JP4456045B2 - Compensator for particle beam irradiation and compensator manufacturing apparatus for particle beam irradiation - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a compensator for particle beam irradiation used together with a particle beam therapy apparatus using a particle beam such as a proton beam or a carbon beam, and an apparatus for manufacturing the compensator.

  FIG. 6 shows a conventional example of a radiotherapy apparatus using a proton beam described in Non-Patent Document 1 below. In FIG. 6, the proton beam 39 irradiated from the radiotherapy apparatus is scattered by the scatterers 40 and 41 to increase the beam size. The intensity of the proton beam 39 is monitored by a beam intensity monitor 42, and intensity data is input to a computer 43 for controlling the apparatus. Further, the proton beam 39 is attenuated in energy uniformly by the water column 44, and the beam width is limited by the multi-leaf collimators 45a and 45b. Further, the proton beam 39 is attenuated by the compensator 46 in accordance with the shape of the irradiation target 48 such as a tumor in the human body 47. The compensator 46 is made of an acrylic resin or the like that causes the same energy attenuation as water.

In the case of a particle beam such as a proton beam, it is necessary to arrange and irradiate a tumor at a position where the dose becomes the largest in order to show a dose concentration in which the radiation dose generally becomes deeper than the surface. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, if the compensator 46 is molded so as to have a surface shape similar to the surface shape of the deepest position of the tumor that is the irradiation target 48, the dose to the tumor can be maximized, Radiation can be applied so as not to irradiate radiation-sensitive organs such as the spinal cord 49 immediately behind the tumor so that the spinal cord 49 and the like can be protected.
Medical Physics. 10 (3), May / June. 1983, Kanai et al.

  However, in the above-described conventional technique, it is necessary to use a compensator 46 that matches the shape of the tumor that is the irradiation target 48. Therefore, the compensator 46 is produced for each patient and for each direction in which the patient is irradiated, and is replaced during treatment. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the compensator 46 is increased, and the time required for treatment is increased. There is also a problem that multi-directional irradiation, which is an essential irradiation method for preventing side effects on normal tissues, cannot be performed in a short time. Further, the compensator 46 is usually manufactured by a numerical control computer and a cutting machine, and the processing time per compensator 46 takes 40 minutes or more. In the case of a complicated shape, 4 hours are required. There was a problem that a long working time was required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an accurate particle beam compensator that can be easily manufactured in a short time and a manufacturing apparatus thereof.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a compensator for particle beam irradiation, in which partially cut sheet-like materials are laminated and fixed to each other to correspond to a patient's tumor position and shape. A void is formed.

  Here, a part of the sheet-like material is cut out by punching.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the laminated sheet-like materials are fixed by being bonded or welded to each other.

  Moreover, the laminated sheet-like material may be disposed and fixed inside the box.

  Moreover, the laminated sheet-like material may be fixed with a tape.

  The sheet-like material is preferably laminated in a direction in which the laminated surfaces are substantially orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the particle beam.

  Further, the present invention is a particle beam irradiation compensator manufacturing apparatus, the shape data acquisition means for acquiring the shape data of the particle beam irradiation compensator, the material supply means for supplying the material of the particle beam irradiation compensator, Punching means for punching a material, shape inspection means for inspecting the shape of the processed material, and assembly means for assembling the inspected material.

  In addition, as the material, it is preferable to use a sheet-like material.

  Further, the material assembling means includes a laminating means for laminating the sheet-like material.

  According to the present invention, since the compensator for particle beam irradiation is formed by laminating the sheet-like material partially cut away, it can be easily manufactured in a short time.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1. FIG.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a compensator for particle beam irradiation according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a structure 100 is configured by laminating sheet-like materials 1, and each sheet-like material 1 is formed with a hollow portion 2 that is hollowed out. The structure 100 is irradiated with a particle beam 9. The direction of the arrow in the figure indicates the incident direction of the particle beam 9. Here, the gap portion 2 is formed such that a gap 101 having a shape corresponding to the tumor position and shape of the patient is formed in the structure 100 when the sheet-like materials 1 are laminated in a predetermined order and direction. Are formed on each sheet-like material 1. The structure 100 in which the void 101 is formed corresponds to the compensator for particle beam irradiation according to the present invention.

  As the sheet-like material 1, a material having substantially the same density as water is used. For example, an acrylic material having a thickness of 1 mm to 10 mm is suitable, but a more preferable thickness is 3 mm to 5 mm.

  The structure 100 is formed by laminating the sheet-like material 1 and fixing them by adhering or welding them. It can also be realized by stacking in a box (not shown). In the case of FIG. 1, the particle beam 9 comes from vertically above and is incident in a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface of the laminated sheet-like material 1, so even if a minute air layer exists between the sheets, the particle beam The beam 9 does not leak from the air layer, and the particle beam 9 can be accurately stopped at a predetermined human body depth.

  The manufacturing time per structure 100 that is the compensator for particle beam irradiation according to the present embodiment is 5 to 15 minutes, which is significantly longer than the conventional shaving process that takes 40 minutes to 4 hours or more. Can be shortened.

  FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of another example of the particle beam irradiation compensator according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the difference from FIG. 1 is that each sheet surface of the sheet-like material 1 and the traveling direction of the particle beam 9 are parallel. As a result, a part of the particle beam 9 may be directly incident on the human body through a minute air layer between the sheets. If high-energy particle beams that have not been adjusted in the body reach by particle beam irradiation compensators are mixed, normal tissue deeper than the tumor may be damaged. In order to avoid this, in the example of FIG. 2, the sheets of the sheet-like material 1 may be completely adhered or welded together or fixed with a thin plastic tape to completely eliminate the air layer.

  In addition, as the sheet-like material 1, acrylic is preferable as described above, but as other examples, various resins such as polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene having a specific gravity close to 1 can be used.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a configuration example of a compensator manufacturing apparatus for particle beam irradiation according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a device configuration example of a compensator manufacturing apparatus for particle beam irradiation. Further, FIG. 5 shows a flow of a control program of the compensator manufacturing apparatus for particle beam irradiation.

  In FIG. 3, the particle beam irradiation compensator manufacturing apparatus includes a shape data acquisition unit 3 for inputting shape data of the particle beam irradiation compensator, and a sheet shape serving as a material of each segment shape constituting the particle beam irradiation compensator. Material supply means 4 for supplying the material 1 to the punching means 5, punching means 5 for punching the sheet-like material 1, and shape inspection means 6 for inspecting the shape of the processed sheet-like material 1 And an extracting means 7 for taking out the inspected sheet-like material 1 and an assembling means 8 for assembling the taken-out sheet-like material 1.

  Next, operation | movement of the said compensator manufacturing apparatus for particle beam irradiation is demonstrated using FIG.4 and FIG.5. In FIG. 4, the control computer 11 controls the operation of the particle beam irradiation compensator manufacturing apparatus and also functions as an operation monitor.

  The radiotherapy planning apparatus 10 calculates shape data of each sheet-like material 1 laminated to form the structure 100 based on the shape of the particle beam irradiation compensator determined for each patient. This shape data is data relating to the shape of the void portion 2 formed in each sheet-like material 1.

  The control computer 11 acquires the shape data of each sheet-like material 1 calculated by the radiation therapy planning device 10. The acquisition of the shape data can be performed, for example, by the control computer 11 reading from the radiation treatment planning apparatus 10 via the network (S1 in FIG. 5). In this case, the control computer 11 functions as the shape data acquisition means 3 shown in FIG.

  Next, in FIG. 4, the sheet-like material 1 before punching is stacked in the vertical direction, and the material loader control unit 12, the horizontal movement actuator 13, and the vertical movement actuator 14 1 according to the control command of the control computer 11. Each sheet is transferred to the mounting position of the material holder 21. The holder drive unit 20 moves the sheet-like material 1 to be processed held by the material holder 21 to the punching base 19 in units of one sheet based on a command from the punching drive control unit / shape inspection control unit 16 (FIG. 5). S2). Here, the control computer 11, the material loader control unit 12, the horizontal movement actuator 13, the vertical movement actuator 14, the holder drive unit 20, and the material holder 21 function as the material supply means 4 shown in FIG.

  The sheet-like material 1 moved to the punching base 19 becomes a workpiece to be machined, and the punch position scanning drive unit 17 is moved to a specified position on the two-dimensional plane by a punch drive signal from the punching drive control unit / shape inspection control unit 16. Then, the punch blade mold 18 is driven downward to punch out the sheet-like material 1 that is the workpiece to be processed. When punching is completed, the punch position scanning drive unit 17 moves the punch blade mold 18 to the next designated position, and performs the punching operation in the same manner as described above. In this way, when the movement and punching for the number of punching steps specified in the shape data acquired by the control computer 11 from the radiotherapy planning apparatus 10 are repeated, the punching operation of the sheet-like material 1 is completed, and the desired operation is completed. A gap 2 having a shape is formed in the sheet-like material 1 (S3 in FIG. 5). Here, the punching drive control unit / shape inspection control unit 16, the punch position scanning drive unit 17, and the punching base 19 function as the punching processing means 5 shown in FIG. The size of one punching is determined by the vertical and horizontal sizes of the punch blade 18, one of which matches the resolution of the particle beam irradiation compensator to be manufactured, usually 3 to 10 mm, and the other is The resolution is larger than about 5 mm to 30 mm. The punching method is preferably turret punching, which shortens the processing time, and takes about 15 minutes including processes such as punching of the sheet-like material 1 and bonding and welding of the sheet-like material 1 to form the structure 100. Compensator for particle beam irradiation can be manufactured.

  The sheet-like material 1 that has been punched is transferred to the sheet table 23 by the holder drive unit 20 and set at the inspection position. The punched sheet-like material 1 is imaged by the CCD camera 24, and image data obtained by imaging the entire shape of the sheet-like material 1 is sent to the punching drive control unit / shape inspection control unit 16. The punching drive control unit / shape inspection control unit 16 forms the shape of the gap portion 2 formed in the sheet-like material 1 represented by the image data and the planned shape of the gap portion 2 created by the radiation treatment planning apparatus 10. (S4 in FIG. 5). Here, the punching drive control unit / shape inspection control unit 16, the sheet table 23, and the CCD camera 24 function as the shape inspection means 6 shown in FIG. As a result of the comparison, when the difference in shape is within a certain range, the holder drive unit 20 takes out the punched sheet-like material 1 from the sheet placing table 23 as an acceptable product (S5 in FIG. 5). Here, the holder drive unit 20 functions as the take-out means 7 shown in FIG. The taken sheet material 1 is stored in the compensator block case 26 by the holder drive unit 20 and the sheet material 1 is laminated. Thereby, the structure 100 is assembled (S6 of FIG. 5). Each sheet-like material 1 may be fixed by adhesion, welding, or the like as described above. Here, the holder drive unit 20 and the compensator block case 26 function as the assembling means 8 shown in FIG. In this case, the holder drive unit 20 corresponds to a laminating means for laminating the sheet material 1 according to the present invention.

  When the difference between the shape of the gap 2 formed in the processed sheet-like material 1 and the planned shape exceeds a certain range, the processed sheet-like material 1 is stored as a rejected product as a rejected product. The box 27 is put in and punching rework for the same structure 100 is performed.

  According to the present invention described above, a highly accurate compensator can be manufactured inexpensively and quickly by laminating a part of the sheet-like material 1 and fixing the structure 100 by bonding or the like.

  In addition, since the gap portion 2 is formed by cutting a part of the sheet-like material 1 by punching, the material of the multilayer structure 100 can be easily produced in a short time.

  In addition, the structure 100 is formed by adhering or welding the laminated sheet-like materials 1 to each other, so that a multilayer particle beam irradiation compensator can be easily produced.

  In addition, the structure 100 may be formed by being disposed in a compensator block case 26 which is a box, and a multilayer particle beam irradiation compensator can be easily produced.

  Moreover, the structure body 100 may fix the laminated | stacked sheet-like material 1 with a tape, and can produce the multi-layered particle beam irradiation compensator easily.

  Further, by disposing the laminated surface of the sheet-like material 1 so as to be substantially orthogonal to the irradiation beam axis, it is possible to set the particle beam stop position in the body with high accuracy.

  Further, by providing the shape data acquisition means 3, the material supply means 4, the punching processing means 5, the shape inspection means 6, and the assembly means 8, a compensator manufacturing apparatus for particle beam irradiation with high accuracy and a short processing time can be provided. Can be provided.

  Moreover, since the sheet-like material 1 is used as the material of the structure 100, a compensator manufacturing apparatus for particle beam irradiation that can easily perform punching can be provided.

  In addition, assembling means for the particle beam irradiation compensator adopts means for laminating the sheet-like material 1, so that the assembling work becomes efficient.

It is a perspective view of the compensator for particle beam irradiation concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the other compensator for particle beam irradiation which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the compensator manufacturing apparatus for particle beam irradiation which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the more detailed apparatus structural example of the compensator manufacturing apparatus for particle beam irradiation based on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart of the compensator manufacturing method for particle beam irradiation which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the treatment state using the conventional proton beam irradiation apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet-like material, 2 Cavity part, 3 Shape data acquisition means, 4 Material supply means, 5 Punching means, 6 Shape inspection means, 7 Extraction means, 8 Assembly means, 9 Particle beam, 10 Radiation treatment planning apparatus, 11 Control computer, 12 Material loader control unit, 13 Horizontal movement actuator, 14 Vertical movement actuator, 16 Punch processing drive control unit / Shape inspection control unit, 17 Punch position scanning drive unit, 18 Punch blade type, 19 Punching base, 20 Holder Drive unit, 21 Material holder, 23 Sheet mount, 24 CCD camera, 26 Compensator block case, 27 Defective product storage box, 39 Proton beam, 40, 41 Scatter, 42 Beam intensity monitor, 43 Computer, 44 Water column, 45a 45b Multi-leaf collimator, 6 compensator, 47 body, 48 irradiation target, 49 spinal cord, 100 structures, 101 voids.

Claims (8)

A part of the cut sheet-shaped material is laminated and fixed to each other to form a void corresponding to the tumor position and shape of the patient, and the sheet-shaped material is laminated to form the void. void portion is particle beam irradiation compensator, characterized in that it is formed by punching. The laminated sheet material according to claim 1 or claim 1 particle beam irradiation compensator according to, characterized in that is fixedly adhered to each other. The laminated sheet material according to claim 1 or claim 1 particle beam irradiation compensator according to, characterized in that is fixedly welded to each other. The laminated sheet material according to claim 1 particle beam irradiation compensator, wherein the is fixedly arranged inside the box body. The laminated sheet material according to claim 1 or claim 1 particle beam irradiation compensator according, characterized in that it is fixed by the tape. The compensator for particle beam irradiation according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the sheet-like material is laminated in a direction in which the laminated surfaces are substantially orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the particle beam. Shape data acquisition means for acquiring shape data of a compensator for particle beam irradiation;
A material supply means for supplying a sheet material of a particle beam irradiation compensator,
Punching means for punching the sheet-like material;
Shape inspection means for inspecting the shape of the processed sheet-like material;
Assembly means for assembling the inspected sheet-like material;
Equipped with a,
The particle beam irradiation compensator characterized in that the punching means forms a void portion that forms a void corresponding to a tumor position and shape of a patient by being laminated on the sheet-like material by the punching process. Manufacturing equipment. 8. The apparatus for producing a compensator for particle beam irradiation according to claim 7 , wherein the material assembling means includes a laminating means for laminating the sheet materials.

Images