Apparatus and method pertaining to movement compensation during radiation treatment

{
  "publication_number": "US2013109904A1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A1",
  "title": "Apparatus and method pertaining to movement compensation during radiation treatment",
  "abstract": "A control circuit controls real-time administration of a radiation-treatment plan that administers a therapeutic radiation dose to a patient. This includes compensating for a first movement as regards the application setting using a first treatment-administration modality and responding to detection of a second movement by using a second treatment-administration modality that is different from the first treatment-administration modality.",
  "claims": [
    "1. An apparatus to facilitate administering a therapeutic radiation dose, the apparatus comprising: a memory having a radiation-treatment plan stored therein; a control circuit operably coupled to the memory and being configured to, while controlling in real time administration of the radiation-treatment plan: compensate for a first movement using a first treatment-administration modality; and respond to detection of a second movement using a second treatment-administration modality that is different from the first treatment-administration modality. 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first movement comprises movement that the radiation-treatment plan takes into account. 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the first movement comprises movement that pertains to a patient who receives the therapeutic radiation dose. 4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the second treatment-administration modality comprises movement of a patient-support platform. 5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the first movement comprises expected movement as pertains to a patient who receives the therapeutic radiation dose and the second movement comprises unexpected movement as pertains to the patient. 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein compensating for a first movement using a first treatment-administration modality comprises responding to real-time detection of the first movement. 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the first movement comprises one of four movements comprising a random movement, a movement comprising a drift from a given position, a movement comprising a drift in movement phase, and a movement comprising a periodic movement, and wherein the second movement comprises one of the four movements that is different than the first movement. 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the first movement comprises a periodic movement and the second movement comprises a drift in movement phase of the periodic movement. 9. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the second treatment modality comprises gating application of a radiation beam. 10. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the first treatment-administration modality comprises adjustment of a multi-leaf collimator and the second treatment-administration modality comprises movement of a patient-support platform. 11. A method to facilitate administering a therapeutic radiation dose, the method comprising: at a control circuit that is configured to control real-time administration of a radiation-treatment plan that administers a therapeutic radiation dose to a patient: compensating for a first movement using a first treatment-administration modality; and responding to detection of a second movement using a second treatment-administration modality that is different from the first treatment-administration modality. 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the first movement comprises movement that the radiation-treatment plan takes into account. 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the first movement comprises movement that pertains to the patient. 14. The method of claim 12 wherein the second treatment-administration modality comprises movement of a patient-support platform. 15. The method of claim 12 wherein the first movement comprises expected movement as pertains to the patient and the second movement comprises unexpected movement as pertains to the patient. 16. The method of claim 11 wherein compensating for a first movement using a first treatment-administration modality comprises responding to real-time detection of the first movement. 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the first movement comprises one of four movements comprising a random movement, a movement comprising a drift from a given position, a movement comprising a drift in movement phase, and a movement comprising a periodic movement, and wherein the second movement comprises one of the four movements that is different than the first movement. 18. The method of claim 17 wherein the first movement comprises a periodic movement and the second movement comprises a drift in movement phase of the periodic movement. 19. The method of claim 16 wherein the second treatment modality comprises gating application of a radiation beam. 20. The method of claim 16 wherein the first treatment-administration modality comprises adjustment of a multi-leaf collimator and the second treatment-administration modality comprises movement of a patient-support platform."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "This invention relates generally to radiation treatment and more particularly to accommodating movement during radiation treatment.\n\nThe use of radiation to treat medical conditions comprises a known area of prior art endeavor. For example, radiation therapy comprises an important component of many treatment plans for reducing or eliminating unwanted tumors. Unfortunately, applied radiation does not inherently discriminate between unwanted structures and adjacent tissues, organs, or the like that are desired or even critical to continued survival of the patient. As a result, radiation is ordinarily applied in a carefully administered manner to at least attempt to restrict the radiation to a given target volume.\n\nThat said, however, there are numerous challenges to administering radiation doses as intended. The radiation-treatment application setting, for example, typically comprises a physically-dynamic setting. In particular, a given radiation-treatment session will typically span at least many minutes and various scene components can move during that time.\n\nSome of these movements can be predictable, at least to an extent. The patient, for example, can be expected to breathe periodically during the treatment course and this can cause various organs and tissues to move with respiration. Many other types of movement can occur, however. For example, an expected periodic movement (such as a respiration-based movement) can vary unexpected with respect to its periodicity (and hence experience a drift in movement phase) and/or its amplitude.",
  "cpc": [
    "A61N 5/1045",
    "A61N 2005/105",
    "A61N 5/1037",
    "A61N 5/1067",
    "A61N 5/107"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "A61N 5/00",
    "A61N 5/10"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Sami Siljamäki",
    "Janne Nord",
    "Michelle Marie Svatos",
    "Corey E. Zankowski",
    "Stanley Mansfield"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2011-11-01",
  "publication_date": "2013-05-02",
  "priority_date": "2011-11-01",
  "application_number": "US-201113286754-A",
  "family_id": "48173069",
  "cited_by_count": 19,
  "citations": [
    "US20110015521A1",
    "US7822176B2"
  ]
}