Path planning and collision avoidance for movement of instruments in a radiation therapy environment

摘要

Apparatus and methods for therapy delivery are disclosed. In one embodiment, a therapy delivery system includes a plurality of movable components including a radiation therapy nozzle and a patient pod for holding a patient, a patient registration module for determining a desired position of at least one of the plurality of movable components, and a motion control module for coordinating the movement of the least one of the plurality of movable components from a current position to the desired position. The motion control module includes a path planning module for simulating at least one projected trajectory of movement of the least one of the plurality of moveable components from the current position to the desired position.

主权项

1. A therapy delivery system using a proton beam, in which a proton beam for treatment is delivered to an irradiation target, said therapy system comprising:
a rotatable gantry having a gantry rotation axis; a beam generator for generating said proton beam; a patient positioner configured to position a patient within the rotatable gantry and generally along the gantry rotation axis; a therapy delivery unit interconnected to the rotatable gantry, allowing the gantry to rotate about the gantry rotation axis as the gantry rotates, the therapy delivery unit capable of receiving a proton beam and directing it along a therapy delivery path, thereby delivering a radiation therapy dose to a patient on the patient positioner; an x-ray source configured to generate x-rays and mounted to said rotatable gantry, said x-ray source configured to:
deliver x-rays along an x-ray source axis;revolve about the gantry rotation axis; andemit x-rays at a plurality of rotation angles of said rotatable gantry; and one or more x-ray imagers also mounted to said rotatable gantry, wherein the imagers are retractable toward the gantry and away from the gantry rotation axis, wherein the system prevents collisions between the imagers and other system components during rotation or other movement of the gantry by retracting the imagers toward the gantry, and wherein the imagers are configured to:
detect the x-rays from the x-ray source;revolve about the gantry rotation axis; anduse the detected x-rays to produce images of the patient.