support so as to be rotatable about a central axis of the hollow body;
- a radiotherapy source mounted to the hollow body so as to be rotatable with the hollow body and for projecting a radiotherapy beam within the passageway which crosses the central axis of the hollow body;
- a beam limiting device for controllably partially limiting the projected area of the beam;
- and
- a patient support having a generally planar elongated top for receiving the patient and which extends at least partly through the passageway and which is positioned such that an unlimited projection area of the beam substantially covers the treatment area of the patient, said patient support being angularly movable about an axis generally perpendicular to the top of the patient support, thereby allowing the patient support to extend obliquely through the passageway.
Apparatus for treating a patient by exposing a treatment area of the patient to radiation, the apparatus comprising:
- a support;
- a hollow body having a central aperture which defines a passageway extending through the body, the hollow body being mounted to the support so as to be rotatable about a central axis of the hollow body;
- a radiotherapy source mounted to the hollow body so as to be rotatable with the hollow body and for projecting a radiotherapy beam within the passageway which crosses the central axis of the hollow body;
- a beam limiting device for controllably partially limiting the projected area of the beam;
- and
- a patient support for receiving the patient and which extends at least partly through the passageway and which is positioned such that an unlimited projection area of the beam substantially covers the treatment area of the patient, wherein the hollow body comprises an inner portion within which is defined the passageway, and an outer portion, the inner and outer portions being rotatable with respect to each other, the radiotherapy source being mounted on the outer portion of the hollow body, and the beam limiting device being mounted on the inner portion of the hollow body.
A method of operating an apparatus including a hollow body rotatable about a central axis of the body, a radiotherapy source mounted to the hollow body so as to rotate with the hollow body for protecting a radiotherapy beam within a passageway of the hollow body for receiving a part of a patient, and a beam limiting device for limiting a projection area of the radiotherapy beam said method, comprising:
- driving the radiotherapy source to produce a radiotherapy beam of a first fixed intensity;
- rotating the hollow body so that it follows a first arc and controlling the beam limiting device so as to alter the projection area of the beam during a first rotation of the hollow body;
- driving the radiotherapy source to produce a radiotherapy beam of a second fixed intensity;
- rotating the hollow body so that it follows a second arc which substantially corresponds to the first arc and controlling the beam limiting device so as to alter the projection area of the beam during a second rotation of the hollow body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.