# US 8,772,733 B2 · Charged particle accelerator and particle beam therapy system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,772,733 B2 - Document ID: US8772733B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/582,645 - Filed: 2012-01-26 - Published: 2013-08-01 - Granted: 2014-07-08 - Earliest claimed: 2012-01-26 - Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation - Applicants: Masahiro Ikeda; Yuko Kijima; Shunsuke Okada - Inventors: Masahiro Ikeda; Yuko Kijima; Shunsuke Okada - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8772733B2 ## CPC - H05H 13/04: Synchrotrons - A61N 2005/1087: {Ions; Protons} - H05H 2007/046: {for beam deflection} - H05H 2277/11: Radiotherapy - H05H: PLASMA TECHNIQUE (apparatus or processes specially adapted for producing X-rays H05G2/00); PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OF NEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMIC BEAMS - A61N: ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY (measurement of bioelectric currents A61B; surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body A61B18/00; anaesthetic apparatus in general A61M; incandescent lamps H01K; infrared radiators for heating H05B) ## Abstract The objective is to obtain a charged particle accelerator where the amount of pattern data for operating an acceleration cavity and electromagnets based on time clocks is reduced and the pattern data communication time is shortened. An accelerator control apparatus provided in a charged particle accelerator of the present invention is characterized by including a clock generation unit that generates an acceleration cavity clock and an electromagnet clock that is synchronized with the acceleration cavity clock and has a frequency lower than that of the acceleration cavity clock; a high-frequency control unit that controls an acceleration cavity, based on an acceleration cavity pattern stored in a first pattern memory and the acceleration cavity clock; and a deflection electromagnet control unit that controls a deflection electromagnet, based on a deflection electromagnet pattern stored in a second pattern memory and the electromagnet clock. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A charged particle accelerator that accelerates a charged particle beam to be irradiated onto an irradiation subject by a particle beam irradiation apparatus, the charged particle accelerator comprising: a vacuum duct through which the charged particle beam passes; an acceleration cavity that accelerates the charged particle beam passing through the vacuum duct; a deflection electromagnet that deflects the charged particle beam passing through the vacuum duct; and an accelerator control apparatus that controls the acceleration cavity and the deflection electromagnet, wherein the accelerator control apparatus includes a clock generation unit that generates an acceleration cavity clock and an electromagnet clock that is synchronized with the acceleration cavity clock and has a frequency lower than the frequency of the acceleration cavity clock; a high-frequency control unit that controls the acceleration cavity, based on an acceleration cavity pattern stored in a first pattern memory and the acceleration cavity clock; and a deflection electromagnet control unit that controls the deflection electromagnet, based on a deflection electromagnet pattern stored in a second pattern memory and the electromagnet clock. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 1, wherein the clock generation unit includes a clock oscillator that generates a reference clock for generating the acceleration cavity clock and the electromagnet clock; a first frequency divider that divides the reference clock so as to generate the acceleration cavity clock; and a second frequency divider that divides the reference clock so as to generate the electromagnet clock. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 1, wherein the clock generation unit generates the acceleration cavity clock whose frequency is an integer times as high as the frequency of the electromagnet clock. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 1, wherein between pattern setting time points at each of which storage frequency data of the acceleration cavity pattern is outputted, the high-frequency control unit creates, every supplementary time, supplementary frequency data whose frequency is changed by a predetermined supplementary difference frequency, and controls the acceleration cavity based on the storage frequency data and the supplementary frequency data. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 4, wherein the high-frequency control unit creates the supplementary frequency data by applying linear supplementary processing to the respective storage frequency data pieces at two of the continual pattern setting time points. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 4, wherein the high-frequency control unit includes an FR clock generator that generates an FR clock that is synchronized with the acceleration cavity clock and in which a pulse is formed every supplementary time; and a pattern output device that outputs the storage frequency data or the supplementary frequency data each time the FR clock is inputted thereto. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 6, wherein the FR clock generator calculates the cycle of the acceleration cavity clock and generates the FR clock in such a way as to integer-multiply the acceleration cavity clock by a predetermined increase constant. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 6, wherein the FR clock generator generates the FR clock from a reference clock for generating the acceleration cavity clock or from the acceleration cavity clock. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 8, wherein the FR clock generator generates the FR clock whose frequency is an integer times as high as the frequency of the acceleration cavity clock. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) A particle beam therapy system comprising: a beam generation apparatus that generates a charged particle beam and accelerates the charged particle beam by means of a charged particle accelerator; a beam transport system that transports a charged particle beam accelerated by the charged particle accelerator; and a particle beam irradiation apparatus that irradiates a charged particle beam transported by the beam transport system onto an irradiation subject, wherein the charged particle accelerator is the charged particle accelerator according to claim 1. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 2, wherein the clock generation unit generates the acceleration cavity clock whose frequency is an integer times as high as the frequency of the electromagnet clock. ### Claim 12 (depends on 2) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 2, wherein between pattern setting time points at each of which storage frequency data of the acceleration cavity pattern is outputted, the high-frequency control unit creates, every supplementary time, supplementary frequency data whose frequency is changed by a predetermined supplementary difference frequency, and controls the acceleration cavity based on the storage frequency data and the supplementary frequency data. ### Claim 13 (depends on 3) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 3, wherein between pattern setting time points at each of which storage frequency data of the acceleration cavity pattern is outputted, the high-frequency control unit creates, every supplementary time, supplementary frequency data whose frequency is changed by a predetermined supplementary difference frequency, and controls the acceleration cavity based on the storage frequency data and the supplementary frequency data. ### Claim 14 (depends on 5) The charged particle accelerator according to claim 5, wherein the high-frequency control unit includes an FR clock generator that generates an FR clock that is synchronized with the acceleration cavity clock and in which a pulse is formed every supplementary time; and a pattern output device that outputs the storage frequency data or the supplementary frequency data each time the FR clock is inputted thereto. ### Claim 15 (depends on 2) A particle beam therapy system comprising: a beam generation apparatus that generates a charged particle beam and accelerates the charged particle beam by means of a charged particle accelerator; a beam transport system that transports a charged particle beam accelerated by the charged particle accelerator; and a particle beam irradiation apparatus that irradiates a charged particle beam transported by the beam transport system onto an irradiation subject, wherein the charged particle accelerator is the charged particle accelerator according to claim 2. ### Claim 16 (depends on 3) A particle beam therapy system comprising: a beam generation apparatus that generates a charged particle beam and accelerates the charged particle beam by means of a charged particle accelerator; a beam transport system that transports a charged particle beam accelerated by the charged particle accelerator; and a particle beam irradiation apparatus that irradiates a charged particle beam transported by the beam transport system onto an irradiation subject, wherein the charged particle accelerator is the charged particle accelerator according to claim 3. ### Claim 17 (depends on 4) A particle beam therapy system comprising: a beam generation apparatus that generates a charged particle beam and accelerates the charged particle beam by means of a charged particle accelerator; a beam transport system that transports a charged particle beam accelerated by the charged particle accelerator; and a particle beam irradiation apparatus that irradiates a charged particle beam transported by the beam transport system onto an irradiation subject, wherein the charged particle accelerator is the charged particle accelerator according to claim 4. ### Claim 18 (depends on 5) A particle beam therapy system comprising: a beam generation apparatus that generates a charged particle beam and accelerates the charged particle beam by means of a charged particle accelerator; a beam transport system that transports a charged particle beam accelerated by the charged particle accelerator; and a particle beam irradiation apparatus that irradiates a charged particle beam transported by the beam transport system onto an irradiation subject, wherein the charged particle accelerator is the charged particle accelerator according to claim 5. ### Claim 19 (depends on 6) A particle beam therapy system comprising: a beam generation apparatus that generates a charged particle beam and accelerates the charged particle beam by means of a charged particle accelerator; a beam transport system that transports a charged particle beam accelerated by the charged particle accelerator; and a particle beam irradiation apparatus that irradiates a charged particle beam transported by the beam transport system onto an irradiation subject, wherein the charged particle accelerator is the charged particle accelerator according to claim 6. ### Claim 20 (depends on 7) A particle beam therapy system comprising: a beam generation apparatus that generates a charged particle beam and accelerates the charged particle beam by means of a charged particle accelerator; a beam transport system that transports a charged particle beam accelerated by the charged particle accelerator; and a particle beam irradiation apparatus that irradiates a charged particle beam transported by the beam transport system onto an irradiation subject, wherein the charged particle accelerator is the charged particle accelerator according to claim 7.