Proton irradiation using spot scanning
AssigneeVarian Medical Systems Particle Therapy GmbH
InventorHolger Goebel
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Abstract
In one embodiment of the invention, a method for irradiating a target is disclosed. A proton beam is generated using a cyclotron. A first information is provided to an energy selection system. An energy level for the protons is selected using an energy selection system based on the first information. The first information comprises a depth of said target. The proton beam is routed from the cyclotron through a beam transfer line to a scanning system. A second information is provided to the scanning system. The second information comprises a pair of transversal coordinates. The proton beam is guided to a location on the target determined by the second information using a magnet structure. The target is irradiated with the protons.
Claims19
A method for irradiating a target comprising the steps of:
- generating a proton beam using a cyclotron, said proton beam being comprised of a plurality of protons;
- providing a first information to an energy selection system, said first information comprising a depth of said target;
- selecting an energy level for said set of protons using said energy selection system based on said first information;
- routing said proton beam from said cyclotron through a beam transfer line to a scanning system;
- providing a second information to said scanning system, said second information comprising a pair of transversal coordinates and a target dose;
- guiding said proton beam using a magnet structure to a location on said target determined by said second information, the magnet structure comprising a plurality of bi-directional magnet sets and a separate magnet power supply corresponding to each set of the plurality of bi-directional magnet sets;
- irradiating said target based on said second information;
- and
- controlling the separate power supplies for said magnet structure based on a beam position in said target.
An apparatus for irradiating a target comprising:
- a cyclotron configured to generate a proton beam, said proton beam comprising a set of protons;
- an energy selection system configured to select an energy level for said set of protons from a set of three or more energy levels;
- a scanning system comprising a magnet structure and configured to guide said proton beam to a location on said target using the magnet structure, the magnet structure comprising a plurality of bi-directional magnet sets;
- a beam transfer line configured to route said proton beam from said cyclotron to said scanning system;
- and
- a separate magnet power supply for each of the plurality of bi-directional magnet sets, each of said separate magnet power supply being controlled based on an energy and a beam position in the target of said proton beam,
- wherein said energy selection system selects said energy level based on a first information;
- wherein said scanning system guides said proton beam to said location based on a second information,
- further wherein, a specified number of protons are delivered via said proton beam to said location based on a third information.
A system for irradiating a tumor of a patient comprising:
- a superconducting cyclotron configured to generate a proton beam comprising a pre-specified number of protons;
- an energy selection system configured to select an energy level for said proton beam based on a depth of said tumor;
- a scanning system configured to guide said proton beam using a magnet structure to a location on said tumor, the magnet structure comprising a plurality of bi-directional magnet sets;
- and
- a separate magnet power supply for each of the plurality of bi-directional magnet sets powering said magnet structure, said magnet power supply configured to be set based on the energy of said proton beam and a beam position in the target,
- wherein said tumor is irradiated at said depth at said location by said pre-specified number of protons.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.