Interactive 3D Display for Radiation Therapy Planning

描述(申请人提供)：在目前的实践中，放射治疗计划(RTP)通常被视为一个二维(2D)问题，主要是由于可视化技术和资源的限制。逐个切片的显示格式使得可视化不垂直于CT切片轴的任何辐射束的路径变得困难。这一缺点也阻碍了对利用横面外的辐射束的所有治疗计划的考虑。人体解剖结构本质上是3D对象，而RTP中涉及的肿瘤和组织/器官都是3D形状。清楚地了解这些结构之间的3D关系以及3D中的剂量分布对于设计和评估放射治疗计划是至关重要的。交互式三维立体显示将显著提高RTP手术的安全性和速度。它将提供“一目了然”，这是必要的，以防止临床医生陷入无休止的细节，如果他们只提供传统的2D显示的CT切片与覆盖等剂量线。Genex Technologies，Inc.最近在高分辨率体积3D显示技术方面取得了重大突破，并试图将其应用于RTP应用。我们所说的体积3D显示是指所显示的3D图像中的每个体素在物理上位于其应该位于的(x，y，z)空间位置，并从该位置发射光以在观察者眼中形成真实的3D图像。在我们的第一阶段项目中，我们已经论证了我们的系统设计的可行性，并在便携式设计中实现了多色、大显示体积、真体积3D显示系统，分辨率达到了前所未有的1000万体素以上。这种真3D显示系统的原型已经能够用透明的皮肤呈现患者解剖的动态交互式体积3D图像。强大的3D可视化功能为肿瘤学家提供了生理和心理深度线索，使他们能够以真实3D方式感知和操纵辐射束配置，从而提供了一种独特的可视化工具，以确保RTP过程的安全性、有效性和速度。在我们的第二阶段计划中，我们将进一步提高体积30显示器的性能，将新开发的3D显示功能集成到‘交互式RTP环境’原型中，并对体积3D显示和交互式RTP环境技术在现实RTP应用中的有效性进行初步的临床前评估。该SBlR计划的最终目标是开发一种临床上可行的商业产品，作为一种增强的可视化工具，将提供独特的3D显示和可视化能力，以帮助肿瘤学家进行RTP。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In current practice, radiation therapy planning (RTP) has often been treated as a two-dimensional (2D) problem, mainly due to the limitations in visualization technology and resources. The slice-by-slice display format makes it difficult to visualize the path of any radiation beam not perpendicular to the axis of the CT slices. This drawback also discourages consideration of all treatment plans that utilize radiation beam out of the transverse plane. Human body anatomical structures are inherently 3D objects, and the tumor and tissues/organs involved in the RTP are all of 3D shapes. A clear understanding of 3D relationships among these structures as well as dose distributions in 3D is essential for designing and evaluating radiation therapy plans. An interactive volumetric 3D display would significantly enhance the safety and speed of RTP procedure. It would offer "understanding at a glance", which is necessary to keep clinicians from becoming bogged down in endless details, as they would be if provided only with conventional 2D display of CT slices with overlaid isodose lines. Genex Technologies, Inc. has recently made an important breakthrough in the high-resolution volumetric 3D display technology and attempted to apply it to RTP applications. By "volumetric 3D display", we mean that each "voxel" in the displayed 3D images locates physically at the (x, y, z) spatial position where it supposed to be, and emits light from that position to form real 3D images in the eyes of viewers. In our Phase 1 project, we have demonstrated the feasibility of our system design and achieved a multi-color, large display volume, true volumetric 3D display system with an unprecedented high resolution of over 10 million voxels in a portable design. The prototype of this true 3D display system is already able to present dynamic interactive volumetric 3D images of a patient's anatomy with transparent skin. The powerful 3D visualization capability provides both physiological and psychological depth cues to oncologists in perceiving and manipulating radiation beam configuration in true 3D fashion, thus offering a unique visualization tool to ensure the safety, effectiveness, and speed of the RTP process. In our Phase 2 program, we will further enhance the performance of the volumetric 30 display, integrate the newly developed 3D display capability into the 'Interactive RTP Environment" prototype, and perform preliminary pre-clinical evaluation on the effectiveness of the volumetric 3D display and the interactive RTP environment technique in realistic RTP applications. The ultimate goal of this SBlR program is to develop a clinically viable commercial product as an augmented visualization tool that will provide unique 3D display and visualization capability to aid oncologists in RTP.