Method of providing rotational radiation therapy using particles

Abstract

Techniques are described herein for delivering a particle beam composed of a plurality of beamlets from a continuously rotating gantry towards a target, by determining a plurality of predefined spots on the target and configuring them into a set of smaller spots on the outside of the target and a set of larger spots on the inside of the target, optimizing the delivery of the rotating particle beam such that the inside edge and the outside edge of the arc of the rotating beam are delivered to the spots located at the center of the target, and the central component of the arc of the beam is delivered to the spots located at the outside of the target.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method for delivering a plurality of particle beams from a continuously rotating gantry towards a target, the method composing:
 determining a plurality of spots in the target for a gantry angle, wherein the plurality of spots are configured in a spiral pattern;   ordering the plurality of spots in the spiral pattern including a first set of spots having a first size, and a second set of spots having a second size, different from the first size, to be delivered subsequent to completion of delivery of the first set; and   continuously delivering the plurality of particle beams as the gantry rotates by delivering a plurality of beamiets for each particle beam of the plurality of particle beams from a beginning of a respective arc to an end of the respective arc according to the spiral pattern of the plurality of spots.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein continuously delivering the plurality of particle beams includes only a single transition of spot sizes from the first size to the second size to complete delivery along the respective arc. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of predefined spots are contiguously located. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein delivering the plurality of beamlets comprises delivering the plurality of bea.mlets from a position inside the target to a position on an outside edge of the target. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first set of spots are located at an outside edge of the target and have a smaller diameter than the second set of spots that are located at a position inside the target away from the outside edge. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein beamlets associated with larger diameter spots have a greater dose than the beamlets associated with the smaller diameter spots, and further comprising using an intensity modulation for the second set of spots that is greater than for the first set of spots. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the particle beam comprises at least one of a plurality of protons, carbon-ions, ions, pions, or positively charged particles. 
     
     
         9 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium including instructions for delivering a plurality of particle beams from a continuously rotating gantry towards a target, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
 determine a plurality of spots in the target for a gantry angle, wherein the plurality of spots are configured in a spiral pattern;   order the plurality of spots in the spiral pattern including a first set of spots having a first size, and a second set of spots having a second size, different from the first size, to be delivered subsequent to completion of delivery of the first set; and   continuously deliver the plurality of particle beams as the gantry rotates by delivering a plurality of beamlets for each particle beam of the plurality of particle beams from a beginning of a respective arc to an end of the respective arc according to the spiral pattern of the plurality of spots.   
     
     
         10 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein to continuously deliver the plurality of particle beams, the processor is further caused to continuously deliver the plurality of particle beams with only a single transition of spot sizes from the first size to the second size to complete delivery along the respective arc. 
     
     
         11 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of spots are contiguously located. 
     
     
         12 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of predefined spots are contiguously located. 
     
     
         13 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the first set of spots are located at an outside edge of the target and have a smaller diameter than the second set of spots that are located at a position inside the target away from the outside edge. 
     
     
         14 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the particle beam comprises at least one of a plurality of protons, carbon-ions, ions, pions, or positively charged particles. 
     
     
         15 . A system for delivering a plurality of particle beams from a continuously rotating gantry towards a target, the system comprising:
 an ion source configured to provide a stream of particles to an injector, the injector configured to accelerate the stream of particles;   an accelerator configured to further accelerate the stream of particles and provide energy to the stream of particles, the energy corresponding to a delivery depth within tissue;   an energy selector configured to select energies of the stream of particles to be delivered;   a plurality of bending magnets configured to transport the stream of particles into a radiation therapy delivery room;   a plurality of scanning magnets configured to shape the stream of particles according to a target;   a processor configured to:
 determine a plurality of spots in the target for a gantry angle, wherein the plurality of spots are configured in a spiral pattern; and 
 order the plurality of spots in the spiral pattern including a first set of spots having a first size, and a second set of spots having a second size, different from the first size, to be delivered subsequent to completion of delivery of the first set; and 
   a snout configured to continuously deliver the plurality of particle beams as the gantry rotates by delivering a plurality of beamlets for each particle beam of the plurality of particle beams from a beginning of a respective arc to an end of the respective arc according to the spiral pattern of the plurality of spots.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein to continuously deliver the plurality of particle beams, the processor is further configured to continuously deliver the plurality of particle beams with only a single transition of spot sizes from the first size to the second size to complete delivery along the respective arc. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the particle beam comprises at least one of a plurality of protons, carbon-ions, ions, pions, or positively charged particles. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of predefined spots are contiguously located. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein to deliver the plurality of beamlets, the snout is further configured to deliver the plurality of beamlets from a position inside the target to a position on an outside edge of the target. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the first set of spots are located at an outside edge of the target and have a smaller diameter than the second set of spots that are located at a position inside the target away from the outside edge. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein to deliver the plurality of beamlets, the snout is further configured to deliver the plurality of beamlets with a single transition between spots of varying size.