Siemens Medical Solutions Usa, Inc.

The Titan Corporation

Kenneth Whitham

Xiaodong Ding

John Thomas Allen

George Michael Sullivan

Chong Guo Yao

Richard C Miller

Anthony Alexander Zante

H George Hammon, Iii

Chong-Guo Yao

Richard Joseph Mendonsa

Harrold Brook Knowles

Michael Scott Brazell

Some embodiments include an accelerator waveguide having a plurality of cavities, and at least two RF power sources, each of the at least two RF power sources being separately coupled to a respective one of the plurality of cavities.

Distributed RF sources for medical RF accelerator

Some embodiments include operation of an accelerator waveguide to output first particles from a tuned end cavity of the accelerator waveguide at a first energy, detuning of the end cavity, and operation of the accelerator waveguide to output second particles from the detuned end cavity at a second energy.

Energy switch for particle accelerator

Some embodiments include operation of an accelerator waveguide to accelerate particles to a first energy within the waveguide, wherein a prebuncher coupled to the waveguide outputs particle bunches having a first phase, change of a phase at which particle bunches will be output from the prebuncher from the first phase to a second phase, and operation of the accelerator waveguide to accelerate particles to a second energy within the waveguide, wherein the prebuncher outputs particle bunches having the second phase. Further aspects provide change of a resonant frequency of the prebuncher from a first frequency to a second frequency. According to still further aspects, the prebuncher includes a prebuncher cavity and change of the resonant frequency comprises change of a shape of the prebuncher cavity.

Multi-energy particle accelerator

A method, system, and apparatus for providing reduced dark current in a linear accelerator includes a cavity having an input aperture and an output aperture, and a particle source coupled to the input aperture, the input aperture having a radius greater than a radius of the output aperture.

Low dark current linear accelerator

The invention provides a scheme in accordance with which a linear accelerator may be operated in two or more resonance (or standing wave) modes to produce charged particle beams over a wide range of output energies so that diagnostic imaging and therapeutic treatment may be performed on a patient using the same device. In this way, the patient may be diagnosed and treated, and the results of the treatment may be verified and documented, without moving the patient. This feature reduces alignment problems that otherwise might arise from movement of the patient between diagnostic and therapeutic exposure machines. In addition, this feature reduces the overall treatment time, thereby reducing patient discomfort.

Multi-mode operation of a standing wave linear accelerator

A standing wave linear accelerator with a prebunching section and an accelerating section that are formed into a unitary accelerating structure is described. The prebunching section is configured to group charged particles into bunches by velocity modulation of the charged particle beam. The accelerating section has a plurality of inter-coupled resonant cavities, including an input cavity that is coupled to the prebunching section and an output cavity.

Standing wave linear accelerator with integral prebunching section

A radiation therapy system according to the present invention includes a treatment system and an imaging system. The treatment system employs a first tungsten target to generate high power X-rays for treatment. The imaging system uses a second target to generate low power X-rays for imaging. The targets are arranged such that the resulting treatment and imaging beams are generally collinear.

System and method for improved diagnostic imaging in a radiation treatment system

Systems and methods for reducing dark current levels in a standing wave linear accelerator without sacrificing operating performance are described. In a radiation mode, the standing wave linear accelerator is operated to produce a pulsed therapeutic photon beam having a characteristic pulse width. In an electron mode, the standing wave linear accelerator is operated to produce a pulsed therapeutic electron beam having a characteristic pulse width that is shorter than the characteristic pulse width of the therapeutic photon beam. In some embodiments, assuming a uniform dark current level, the dark current level may be reduced in proportion with the beam pulse width reduction in the electron mode of operation. A system for implementing this therapeutic beam generation method also is described.

Reducing dark current in a standing wave linear accelerator

An article irradiation system includes a radiation source for scanning a target region with radiation; a first conveyor system for transporting articles from a loading area though the target region to an unloading area; and radiation shielding material defining a tunnel closely encompassing portions of the conveyor system extending away from the target region toward the loading and unloading areas for shielding the loading and unloading areas from radiation derived from the radiation source. The first conveyor system is disposed in a path having curved turns of such degree between the target region and the loading and unloading areas that the closely encompassing radiation shielding material precludes a direct line of sight between the target region and the loading and unloading areas and thereby facilitates a compact embodiment in which the first conveyor system may be included in an assembly line. A second conveyor system is coupled to the first conveyor system for transporting the articles from a first position on the first conveyor system that is past the target region and at which the path of the first conveyor system has a given alignment to a second position on the first conveyor system that is before the target region and at which the path of the first conveyor system has an alignment that is one-hundred-and-eighty degrees different than the given alignment to thereby reorient the articles transported by the first conveyor system by one-hundred-and-eighty degrees with respect to the path of the first conveyor system for retransportation through the target region. In a radiation shielding assembly having a radiation shield defining a corridor through which the electron beam is scanned and further defining a tunnel through which articles may be transported through the target region, a beam stop is disposed within a recess in a portion of the radiation shield on the opposite side of the target region from the radiation source so that photons emitted from the beam stop toward the radiation source but obliquely thereto are inhibited from entering the tunnel by such portion the radiation shield.

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Alamo, CA, United States of America

Kenneth Whitham