U.S. patent application number 11/018320 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-30 for particle therapy system.
Invention is credited to Chiba, Daishun, Fujishima, Yasutake.
Application Number | 20050139787 11/018320 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34697733 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050139787 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chiba, Daishun ; et
al. |
June 30, 2005 |
Particle therapy system
Abstract
A particle therapy system capable of increasing the number of
patients treated in one treatment room per unit time. The particle
therapy system comprises a charged particle beam generator for
generating an ion beam, an irradiation apparatus for irradiating
the ion beam extracted from the charged particle beam generator to
an irradiation target, a beam transport system for transporting the
ion beam extracted from the charged particle beam generator to the
irradiation apparatus, and a central control unit for producing a
set of command data to command excitation currents for magnets
disposed in the charged particle beam generator and the beam
transport system, the set of command data being classified into
group-1 data and group-2 data.
Inventors: |
Chiba, Daishun; (Hitachi,
JP) ; Fujishima, Yasutake; (Hitachinaka, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DICKSTEIN SHAPIRO MORIN & OSHINSKY LLP
2101 L Street, NW
Washington
DC
20037
US
|
Family ID: |
34697733 |
Appl. No.: |
11/018320 |
Filed: |
December 22, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
250/492.3 ;
250/398 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61N 5/10 20130101; A61N
2005/1087 20130101; A61N 5/1079 20130101; G21K 5/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
250/492.3 ;
250/398 |
International
Class: |
G21G 001/10; G21G
005/00; H01J 003/26 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 26, 2003 |
JP |
2003-433617 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A particle therapy system comprising: a charged particle beam
generator for generating a charged particle beam; an irradiation
apparatus for irradiating the charged particle beam extracted from
said charged particle beam generator to an irradiation target; a
beam transport system for transporting the charged particle beam
extracted from said charged particle beam generator to said
irradiation apparatus; and a control unit for producing a group of
command values to command excitation currents for magnets disposed
in said charged particle beam generator and said beam transport
system, said group of command values being classified into a first
command value group and a second command value group.
2. A particle therapy system according to claim 1, further
comprising a rotating gantry including said irradiation apparatus
and installed rotatably, wherein said control unit produces the
group of command values as a command value group depending on a
rotation angle of said rotating gantry and a command value group
not depending on a rotation angle of said rotating gantry.
3. A particle therapy system according to claim 1, wherein said
control unit employs the first command value group to command the
excitation currents for magnets belonging to a first group of said
magnets disposed in said beam transport system, and employs the
second command value group to command the excitation currents for
magnets belonging to a second group of said magnets disposed in
said beam transport system.
4. A particle therapy system according to claim 3, wherein said
control unit employs the first or second command value group to
command the excitation currents for steering magnets disposed in a
gantry transport system as a part of said beam transport system
which is located near said rotating gantry.
5. A particle therapy system according to claim 1, further
comprising angle development computing means for computing the
first or second command value group depending on the rotation angle
of said rotating gantry.
6. A particle therapy system according to claim 2, further
comprising angle development computing means for computing the
first or second command value group depending on the rotation angle
of said rotating gantry.
7. A particle therapy system according to claim 3, further
comprising angle development computing means for computing the
first or second command value group depending on the rotation angle
of said rotating gantry.
8. A particle therapy system according to claim 4, further
comprising angle development computing means for computing the
first or second command value group depending on the rotation angle
of said rotating gantry.
9. A particle therapy system according to claim 1, further
comprising energy development computing means for computing the
first and second command value groups depending on energy of the
charged particle beam extracted from said charged particle beam
generator.
10. A particle therapy system according to claim 2, further
comprising energy development computing means for computing the
first and second command value groups depending on energy of the
charged particle beam extracted from said charged particle beam
generator.
11. A particle therapy system according to claim 3, further
comprising energy development computing means for computing the
first and second command value groups depending on energy of the
charged particle beam extracted from said charged particle beam
generator.
12. A particle therapy system according to claim 4, further
comprising energy development computing means for computing the
first and second command value groups depending on energy of the
charged particle beam extracted from said charged particle beam
generator.
13. A particle therapy system according to claim 1, further
comprising first command value storing means for storing the first
command value group, second command value storing means for storing
the second command value group, and index information storing means
for storing index information to make the first command value group
and the second command value group correspondent to each other.
14. A particle therapy system according to claim 2, further
comprising first command value storing means for storing the first
command value group, second command value storing means for storing
the second command value group, and index information storing means
for storing index information to make the first command value group
and the second command value group correspondent to each other.
15. A particle therapy system according to claim 3, further
comprising first command value storing means for storing the first
command value group, second command value storing means for storing
the second command value group, and index information storing means
for storing index information to make the first command value group
and the second command value group correspondent to each other.
16. A particle therapy system according to claim 4, further
comprising first command value storing means for storing the first
command value group, second command value storing means for storing
the second command value group, and index information storing means
for storing index information to make the first command value group
and the second command value group correspondent to each other.
17. A particle therapy system according to claim 5, further
comprising first command value storing means for storing the first
command value group, second command value storing means for storing
the second command value group, and index information storing means
for storing index information to make the first command value group
and the second command value group correspondent to each other.
18. A particle therapy system according to claim 6, further
comprising first command value storing means for storing the first
command value group, second command value storing means for storing
the second command value group, and index information storing means
for storing index information to make the first command value group
and the second command value group correspondent to each other.
19. A particle therapy system according to claim 13, further
comprising reading means for reading the first command value group
and the second command value group, which are made correspondent to
each other, out of said first command value storing means and said
second command value storing means by using the index information
read out of said index information storing means.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a particle therapy system,
and more particularly to a particle therapy system for irradiating
a charged particle beam, such as a proton or carbon ion beam, to a
diseased part for treatment.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] There is known a therapy method of irradiating a charged
particle beam, such as a proton beam, to a diseased part, e.g., a
cancer, in the body of a patient. A large-scaled one of therapy
systems used for practicing such a therapy method conventionally
comprises a charged particle beam generator, a beam transport
system, and a plurality of treatment rooms. The charged particle
beam accelerated by the charged particle beam generator reaches an
irradiation apparatus in each treatment room through the beam
transport system, and it is irradiated to the diseased part in the
patient body from a nozzle of the irradiation apparatus. For that
purpose, the beam transport system comprises a first beam transport
system as one common system and a plurality of beam transport
systems branched from the one first beam transport system and led
to the respective irradiation apparatuses in the plurality of
treatment rooms. At a position where each of the branched beam
transport systems is branched, a switching magnet is disposed to
bend the charged particle beam from the first beam transport system
to be introduced to the corresponding branched beam transport
system (see, e.g., Patent Reference 1: JP, A 11-501232 (pp. 12-13,
FIGS. 1 and 2).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Generally, a therapy system having a plurality of treatment
rooms is operated by repeating each cycle comprising the steps of
performing a setup in each treatment room, such as positioning of a
patient, outputting a command value signal from a control unit to
each of magnets disposed in a charged particle beam generator and a
beam transport system when the beam is requested from the treatment
room (or treatment control room) in which the setup has completed,
to thereby perform beam setting and form a beam transport path led
to the relevant treatment room, and irradiating the beam to the
patient. During a period in which the beam setting and irradiation
are performed in one treatment room, a next treatment room
completes a setup and comes into a standby state. Therefore, as
soon as the irradiation has completed in one treatment room, the
beam setting and the formation of the beam transport path for the
next treatment room can be performed at once. This means that if
the beam setting takes a long time, a standby time is prolonged and
treatment efficiency lowers. For that reason, a beam setting time
is preferably as short as possible.
[0006] In the known particle therapy system, though not
specifically described in the above-cited Patent Reference 1, it is
usual that various command values (hereinafter referred to as a
"command value group") outputted from the control unit to the
respective magnets are simply stored in entirety, as they are, for
each beam type. The term "beam type" used herein represents each
type of beam defined in accordance with parameters, such as beam
energy, intensity, a beam extraction destination (e.g., treatment
room No.), and an angle of a rotating gantry. As a recent tendency,
the number of types of required beams increases with a more variety
of tumors. Assuming that the parameters for defining the beam types
include, for example, 400 levels of energy, 10 levels of intensity,
4 kinds of beam extraction destinations (i.e., four treatment
rooms), and 720 rotation angles of a rotating gantry (corresponding
to 360 angles in units of 0.5 degree),
400.times.10.times.4.times.720=11,520- ,000 kinds of command value
groups must be stored in total.
[0007] The necessity of handling such a very large number of
command value groups accompanies with a problem as follows. In the
beam setting step, the control unit takes a relatively long time to
search for, from among the very large number of command value
groups, a particular command value group corresponding to the beam
requested from the treatment room, and hence a time required for
the beam setting is prolonged. Accordingly, treatment efficiency
lowers and the number of patients treated in each treatment room
per unit time reduces.
[0008] With the view of overcoming the problems in the related art,
it is an object of the present invention to provide a particle
therapy system capable of increasing the number of patients treated
in one treatment room per unit time.
[0009] To achieve the above object, one feature of the present
invention resides in producing a group of command values to command
excitation currents for magnets disposed in a charged particle beam
generator and a beam transport system for transporting a charged
particle beam extracted from the charged particle beam generator to
an irradiation apparatus, the group of command values being
classified into a first command value group and a second command
value group. With this feature, by employing the second command
value group to command the excitation currents for steering magnets
disposed in a gantry transport system and employing the first
command value group to command the excitation currents for other
magnets, for example, the first command value group in the whole of
the command value group can be used in common when only a rotating
gantry angle among parameters specifying the beam type is
different, because the first command value group does not depend on
the rotating gantry angle. Accordingly, the number of the command
value groups to be stored can be greatly reduced in comparison with
the known system in which the command value groups for the
respective magnets are all simply stored as they are, and a search
time required for specifying the necessary command value group from
among the stored command value groups can be cut. As a result, it
is possible to shorten a beam setting time in a control unit, and
to increase the number of patients treated in one treatment room
per unit time.
[0010] Another feature of the present invention resides in further
comprising an angle development computing unit for computing the
second command value group depending on the rotation angle of the
rotating gantry. With this feature, when the operator prepares one
command value group at a certain level of beam energy, for example,
by adjusting command values while actually irradiating the charged
particle beam at a certain rotating gantry angle, the second
command value group corresponding to the other rotating gantry
angles (in units of, e.g., 0.5 degree) at that beam energy level
can be automatically computed based on the command value group
prepared through the adjustment. By computing and preparing the
command value groups depending on the rotating gantry angle in such
a way, whatever rotating gantry angle is requested from the
treatment room, the beam transport system can be set up in response
to the request, and hence a beam automatically settable range of
the control unit can be greatly enlarged.
[0011] Still another feature of the present invention resides in
further comprising an energy development computing unit for
computing the first and second command value groups depending on
energy of the charged particle beam extracted from the charged
particle beam generator. With this feature, when an operator
prepares one command value group at a certain rotating gantry
angle, for example, by adjusting command values while actually
irradiating the charged particle beam at a certain level of beam
energy, the first and second command value groups corresponding to
the other levels of beam energy (in units of, e.g., 0.5 MeV) at
that rotating gantry angle can be automatically computed based on
the command value group prepared through the adjustment. By
computing and preparing the command value groups depending on the
beam energy in such a way, whatever beam energy is requested from
the treatment room, the beam transport system can be set up in
response to the request, and hence a beam automatically settable
range of the control unit can be greatly enlarged.
[0012] Still another feature of the present invention resides in
further comprising an index information storing unit for storing
index information to make the first command value group and the
second command value group correspondent to each other, and a
reading unit for reading the first command value group and the
second command value group, which are made correspondent to each
other, by using the index information. With this feature, the
operator can specify the required command value group by using only
the index information without being aware of the fact that the
command value groups are classified into two groups, and
convenience in handling of data can be improved. Further, the first
command value group and the second command value group can be
avoided from being read in a false combination.
[0013] Thus, according to the present invention, the number of
patients treated in each treatment room per unit time can be
increased.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an overall schematic
construction of a particle therapy system according to one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a conceptual plan view showing a detailed
construction of one of treatment rooms shown in FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system in the
particle therapy system according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a table showing one example of treatment planning
data per patient;
[0018] FIG. 5 shows a power supply control table previously stored
in a disk disposed in a central control unit;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing those ones of
the functions of the central control unit which are related to a
process for storing control command data;
[0020] FIG. 7 is an illustration showing one example of index data
displayed on a console display;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of the process for
storing the control command data to prepare the power supply
control table in the disk disposed in the central control unit;
[0022] FIG. 9 is a table showing one example of control command
data newly computed in a gantry angle development processing unit
by using a gantry angle development algorithm;
[0023] FIG. 10 is a table showing one example of control command
data newly computed in an energy development processing unit by
using an energy development algorithm; and
[0024] FIG. 11 a time chart showing a flow of the operation and
control over time in the particle therapy system according to one
embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] A particle therapy system, as one preferable embodiment of
the present invention, will be described below with reference to
the drawings.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, a particle therapy system of this
embodiment comprises a charged particle beam generator 1, four
treatment rooms 2A, 2B, 2C and 3, a beam transport system made up
of a first beam transport system (beam transport system in claims)
4 connected to the downstream side of the charged particle beam
generator 1 and second beam transport systems (beam transport
system in claims) 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D branched from the first beam
transport system 4, and switching magnets 6A, 6B and 6C. The first
beam transport system 4 serves as a common beam transport system
for introducing an ion beam to each of the second beam transport
systems 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D.
[0027] The charged particle beam generator 1 comprises an ion
source (not shown), a pre-stage charged particle beam generator
(linac) 11, and a synchrotron 12. Ions (e.g., proton or carbon
ions) generated from the ion source are accelerated by the
pre-stage charged particle beam generator (e.g., a linear charged
particle beam generator) 11. An ion beam (proton beam) emitted from
the pre-stage charged particle beam generator 11 enters the
synchrotron 12 through quadrupole magnets 9 and a bending magnet
10. The ion beam in the form of a charged particle beam
(corpuscular beam) is accelerated in the synchrotron 12 in which
energy is given to the ion beam with radio-frequency (RF) power
applied from an RF cavity (not shown). After energy of the ion beam
circulating in the synchrotron 12 has been increased up to a
setting level (e.g., 100 to 200 MeV), an RF wave is applied to the
circulating ion beam from an RF knockout electrode (not shown) for
beam extraction. With the application of the RF wave, the ion beam
circulating within a separatrix is forced to transit to the outside
of the separatrix and to exit from the synchrotron 12 through a
beam extraction deflector (not shown). At the time of extracting
the ion beam, currents supplied to magnets, such as quadrupole
magnets 13 and bending magnets 14, disposed in the synchrotron 12
are held at setting values, and therefore the separatrix is also
held substantially constant. The extraction of the ion beam from
the synchrotron 12 is stopped by ceasing the application of the RF
power to the RF knockout electrode.
[0028] The ion beam extracted from the synchrotron 12 is
transported to the downstream side through the first beam transport
system 4. The first beam transport system 4 has a beam line 61 and
includes a quadrupole magnet 18, a bending magnet 17, another
quadrupole magnet 18, a switching magnet 6A, a quadrupole magnet
19, a switching magnet 6B, a quadrupole magnet 20, and a switching
magnet 6C which are successively arranged on the beam line 61 in
this order from the upstream side in the direction of beam advance.
The ion beam introduced to the first beam transport system 4 is
selectively introduced to one of the second beam transport systems
5A, 5B, 5C and 5D depending on the presence or absence of a bending
action provided in accordance with switching between excitation and
non-excitation of those quadrupole and bending magnets and the
switching magnets 6A, 6B and 6C. Each of the switching magnets is
one type of bending magnet.
[0029] The second beam transport system 5A has a beam line 62
connected at one end to the beam line 61 and at the other end to an
irradiation apparatus 15A disposed within the treatment room 2A,
and it includes a bending magnet 21A, a quadrupole magnet 22A, a
bending magnet 23A, a steering magnet 7HA, a steering magnet 7VA, a
quadrupole magnet 24A, a steering magnet 8HA, a steering magnet
8VA, a bending magnet 25A, and a bending magnet 26A which are
successively arranged on the beam line 62 in this order from the
upstream side in the direction of beam advance. The steering
magnets 7HA, 7VA, 8HA and 8VA are magnets for adjusting the
position of the ion beam. Among them, the steering magnets 7HA, 8HA
adjust the position of the ion beam in the horizontal direction,
while the steering magnets 7VA, 8VA adjust the position of the ion
beam in the vertical direction. The steering magnets 7HA, 7VA, 8HA
and 8VA are disposed in a part (gantry transport system) of the
second beam transport system 5A which locates within the treatment
room 2A.
[0030] The second beam transport system 5B has a beam line 63
connected at one end to the beam line 61 and at the other end to an
irradiation apparatus 15B disposed within the treatment room 2B,
and it includes a bending magnet 21B, a quadrupole magnet 22B, a
bending magnet 23B, a steering magnet 7HB, a steering magnet 7VB, a
quadrupole magnet 24B, a steering magnet 8HB, a steering magnet
8VB, a bending magnet 25B, and a bending magnet 26B which are
successively arranged on the beam line 63 in this order from the
upstream side in the direction of beam advance. The steering
magnets 7HB, 7VB, 8HB and 8VB are similar to the steering magnets
7HA, 7VA, 8HA and 8VA in the second beam transport system 5A.
[0031] The second beam transport system 5C has a beam line 64
connected at one end to the beam line 61 and at the other end to an
irradiation apparatus 15C disposed within the treatment room 2C,
and it includes a bending magnet 21C, a quadrupole magnet 22C, a
bending magnet 23C, a steering magnet 7HC, a steering magnet 7VC, a
quadrupole magnet 24C, a steering magnet 8HC, a steering magnet
8VC, a bending magnet 25C, and a bending magnet 26C which are
successively arranged on the beam line 64 in this order from the
upstream side in the direction of beam advance. The steering
magnets 7HC, 7VC, 8HC and 8VC are similar to the steering magnets
7HA, 7VA, 8HA and 8VA in the second beam transport system 5A.
[0032] The second beam transport system 5D has a beam line 65
connected at one end to the beam line 61 and at the other end to a
fixed irradiation apparatus 16 disposed within the treatment room
3, and it includes quadrupole magnets 27, 28 which are successively
arranged on the beam line 65 in this order from the upstream side
in the direction of beam advance.
[0033] With the arrangement described above, the ion beam
introduced to the second beam transport system 5A is transported to
the irradiation apparatus 15A through the beam line 62 with
excitation of the corresponding magnets. The ion beam introduced to
the second beam transport system 5B is transported to the
irradiation apparatus 15B through the beam line 63 with excitation
of the corresponding magnets. The ion beam introduced to the second
beam transport system 5C is transported to the irradiation
apparatus 15C through the beam line 64 with excitation of the
corresponding magnets. Also, the ion beam introduced to the second
beam transport system 5D is transported to the irradiation
apparatus 16 through the beam line 65 with excitation of the
corresponding magnets.
[0034] The treatment rooms 2A to 2C include respectively the
irradiation apparatuses 15A to 15C each mounted to a rotating
gantry (not shown) installed in the corresponding treatment room.
The treatment rooms 2A to 2C are employed as, e.g., first to third
treatment rooms for cancer patients, and the treatment room 3 is
employed as a fourth treatment room for ocular treatment, which
includes the fixed irradiation apparatus 16.
[0035] The construction and equipment layout in the treatment room
2A will be described below with reference to FIG. 2. Note that
since the treatment rooms 2B, 2C also have the same construction
and equipment layout as those in the treatment room 2A, a
description thereof is omitted here. The treatment room 2A
comprises a medical treatment room (compartment) 31 formed in the
first floor, and a gantry room (compartment) 32 formed at a one
step lower level, i.e., in the first basement. Further, an
irradiation control room 33 is formed outside the treatment room 2A
in an adjacent relation to it. The irradiation control room 33 is
similarly formed with respect to each of the treatment rooms 2B and
2C. The irradiation control room 33 is isolated from both the
medical treatment room 31 and the gantry room 32. However, the
condition of a patient 30A in the medical treatment room 31 can be
observed, for example, with a monitoring image taken by a TV camera
(not shown) disposed in the medical treatment room 31.
[0036] An inverted U-shaped beam transport subsystem as a part of
the second beam transport system 5A and the irradiation apparatus
15A are mounted to a substantially cylindrical rotating drum 50 of
the rotating gantry (not shown). The rotating drum 50 is rotatable
by a motor (not shown). A treatment gauge (not shown) is formed
inside the rotating drum 50.
[0037] The irradiation apparatus 15A comprises a casing (not shown)
mounted to the rotating drum 50 and connected to the inverted
U-shaped beam transport subsystem, and a snout (not shown) provided
at the fore end of a nozzle through which the ion beam exits. The
casing and the snout include, though not shown, a bending magnet, a
scatterer device, a ring collimator, a patient collimator, a bolus
(compensator), etc., which are arranged therein.
[0038] The ion beam introduced to the irradiation apparatus 15A in
the treatment room 2A from the inverted U-shaped beam transport
subsystem through the beam line 62 has an irradiation field that is
roughly collimated by the ring collimator in the irradiation
apparatus 15A and is shaped by the patient collimator in match with
the shape of a diseased part in the planar direction perpendicular
to the direction of beam advance. Further, the ion beam has a
penetration depth that is adjusted by the bolus in match with the
maximum depth of the diseased part in the body of the patient 30A
lying on a treatment couch 29A. Prior to irradiating the ion beam
from the irradiation apparatus 15A, the treatment couch 29A is
moved by a couch driver (not shown) to enter the treatment gauge,
and is precisely positioned in place for the start of irradiation
from the irradiation apparatus 15A. The ion beam thus formed by the
irradiation apparatus 15A so as to have a dose distribution optimum
for particle therapy is irradiated to the diseased part (e.g., an
area where a tumor or a cancer grows; hereinafter referred to as a
"tumor") in the body of the patient 30A. The energy of the
irradiated ion beam is released in the tumor to form a high dose
region. The travel of the ion beam in each of the other irradiation
apparatuses 15B, 15C and the positioning of the treatment couch are
performed in a similar manner to those in the irradiation unit
15A.
[0039] In this respect, the rotating drum 50 is rotated by
controlling the motor rotation by a gantry controller 34. Also, the
operation (energization) of the bending magnet, the scatterer
device, the ring collimator, etc. in each of the irradiation
apparatuses 15A to 15C is controlled by an irradiation nozzle
controller 35. Further, the operation of the couch driver is
controlled by a couch controller 36. These controllers 34, 35 and
36 are all controlled by an irradiation controller 40 disposed in
the gantry room 32 inside the treatment room 2A. A pendant 41 is
connected to the irradiation controller 40 through a cable extended
to the side of the medical treatment room 31, and a doctor (or an
operator) standing near the patient 30A transmits a control start
signal and a control stop signal to the controllers 34 to 36
through the irradiation controller 40 by manipulating the pendant
41. For example, when the control start signal for the rotating
gantry is outputted from the pendant 41, a central control unit 100
(described later) takes in angle information of the rotating gantry
regarding the patient 30A from treatment planning information
stored in a storage 110 and transmits the angle information to the
corresponding gantry controller 34 through the irradiation
controller 40. The gantry controller 34 rotates the rotating gantry
based on the gantry angle information.
[0040] An operator console 37 disposed in the irradiation control
room 33 includes a setup completion switch 38 depressed by the
operator when required setups, such as positioning of the treatment
couch 29A, angle adjustment of the rotating gantry, and settings of
various devices in the irradiation apparatus 15A, have completed, a
display 39 for presenting display of a setup completion state on
the mechanical side and index display (described later in detail),
and an irradiation instruction switch 42 depressed by the operator
at the time of starting the beam irradiation. The irradiation
control room 33 is likewise arranged for the treatment room 3
separately.
[0041] A control system incorporated in the particle therapy system
of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
3. A control system 90 comprises a central control unit ("control
unit" in claims) 100, a storage 110 storing a treatment planning
database, a treatment sequence controller 120, a magnet power
supply controller 130, a power supply unit for the accelerator
(hereinafter referred to as an "accelerator power supply") 140, a
power supply unit for the beam path magnets (hereinafter referred
to as a "beam path power supply") 150, a power supply unit for the
beam switching magnets (hereinafter referred to as an "beam
switching power supply") 160, and a path switching controller 170.
Further, the particle therapy system of this embodiment includes a
switch panel 180. Note that, although the construction of only one
2A of the treatment rooms 2A to 2C is shown in FIG. 3 for the sake
of simplicity of the drawing, the other two treatment rooms 2B, 2C
are also similarly constructed.
[0042] The treatment planning database stored in the storage 110
records and accumulates therein treatment planning data which has
been prepared by doctors in advance for all the patients who will
receive the irradiation treatment. One example of the treatment
planning data (patient data) stored in the storage 110 for each
patient will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The treatment
planning data contains the patient ID number, irradiation dose (per
one shot), irradiation energy, gantry angle, irradiation field size
(not shown), irradiation position (not shown), etc. Although the
treatment planning data contains the beam energy in the illustrated
example, the beam energy may be calculated in the central control
unit 100 based on, e.g., range information because is the range
information also contained in the treatment planning data.
[0043] A CPU 101 in the central control unit 100 reads, from the
storage 110, the treatment planning data regarding the patient who
is going to take the irradiation treatment. Among the thus-read
treatment planning data, the necessary data (such as the gantry
angle, the irradiation field size, and the irradiation position) is
outputted to the respective controllers (i.e., the gantry
controller 34, the irradiation nozzle controller 35, and the couch
controller 36) via the irradiation controller 40. Responsively, the
gantry controller 34 rotates the rotating gantry in accordance with
the gantry angle information in the treatment planning data. The
irradiation nozzle controller 35 performs settings of the bending
magnet, the scatterer device, the ring collimator, etc. in the
irradiation apparatus 15A in accordance with the irradiation field
size information, etc. in the treatment planning data. Further, the
couch controller 36 performs positioning of the treatment couch 29A
in accordance with the irradiation position information in the
treatment planning data.
[0044] When the patient comes into a state ready for the
irradiation of the ion beam upon the completion of setups required
prior to the irradiation, the operator goes out of the treatment
room 2A, enters the corresponding irradiation control room 33, and
depresses the setup completion switch (or button) 38 on the
operator console 37. With the depression of the setup completion
switch 38, a patient ready signal is generated and outputted to the
treatment sequence controller 120.
[0045] The treatment sequence controller 120 sets the sequence of
treatments to be performed in the treatment rooms 2A, 2B, 2C and 3.
The treatment sequence for the respective treatment rooms is
decided in accordance with the sequence in which the patient ready
signals have been inputted from the setup completion switches 38 in
the irradiation control rooms 33 corresponding to the treatment
rooms 2A-2C and 3. The treatment room number having the top
priority selected by the treatment sequence controller 120 (i.e.,
the number of the treatment room selected to start the irradiation
therein at that time) is inputted to the CPU 101 in the central
control unit 100. For convenience of the following description,
that treatment room number is assumed here to be "No. 1". In other
words, the treatment room 2A is assumed to be the selected
treatment room.
[0046] Based on both the selected treatment room number (i.e., beam
course information) and the parameters (such as the irradiation
energy, the irradiation dose, and the gantry angle) contained in
the treatment planning data and required for specifying the beam,
the CPU 101 creates control command data (command value group) for
supply of excitation power to the respective magnets from a power
supply control table that is previously stored in the disk 103
(e.g., a hard disk or a CD-ROM) disposed in the central control
unit 100. One example of the power supply control table will now be
described with reference to FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5,
corresponding to respective values (70, 80, 90, . . . [MeV] in the
illustrated example) of the irradiation energy, various parameters
are preset which include excitation power values (though simply
denoted by " . . . " in the table, concrete numerical values are
put in fact) or patterns of the excitation power values supplied to
the quadrupole magnets 9, 13 and the bending magnets 10, 14 in the
charged particle beam generator 1 including the synchrotron 12, the
quadrupole magnets 18, 19 and 20 and the bending magnet 17 in the
first beam transport system 4, the quadrupole magnets 22A, 24A and
the steering magnets 7HA, 7VA, 8HA and 8VA in the second beam
transport system 5A for the treatment room 2A, the quadrupole
magnets 22B, 24B and the steering magnets 7HB, 7VB, 8HB and 8VB in
the second beam transport system 5B for the treatment room 2B, the
quadrupole magnets 22C, 24C and the steering magnets 7HC, 7VC, 8HC
and 8VC in the second beam transport system 5C for the treatment
room 2C, and the quadrupole magnet 28 in the second beam transport
system 5D for the treatment room 3, as well as electromotive values
(though simply denoted by " . . . " in the table, concrete
numerical values are put in fact) of switching power supplies
162-1, 162-2, 162-3 and 162-4 (described later). Note that the
magnets are in practice disposed in a larger number in the charged
particle beam generator 1 and the respective transport systems, but
only main ones of those magnets are shown. Further, in this
embodiment, the power supply control table (control command data)
is stored in the disk 103 while being divided into two groups (as
described later in detail).
[0047] The CPU 101 outputs the thus-created control command data to
the magnet power supply controller 130. The magnet power supply
controller 130 distributes the control command data, inputted from
the CPU 101, to the accelerator power supply 140, the beam path
power supply 150, the beam switching power supply 160, and the path
switching controller 170.
[0048] More specifically, the magnet power supply controller 130
distributes, to the accelerator power supply 140, those ones of the
created control command data which are related to the quadrupole
magnets 9, 13 and the bending magnets 10, 14 in the charged
particle beam generator 1. The accelerator power supply 140
comprises, for each magnet, a control unit (so-called ACR, not
shown) having the control function to hold a constant current of a
desired value, and a power supply unit (not shown) corresponding to
each ACR. Each ACR controls the corresponding power supply unit in
accordance with the control command data inputted from the magnet
power supply controller 130, whereby the magnitudes of respective
currents supplied from the power supply units to the quadrupole
magnets 9, 13 and the bending magnets 10, 14 are controlled.
[0049] Also, the magnet power supply controller 130 distributes, to
the beam path power supply 150, those ones of the created control
command data other than the data for the charged particle beam
generator 1, which are related to the quadrupole magnets 18, 19 and
20 and the bending magnet 17 in the first beam transport system 4,
the quadrupole magnets 22A, 24A and the steering magnets 7HA, 7VA,
8HA and 8VA in the second beam transport system 5A for the first
treatment room 2A, the quadrupole magnets 22B, 24B and the steering
magnets 7HB, 7VB, 8HB and 8VB in the second beam transport system
5B for the second treatment room 2B, the quadrupole magnets 22C,
24C and the steering magnets 7HC, 7VC, 8HC and 8VC in the second
beam transport system 5C for the third treatment room 2C, and the
quadrupole magnet 28 in the second beam transport system 5D for the
fourth treatment room 3. The control command data distributed to
the beam path power supply 150 differs depending on the information
regarding the treatment room having the top priority, which has
been decided by the treatment sequence controller 120, i.e., the
information indicating the treatment room number. For example, when
the indicated number of the treatment room in which treatment is
going to be performed is "No. 1" as mentioned above, the magnet
power supply controller 130 distributes, to the beam path power
supply 150, the control command data for the quadrupole magnets 18,
22A and 24A, the steering magnets 7HA, 7VA, 8HA and 8VA, and the
bending magnet 17, which are disposed in the beam path for
introducing the ion beam from the synchrotron 12 to the treatment
number indicated by the treatment room number. When the indicated
number of the treatment room in which treatment is going to be
performed is other than "No. 1", the magnet power supply controller
130 distributes the control command data for the corresponding
magnets in a similar way. Like the accelerator power supply 140,
the beam path power supply 150 comprises, for each magnet, a
control unit (so-called ACR, not shown) having the control function
to hold a constant current of a desired value, and a power supply
unit (not shown) corresponding to each ACR. Each ACR controls the
corresponding power supply unit in accordance with the control
command data inputted from the magnet power supply controller 130,
whereby the magnitudes of respective currents supplied from the
power supply units to the corresponding magnets are controlled.
[0050] Further, the magnet power supply controller 130 distributes
power supply control data for the switching power supplies 162-1 to
162-4, which is also contained in the created control command data,
to the switching power supply 160, and at the same time it outputs
treatment room number data (No. 1 in FIG. 4) to the path switching
controller 170. In accordance with treatment room number data from
the magnet power supply controller 130, the path switching
controller 170 performs switching control of various switches (not
shown) provided on the switch panel 180. Like the accelerator power
supply 140, the switching power supply 160 comprises four control
units (so-called ACR, not shown) each having the control function
to hold a constant current of a desired value, and four power
supply units (i.e., the switching power supplies 162-1 to 162-4
shown in FIG. 5) corresponding to the ACR's. The power supply 162-1
supplies currents to the switching magnet 6A and the bending magnet
21A in the treatment room 2A. The power supply 162-2 supplies a
current to the bending magnet 23A therein, the power supply 162-3
supplies a current to the bending magnet 25A therein, and the power
supply 162-4 supplies a current to the bending magnet 26A therein.
This is similarly applied to the case in which treatment is
performed in each of the other treatment rooms 2B, 2C. In other
words, each ACR controls the corresponding power supply unit in
accordance with the power supply control data inputted from the
magnet power supply controller 130, whereby the magnitudes of
respective currents supplied from the power supply units to the
corresponding magnets are controlled. Furthermore, the path
switching controller 170 performs switching control of the various
switches provided on the switch panel 180 in accordance with the
treatment room number data, whereby the current supply destination
to which the current is supplied from each power supply (i.e., the
treatment room number) is controlled.
[0051] When the settings of excitation currents for the respective
magnets, which are performed by the accelerator power supply 140,
the beam path power supply 150, the beam switching power supply
160, and the path switching controller 170, have completed in such
a way, the magnet power supply controller 130 outputs a signal for
displaying the completion of the settings to the CPU 101 in the
central control unit 100. Correspondingly, the CPU 101 outputs, to
the display 39 of the operator console 37, a signal indicating that
the final setup on the machine side has completed. In response to
such a display signal, the display 39 presents display for
indicating the completion of the final setup on the machine side
(i.e., display for confirming the final intent to start the
irradiation). Then, when the irradiation instruction switch (or
button) 42 is depressed by an authorized person, for example, a
doctor (an operator is also allowed overseas, but in Japan the
authorized person is statutorily limited to only a doctor from the
viewpoints of safety and humanity), a corresponding irradiation
start instruction signal is inputted to the CPU 101 in the central
control unit 100.
[0052] Then, the central control unit 100 outputs an emission
instruction signal and an acceleration instruction signal,
respectively, to the linac 11 and the above-mentioned RF cavity of
the synchrotron 12. Responsively, the ion beam emitted from the
charged particle beam generator 1 is accelerated in the synchrotron
12, and the ion beam extracted from the synchrotron 12 is
transported to the first beam transport system 4. Further, the ion
beam is introduced to one of the second beam transport systems 5A
to 5D corresponding to one of the treatment rooms 2A to 2C and 3 in
which the patient as an irradiation target is present. The ion beam
is then irradiated to the diseased part in the body of the patient
30A in an optimum form, as per the treatment planning, through one
of the irradiation apparatuses 15A to 15C and 16 in the treatment
rooms 2A to 2C and 3.
[0053] In the particle therapy system having the basic construction
described above, the most important feature of the present
invention resides in that, in the central control unit 100, the
control command data listed in the power supply control table of
FIG. 5 is stored in the disk 103 while being divided into two
groups.
[0054] FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing those ones of
the functions of the central control unit 100 which are related to
a process for storing the control command data. As shown in FIG. 6,
the disk 103 has a group-1 data storage (first command value
storing means) 103A for storing control command data belonging to a
group 1 (hereinafter referred to as "group-1 data"; first command
value group) which is contained in the control command data shown,
by way of example, in FIG. 5, a group-2 data storage (second
command value storing means) 103B for storing control command data
belonging to a group 2 (hereinafter referred to as "group-2 data";
second command value group) which is also contained in the control
command data, and an index data storage (index information storing
means) 103C for storing index data (index information) to make the
group-1 data and the group-2 data correspondent to each other.
Also, a memory 102 includes a magnet information memory 102A in
which magnet information required for a data storage/read
processing unit 101C (described later) to write and read data is
stored, an energy characteristic parameter memory 102B in which an
energy development algorithm is stored, and a gantry structure
parameter memory 102C in which a gantry angle development algorithm
is stored. Further, the CPU 101 includes a display processing unit
101A for processing display information displayed on the display 39
of the console 37; a data setting unit 101B for setting the control
command data outputted to the magnet power supply controller 130,
the data storage/read processing unit (reading means) 101C for
executing write and read of data in and from the group-1 data
storage 103A, the group-2 data storage 103B, and the index data
storage 103C; an energy development processing unit (energy
development computing means) 101D for newly computing the group-1
data and the group-2 data depending on the beam energy by using the
energy development algorithm stored in the energy characteristic
parameter memory 102B; and a gantry angle development processing
unit (angle development computing means) 101E for newly computing
the group-2 data depending on the rotation angle of the rotating
gantry by using the gantry angle development algorithm stored in
the gantry structure parameter memory 102C. The gantry angle
development algorithm stored in the gantry structure parameter
memory 102C means parameters of the type empirically determined
from the structure and characteristics of the rotating gantry.
Also, the energy development algorithm stored in the energy
characteristic parameter memory 102B means parameters of the type
empirically determined from the structures of the ion source (not
shown), the pre-stage charged particle beam generator 11 and the
synchrotron 12, and from overall characteristics of the charged
particle beam generator 1.
[0055] FIG. 5 shows classification into the group-1 data stored in
the group-1 data storage 103A and the group-2 data stored in the
group-1 data storage 103B. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5,
the control command data for the steering magnets 7VA-7VC, 7HA-7HC,
8VA-8VC and 8HA-8HC disposed in the gantry system is classified
into the group-2 data, and the control command data for the other
magnets is classified into the group-1 data. The control command
data for the steering magnets 7VA-7VC, 7HA-7HC, 8VA-8VC and 8HA-8HC
is command data depending on the rotation angle of the rotating
gantry. This is because, when the rotating drum 50 of the rotating
gantry is rotated, the beam path is distorted by the weight of the
rotating drum 50 itself and the beam position must be finely
adjusted with the steering magnets 7VA-7VC, 7HA-7HC, 8VA-8VC and
8HA-8HC. The control command data for the other magnets is command
data not depending on the gantry angle.
[0056] The index data stored in the index data storage 103C is
added to one set of control command data (i.e., command data for
all the magnets corresponding to each level of beam energy shown in
FIG. 5) in a one-to-one relation. FIG. 7 is an illustration showing
one example of the index data displayed on the display 39 of the
console 37. As shown in FIG. 7, the index data includes the file
name of the control command data, the name of a person having
prepared the data, and the name of a person having approved it.
From the information displayed as the index data, the operator can
easily confirm the contents of the control command data. The index
data further includes the beam energy, the course (i.e., the
treatment room number; courses 1, 2, 3 and 4 corresponding
respectively to the treatment rooms 2A, 2B, 2C and 3), the beam
intensity (corresponding to the irradiation dose in the treatment
planning data), and the gantry angle. Those items are parameters
required to specify the beam. It is needles to say that the index
data may include other parameters for giving the operator more
comprehensive understanding.
[0057] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of the process for
storing the control command data to prepare the power supply
control table in the disk 103 disposed in the central control unit
100.
[0058] First, in step S10, control command data is prepared by the
operator adjusting the control command data applied to the
respective magnets while actually irradiating the beam. Based on
the prepared control command data, the energy development
processing unit 101D computes control command data (as described
later in more detail) by using the energy development algorithm
stored in the energy characteristic parameter memory 102B. Further,
the gantry angle development processing unit 101E computes control
command data (as described later in more detail) by using the
gantry angle development algorithm stored in the gantry structure
parameter memory 102C.
[0059] In next step S20, the operator inputs parameters from the
console 37 while looking at an entry screen displayed on the
display 39, by way of example, as shown in FIG. 7, thereby
preparing index data regarding those items of the control command
data prepared in step S10 which are to be stored. The prepared
index data is stored in the index data storage 103C through the
data storage/read processing unit 101C.
[0060] In next step S30, the data storage/read processing unit 101C
picks up and defines an index number corresponding to the index
data prepared in step S20.
[0061] In next step S40, the data storage/read processing unit 101C
stores the index number picked up in step S30 in each of the
group-1 data storage 103A and the group-2 data storage 103B. When
the group-1 data and the group-2 data are read by the data
storage/read processing unit 101C, the index number is used as a
key for specifying the corresponding group-1 data and group-2 data.
Stated another way, the index number stored in each of the group-1
data storage 103A and the group-2 data storage 103B serves to make
the group-1 data and the group-2 data belonging to the same set of
control command data correspondent to each other.
[0062] In next step S50, by using the parameters stored in the
magnet information memory 102A, the data storage/read processing
unit 101C determines on the basis of one item by one item whether
the prepared control command data is command data required for the
relevant course. If the command data is not required for the
relevant course, the determination is not satisfied and the command
data is set to "0" in next step S60, followed by proceeding to step
S100 described later. In practice, for example, when treatment is
performed in the treatment room 2A, the command data for the
magnets downstream of the quadrupole magnet 19 is set to "0". If
the command data is required for the relevant course, the
determination is satisfied, followed by proceeding to step S70.
[0063] In next step S70, by using the parameters stored in the
magnet information memory 102A, the data storage/read processing
unit 101C determines whether the prepared control command data
belongs to the group-1 data. In practice, it is determined whether
the magnets to which the command data is to be outputted are the
steering magnets 7VA-7VC, 7HA-7HC, 8VA-8VC and 8HA-8HC. If the
magnets to which the command data is to be outputted are those
steering magnets, the determination is not satisfied, followed by
proceeding to step S80 in which the command data is classified as
group-2 data and stored in the group-2 data storage 103B. Then, the
control flow shifts to step S100 (described later). If the magnets
to which the command data is to be outputted are not those steering
magnets, the determination is satisfied, followed by proceeding to
step S90 in which the command data is classified as group-1 data
and stored in the group-1 data storage 103A. Then, the control flow
shifts to step S100.
[0064] In step S100, the data storage/read processing unit 101C
determines whether the processing of steps S50 to S90 has been
completed for all items of the prepared control command data. If
not yet completed, the control flow returns to step S50 to repeat
the processing of steps S50 to S90. If all items of the necessary
command data have been stored, the determination is satisfied and
the control flow comes to an end.
[0065] FIG. 9 is a table showing one example of the control command
data newly computed in the gantry angle development processing unit
101E by using the gantry angle development algorithm.
[0066] As mentioned above, the operator first prepares control
command data by adjusting control command data applied to the
respective magnets while actually irradiating the beam. It is here
assumed that the control command data indicated by 51 in FIG. 9,
i.e., the control command data representing the beam energy of 50
MeV, the beam intensity of 100%, the course 1 (treatment room 2A),
and the gantry angle of 0 degree, has been prepared by the
operator. Based on the control command data 51 thus prepared, the
gantry angle development processing unit 101E automatically
computes the group-2 data depending on the gantry angle (e.g., the
group-2 data covering the gantry angle in the range of 0.5 to 359.5
degrees in units of 0.5 degree) by using the gantry development
algorithm. An area indicated by a double-headed arrow 52 in FIG. 9
represents the group-2 data newly prepared at this time. The newly
prepared group-2 data is sent to the data storage/read processing
unit 101C and is stored in the group-2 data storage 103B in
accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG. 8. Then, the operator
newly prepares index data with, e.g., entry from the console 37,
and the prepared index data is stored in the index data storage
103C through the data storage/read processing unit 101C. In
addition, an index number is also defined. Since the group-1 data
does not depend on the gantry angle as described above, the group-1
data in the control command data 51 can be used in common to all of
the group-2 data newly computed.
[0067] On the other hand, FIG. 10 is a table showing one example of
the control command data newly computed in the energy development
processing unit 101D by using the energy development algorithm.
[0068] As mentioned above, the operator first prepares control
command data by adjusting the control command data applied to the
respective magnets while actually irradiating the beam. It is here
assumed that the control command data indicated by 61, 62 in FIG.
10, i.e., the control command data representing the beam energy of
50 MeV, the beam intensity of 100%, the course 1 (treatment room
2A) and the gantry angle of 0 degree, and the control command data
representing the beam energy of 100 MeV, the beam intensity of
100%, the course 1 (treatment room 2A) and the gantry angle of 0
degree, have been prepared by the operator. Based on the control
command data 61, 62 thus prepared, the energy development
processing unit 101D automatically computes the group-1 data and
the group-2 data depending on the beam energy (e.g., the group-1
data and the group-2 data covering the beam energy in the range of
50.5 to 100 MeV in units of 0.5 MeV) by using the energy
development algorithm. An area indicated by a double-headed arrow
63 in FIG. 10 represents the group-1 data and the group-2 data both
newly prepared at this time. The newly prepared group-1 data and
group-2 data are sent to the data storage/read processing unit 101C
and are stored respectively in the group-1 data storage 103A and
the group-2 data storage 103B in accordance with the flowchart
shown in FIG. 8. Then, the operator newly prepares index data with,
e.g., entry from the console 37, and the prepared index data is
stored in the index data storage 103C through the data storage/read
processing unit 101C. In addition, an index number is also defined.
In this way, the power supply control table is prepared and stored
in the disk 103 disposed in the central control unit 100.
[0069] The operation of the particle therapy system of this
embodiment, having the above-described construction, will be
described below with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 a time chart
showing a flow of the operation and control over time in the
particle therapy system according to this embodiment.
[0070] The CPU 101 in the central control unit 100 reads, from the
storage 110, the treatment planning data regarding the patient who
is going to take the irradiation treatment, and outputs the
necessary data to the respective controllers via the irradiation
controller 40. The respective controllers perform the adjustment of
the gantry angle, the setting of the irradiation apparatus 15, the
positioning of the treatment couch 29A, etc. When those patient
setups are completed, the operator depresses the setup completion
switch 38 on the operator console 37, whereupon the patient ready
signal is outputted to the treatment sequence controller 120. The
treatment sequence controller 120 decides the sequence of
treatments to be performed in the treatment rooms 2A, 2B, 2C and 3
in accordance with the input sequence of the patient ready signals.
A treatment room signal indicating the decided treatment sequence
is inputted to the CPU 101 in the central control unit 100. By
using the thus-inputted treatment room signal (i.e., beam course
information) and the parameters (such as the irradiation energy,
the irradiation dose (beam intensity), and the gantry angle) which
are contained in the treatment planning data and are required to
specify the beam, the CPU 101 creates control command data for
supply of excitation power to the respective magnets based on the
power supply control table that is stored in the disk 103 disposed
in the central control unit 100. The control command data thus
prepared is outputted to the magnet power supply controller 130 and
then distributed from the magnet power supply controller 130 to the
accelerator power supply 140, the beam path power supply 150, the
beam switching power supply 160, and the path switching controller
170. When those power supplies 140, 150 and 160 and the path
switching controller 170 have completed the settings of excitation
currents supplied to the respective magnets, the magnet power
supply controller 130 outputs a signal indicating the completion of
the equipment settings to the CPU 101 in the central control unit
100, whereupon the CPU 101 outputs a signal indicating the
completion of the final setup on the machine side to the display 39
of the operator console 37. Correspondingly, the display 39
presents display for indicating the completion of the final setup
on the machine side. Then, when the irradiation instruction switch
42 is depressed by, e.g., a doctor, a corresponding irradiation
start instruction signal is inputted to the CPU 101 in the central
control unit 100. In response to the irradiation start instruction
signal, the CPU 101 outputs an emission instruction signal and an
acceleration instruction signal, respectively, to the linac 11 and
the above-mentioned RF cavity of the synchrotron 12. As a result,
the ion beam from the charged particle beam generator 1 is
extracted and irradiated to the diseased part in the body of the
patient 30A through the irradiation apparatus in the relevant
treatment room.
[0071] As shown in FIG. 11, a treatment time from the patient setup
in each treatment room to the end of the beam irradiation is
divided primarily into a patient setup time (i.e., a time required
to complete the setup for the patient) T1, a beam setup time T2,
and a beam irradiation time T3. In the beam setup time T2, a time
required for creating the control command data occupies a large
part though it is shown short in FIG. 11 for easier understanding
of a signal flow.
[0072] The particle therapy system of this embodiment having been
described above in detail operates with the following
advantages.
[0073] In this embodiment, the control command data is stored while
being classified into two groups such that, of the respective
magnets disposed in the charged particle beam generator 1 and the
beam transport systems 4, 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D for transporting the
ion beam extracted from the charged particle beam generator 1 to
the irradiation apparatuses 15A-15C and 16, the control command
data for the steering magnets 7HA-7HC, 7VA-7VC, 8HA-8HC and 8VA-8VC
is classified into the group-2 data, and the control command data
for the other magnets is classified into the group-1 data.
Classifying, as another group, only the control command data
depending on the gantry angle is advantageous in that, as to the
control command data for the beam types differing only in the angle
of the rotating gantry, it is just required to store the group-2
data alone in the group-2 data storage 103B, whereas the group-1
data can be used in common. The number of the steering magnets
disposed in the gantry transport system, which belong to the
group-2 data, is several (four in this embodiment) at maximum in
each treatment room (i.e., per course). On the other hand, though
depending on the number of courses, the number of the other magnets
belonging to the group-1 data is usually about 30 to 150 (FIG. 5
shows only the main magnets and hence includes a relatively small
number of magnets). With this embodiment, therefore, as to the
control command data for the beam types differing only in the angle
of the rotating gantry, the group-1 data for about 30 to 150
magnets can be used in common, whereas it is just required to store
the group-2 data alone for several magnets at maximum depending on
the gantry angle. Accordingly, the amount of the command data to be
stored can be greatly reduced in comparison with the known system
in which the control command data for the respective magnets is all
simply stored as it is. As a result, it is possible to cut a search
time required for specifiying, from among the stored control
command data, the necessary command data corresponding to the
requested beam type. In other words, the time required for creating
the control command data, shown in FIG. 11, can be shortened,
whereby the beam setup time T2 can be shortened. Usually, in a
particle therapy system including a plurality of treatment rooms as
in this embodiment, during a period in which the beam setup and the
beam irradiation are performed in one treatment room, a next
treatment room completes a patient setup and comes into a standby
state. Therefore, as soon as the irradiation has completed in one
treatment room, the beam setup for the next treatment room is
performed at once. Accordingly, if the beam setup time T2 is
prolonged, the standby time of the next treatment room is prolonged
and treatment efficiency is reduced correspondingly. In contrast,
with this embodiment, since the beam setup time T2 can be cut, the
number of patients treated in one treatment room per unit time can
be increased. Moreover, since the amount of the command data to be
stored can be greatly reduced as described above, it is possible to
reduce the resources (such as a hard disk or a CD-ROM) necessary
for storing the control command data, to improve convenience in
handling of data, and to cut the cost.
[0074] Also, with this embodiment, the energy development
processing unit 101D and the gantry angle development processing
unit 101E automatically compute and store the control command data
depending on the beam energy and the gantry angle, respectively.
Therefore, whatever beam energy and whatever gantry angle are
requested from any of the treatment rooms, the beam setting can be
automatically performed in response to the request, and the range
within which the central control unit 100 is able to automatically
perform the beam setting can be drastically enlarged.
[0075] Further, with this embodiment, the index data is added to
one set of control command data in a one-to-one relation, and the
index number corresponding to the index data is defined and stored
when the control command data is classified into the group-1 data
and the group-2 data. Based on the index data, the operator can
easily confirm the contents of the control command data, and can
write and read the control command data as one set without being
aware of the fact that the control command data is stored in two
classified groups. In other words, lowering of convenience in
handling of data can be avoided which is otherwise caused with
classification of the control command data into two groups.
Further, when reading the command data from the two groups, the
defined index number is used as a key for specifying both the
group-1 data and the group-2 data corresponding to it. Therefore,
the group-1 data and the group-2 data can be avoided from being
read in a false combination.
[0076] While the beam irradiation method in the irradiation
apparatus is not limited to a particular one in the above-described
one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is
likewise applicable to, e.g., a particle therapy system including
an irradiation apparatus of the type irradiating an ion beam while
automatically changing beam energy to plural levels (i.e., the
energy scanning type). In such a case, plural sets of the control
command data corresponding to the plural energy levels must be
selected from the power supply control table stored in the disk 103
in response to the beam request from each treatment room. Stated
another way, in that case, the search for the control command data
executed in the above-described one embodiment requires to be made
plural times corresponding to the plural energy levels. It is hence
possible to more effectively utilize the advantage of the present
invention that the number of patients treated in one treatment room
per unit time by cutting the search time.
[0077] While the above-described one embodiment of the present
invention is applied to the particle therapy system including the
synchrotron, the present invention can also be applied to a
particle therapy system including a cyclotron.
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