Brainlab Ag

Stephan Erbel

Stefan Vilsmeier

Kajetan Berlinger

Stephan Fröhlich

Cornel Schlossbauer

Stephan Fr&ouml;hlich

Franz Gum

Armin Fürst

Rainer Birkenbach

Ulf Labsik

Stephan Frochlich

Verena Schultheis

Fürst Armin

A patient positioning system for radiotherapy, comprising a device for positioning a patient within the framework of treatment planning, using image detection and/or carrying out radiation treatment, comprising a patient bed on which a patient is positioned, wherein means are provided by which the same bed may be arranged both on a planning couch for image detection within the framework of treatment planning as well as on a radiotherapy table, and by providing a reference means on the patient bed by which the position of the immobilized patient or of a marked radiation target is determined with respect to the patient bed. Within this framework, a corresponding method is also provided, as well as an adjusting means for the transport and the bed.

Patient positioning system for radiotherapy

The invention is directed to a method for controlling a process of monitoring the position of at least a part of a patient's body () during a radiation treatment, the method comprising the following steps:

Controlling a process of monitoring the position of a patient during radiation treatment

The invention relates to a method for determining the position of an object moving within a body, wherein the body is connected to markers, a movement signal is determined based on the measured movement of the markers, images are taken from the object using a camera or detector, wherein the camera or detector is moved with respect to the object, it is determined from which direction or range of angles or segment the most images corresponding to a predefined cycle of the movement signal are taken, and using at least some or all of the images of the segment containing the most images for a specified movement cycle, an image of the object is reconstructed.

Detection of the position of a moving object and treatment method

The present invention refers to a data processing method for use in the field of radiation therapy and for determining a relative position between the position of the bony structure and a reference position at a monitoring time, the relative position being referred to as monitoring bone position, wherein an anatomical structure of a patient includes the bony structure and a treatment body part to be treated by at least one treatment beam of a treatment device, the reference position having a defined relative position with respect to an actual arrangement of at least one position of the at least one treatment beam; the data processing method being constituted to be performed by a computer and comprising the following steps: &#x2022;providing CBCT image data describing a three-dimensional CBCT image of the bony structure, the CBCT image representing the bony structure at a pre-alignment time; &#x2022;providing x-ray image data describing at least one two-dimensional x-ray image of the anatomical structure, the at least one two-dimensional x-ray image representing the bony structure () and the x-ray image data being generated at the monitoring time; &#x2022;providing imaging position data comprising at least one of CBCT position data and x-ray geometry data, CBCT position data describing the relative position between the CBCT image and the actual arrangement and the x-ray geometry data describing a positional relationship between the actual arrangement and at least one imaging geometry, referred to as x-ray imaging geometry, given for generating the at least one x-ray image; &#x2022;determining the relative position between the bony structure and the reference position at the monitoring time on the basis of the CBCT image data, the x-ray image data and the imaging position data.

Determination of a change of position of a bony structure in radiation therapy

The present invention relates to a data processing method for use in the field of radiation therapy and for determining a position of a treatment body part relative to an actual arrangement of at least one position of a treatment beam issued by a treatment device, the position being called monitoring tissue position and the treatment body part being a soft tissue part of an anatomical structure of a patient; the data processing method being constituted to be performed by a computer and comprising the following steps: &#x25cf; providing CBCT data describing a three-dimensional CBCT image of the anatomical structure, the three dimensional CBCT image representing the treatment body part and a bony structure in a relative position to each other, called tissue-bone pre-alignment position, at a point in time, called pre-alignment time; &#x25cf; providing x-ray data describing information on a position of the bony structure, called monitoring bone position, relative to the actual arrangement at a point in, time during treatment, called monitoring time, the monitoring time being after the pre-alignment time; &#x25cf; determining the monitoring tissue position of the treatment body part relative to the actual arrangement &#x2218; based on the tissue-bone pre-alignment position represented by the CBCT image data, &#x2218; based on the information on the monitoring bone position described by the x-ray data, and &#x2218; based on a predefined relationship between a first relative position between the treatment body part and the bony structure at the pre-alignment time and a second relative position between the treatment body part and the bony structure at the monitoring time.

Determination of a body part position during radiation therapy

The present invention relates to a method for generating a complete medical image data set from an incomplete image data set, comprising the method steps of: providing a first image data set which represents an image of a first region of a body, including at least a part of the surface of the body, at a first point in time; providing a second, incomplete image data set which represents an image of a second region of the body at a second point in time, wherein the first region and the second region overlap; providing a third data set which represents the contour of the body in the form of points on the surface of the body, substantially at the second point in time; adapting the first image data set to the second image data set by taking into account the third data set; and accepting the adapted first image data set as a complete image data set.

Method for completing a medical image data set

The invention is directed to a method for controlling a process of monitoring the position of at least a part of a patient's body () during a radiation treatment, the method comprising the following steps: a) providing an energy value which is dependent on the radiation energy applied to the patient's body (); b) controlling the time at which the monitoring process is performed, in accordance with the energy value.

Controlling a process of monitoring the position of a patient during a radiation treatment

A method for determining the position of a stent within a body, comprising the steps of:

Stent and method for determining the position of a stent

The invention concerns a patient positioning system for radiotherapy, comprising a device for positioning a patient within the framework of treatment planning, using image detection and/or carrying out radiation treatment, comprising a patient bed () on which a patient is positioned, wherein means are provided by which the same bed () may be arranged both on a planning couch () for image detection within the framework of treatment planning as well as on a radiotherapy table (), and by providing a reference means () on the patient bed by which the position of the immobilised patient or of a marked radiation target is determined with respect to the patient bed (). Within this framework, a corresponding method is also provided, as well as an adjusting means for the transport and the bed.

A non-diagnostic, stereoscopic x-ray tracking apparatus and method for tracking moving objects in the context of radiotherapy and radiosurgery includes using two x-ray tubes to alternately and repeatedly record x-ray images of an object along two different viewing lines through the target area of an irradiating apparatus. The viewing lines intersect at a known angle, wherein an extrapolated object trajectory is ascertained by determining surfaces and intersecting points. Further, a minimum transversal from the object trajectory onto a current viewing line is ascertained, wherein the three-dimensional position of the tracked object is approximated at the point at which the object trajectory meets the viewing line.

Non-diagnostic stereoscopic x-ray tracking of moving objects in the context of radiotherapy and radiosurgery, with time-offset image recording

Volumetric imaging on a radiotherapy apparatus, wherein a body, of which a volumetric image data set is to be produced, is positioned on a couch of the radiotherapy apparatus, and the couch or a bearing area of the couch or the body itself is rotated about a spatially fixed axis. During rotation, multiple x-ray images of the body or of a part of the body are produced and stored by at least one radiation source/image recorder system which is separate from the radiotherapy apparatus and whose radiation path is substantially not parallel to the spatially fixed axis. The rotational position of the couch or the bearing area of the couch or the body itself is detected while the images are produced, and the rotational position is assigned to the corresponding image, wherein a volumetric image data set of the body is reconstructed from the x-ray images by image processing and assignment by a computer system.

Volumetric imaging on a radiotherapy apparatus

The invention concerns a method for determining the filling of a lung, wherein the movement of an anatomical structure which moves with breathing, or one or more points on the moving anatomical structure whose movement trajectory is highly correlated with lung filling, is detected with respect to the location of at least one anatomical structure which is not spatially affected by breathing, and wherein each distance between the structures is assigned a particular lung filling value. It further concerns a method for assisting in radiotherapy during movement of the radiation target due to breathing, wherein the association of lung filling values with the distance of the moving structure which is identifiable in an x-ray image and the structure which is not spatially affected by breathing is determined by means of an above-named method, the current position of the radiation target is detected on the basis of the lung filling value, and wherein radiation exposure is carried out, assisted by the known current position of the radiation target.

Method for determining a current lung filling extent and method for assisting radiation therapy during respiratory shifting of the radiation target

The invention concerns a patient positioning system for radiotherapy, comprising a device for positioning a patient within the framework of treatment planning, using image detection and/or carrying out radiation treatment, comprising a patient bed () on which a patient is positioned, wherein means are provided by which the same bed () may be arranged both on a planning couch () for image detection within the framework of treatment planning as well as on a radiotherapy table (), and by providing a reference means () on the patient bed by which the position of the immobilized patient or of a marked radiation target is determined with respect to the patient bed (). Within this framework, a corresponding method is also provided, as well as an adjusting means for the transport and the bed.

Growing community of inventors

Munich, Germany

Stephan Erbel