Radiotherapeutic treatment planning apparatus and methods
US8605966B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 25, 2008 |
| Grant date | Dec 10, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 3, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/20096
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A treatment planning apparatus comprises a means for receiving a three dimensional representation of a patient, a means for displaying at least a part of the representation, a means for user-designation of sub-regions of the representation, and a computing means adapted to segment the representation into a region within an anatomical structure and a region outside the anatomical structure on the basis of the locations of the sub-regions and the degree of similarity of voxels to neighboring voxels in the representation. The treatment planning apparatus preferably further comprises means for designating sub-regions as being inside the structure, means for designating sub-regions as being outside the structure, and/or means for designating sub-regions as being at a border of the structure. In the latter case, we prefer that the size of border sub-regions is adjustable. The computing means can segment the representation by minimizing a cost function. We also prefer that the initial values of the function in sub-regions designated as being in a border region are constrained to a different preset value. In an particularly useful aspect of this invention, after minimization of the functio…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.