Radiotherapeutic apparatus
US8059782B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 1, 2006 |
| Grant date | Nov 15, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 1, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61N5/1047
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention seeks to provide a radiotherapeutic apparatus that mitigates the various problems found in the techniques such as tomotherapy, IMAT, IMRT and the like. It provides a radiotherapeutic apparatus comprising a source of radiation whose output is collimated by a multi-leaf collimator, and a patient support, the source being rotatable around the support and the support being translatable along the axis of rotation, thereby to move the source helically relative to a patient on the support. The leaves of the MLC are preferably oriented orthogonal to the axis of rotation, to simplify computation of the dose distribution. The apparatus thus moves the patient on the patient support system along the axis of rotation, in the longitudinal direction. Thus, the device has an effectively unlimited treatable volume in the longitudinal direction and avoids the limitations of IMAT and IMRT techniques whilst enabling the use of thin MLC leaves to give a high longitudinal resolution. The apparatus is preferably combined with an optimization system providing a computational service similar to that provided for IMAT and IMRT devices. Essentially the same computational techniques coul…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.