Thermoacoustic Range Verification During Delivery of a Clinical Plan by a Synchrocyclotron: transition from research prototype to turnkey clinical device

粒子疗法是一种治疗实体肿瘤的技术，可能比X射线放射疗法更精确。 带电粒子以相对论的速度进入患者体内，在体内停留时沉积越来越多的剂量 有耐心的。X射线光子束沿着光束路径提供呈指数衰减的剂量，在之前和 在肿瘤之后。 质子疗法造成的附带损害更少，当患者准确对准时，对健康的剂量更少 近端组织和远端组织一起备用。今天，患者每天通过匹配骨骼结构来定位- 计划几天(或几周)前获取的CT体积的射线图像。软组织的间歇性改变(体重减轻、浮肿) 是常见的和分数内变化(消化、呼吸等)都是不可避免的。射程误差错误地给出了健康的剂量 组织和治疗不足的肿瘤，限制了质子治疗的好处。因此，美国治疗学会 放射肿瘤学目前支持质子治疗颈部、脊柱、眼底和儿童的肿瘤 患者，而且仅在大多数其他肿瘤部位的研究背景下。 热声范围验证依赖于应力约束，适用于小型同步回旋加速器 最近由两家制造商IBA和Mevion推出。一个原型系统已经被验证可以与IBA一起使用 系统和相同的接收链已经针对Mevion进行了验证。 热声距离验证(TARV)装置的系统设计将在阶段完成和验证 二、tARV由一个无线超声波阵列组成，周围装有六个热声接收器。紧凑型汽车 (65 Mm X 55 Mm)数据采集(DAQ)板在10-100的热声频率范围内提供56-59分贝的增益 KHz，以500 kSPS采样，最大限度地减少高频噪声的混叠，并将数据存储到板载的安全数据卡中。一个 紧凑型伽马探测器监控束流强度，并为DAQ提供触发。 端到端验证需要与治疗计划系统(TPS)软件集成 放射治疗诊所。此外，还需要QA和临床上实际的测试对象，称为幻影。热声学 是一种结合了超声成像和放射治疗的混合技术。商业幻影设计 用于超声成像的药物尚未接受放射治疗的审查。我们将集成软件，量化材料在 已经由CIRS，Inc.生产的超声体模，并增加了剂量测量功能，以实现在 临床环境。

Particle therapy is a technique for treating solid tumors that is potentially more precise than x-ray radiation therapy. Charged particles enter the patient at relativistic speeds, depositing increasingly more dose as they come to rest inside the patient. X-ray photon beams deliver an exponentially decaying dose along the beam path, dosing healthy tissue before and after the tumor. Proton therapy causes less collateral damage, and when patient alignment is accurate, delivers less dose to healthy proximal tissue and spares distal tissue altogether. Today, patients are positioned by matching bony structures in daily x- ray images to planning CT volumes acquired days (or weeks) prior. Inter-fraction changes to soft tissue (weight loss, edema) are common and intra-fraction changes (digestion, respiration, etc.) are unavoidable. Range errors incorrectly dose healthy tissue and undertreat the tumor, limiting benefits of proton therapy. Therefore, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology currently supports proton therapy for tumors near the base of the neck, spine, eye and in pediatric patients, and only in the context of research studies for most other tumor sites. Thermoacoustic range verification relies upon stress confinement and is suitable for compact synchrocyclotrons recently introduced by two manufacturers, IBA and Mevion. A prototype system has been validated for use with IBA systems and the same receive chain has been validated for Mevion. System design for a thermoacoustic range verification (tARV) device will be finalized and validated during Phase II. The tARV consists of a wireless ultrasound array around which six thermoacoustic receivers are packed. A compact (65mm x 55mm) data acquisition (DAQ) board provides 56-59 dB gain over the thermoacoustic frequency range of 10-100 kHz, samples at 500 ksps to minimize aliasing of high frequency noise, and stores data to a secure data card onboard. A compact gamma detector monitors beam intensity and provides a trigger to the DAQ. End-to-end validation requires software integration with the treatment planning system (TPS) software used in radiotherapy clinics. Furthermore, QA and clinically realistic test objects, called phantoms, are required. Thermoacoustics is a hybrid technique that combines aspects of ultrasound imaging and radiation therapy. Commercial phantoms designed for ultrasound imaging have not yet been vetted for radiation therapy. We will integrate software, quantify materials in ultrasound phantoms already produced by CIRS, Inc and add dosimetric capability to enable end-to-end validation in a clinical environment.