The invention comprises a segmented rolling floor apparatus and method of use thereof, such as for use in a charged particle cancer therapy system. The segmented rolling floor comprises a first spool and a second spool, attached to opposite ends of the rolling floor, which cooperatively wind and unwind the rolling floor. The segmented rolling floor circumferentially surrounds a nozzle system penetrating through an aperture in the segmented rolling floor, where the nozzle system is used to deliver charged particles, from an accelerator, to a tumor of a patient. The rolling floor and nozzle systems move at respective rates maintaining the nozzle system in the aperture allowing for a safe/walkable floor while allowing treatment of the tumor as a gantry rotates the nozzle system and delivers protons to the tumor from positions above and below the floor.

The invention comprises a segmented rolling floor apparatus and method of use thereof, such as for use in a charged particle cancer therapy system. The segmented rolling floor comprises a first spool and a second spool, attached to opposite ends of the rolling floor, which cooperatively wind and unwind the rolling floor. The segmented rolling floor circumferentially surrounds a nozzle system penetrating through an aperture in the segmented rolling floor, where the nozzle system is used to deliver charged particles, from an accelerator, to a tumor of a patient. The rolling floor and nozzle systems move at respective rates maintaining the nozzle system in the aperture allowing for a safe/walkable floor while allowing treatment of the tumor as a gantry rotates the nozzle system and delivers protons to the tumor from positions above and below the floor.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a print head that serves as a liquid ejecting unit configured to eject a liquid curable by light irradiation onto a medium and an irradiation unit configured to emit light onto the medium M on which the liquid is ejected. The liquid ejecting apparatus also includes a depressurizing mechanism that serves as an oxygen concentration reduction mechanism configured to lower an oxygen concentration to a level below an oxygen concentration of the atmosphere in an ejection region formed between the print head and the medium when the print head ejects the liquid and also in an irradiation region formed between the irradiation unit and the medium when the irradiation unit emits light.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a print head that serves as a liquid ejecting unit configured to eject a liquid curable by light irradiation onto a medium and an irradiation unit configured to emit light onto the medium M on which the liquid is ejected. The liquid ejecting apparatus also includes a depressurizing mechanism that serves as an oxygen concentration reduction mechanism configured to lower an oxygen concentration to a level below an oxygen concentration of the atmosphere in an ejection region formed between the print head and the medium when the print head ejects the liquid and also in an irradiation region formed between the irradiation unit and the medium when the irradiation unit emits light.

The invention comprises an apparatus for controlling tumor treatment with positively charged particles, comprising: a cancer therapy system, comprising a set of modular control units corresponding to a set of subsystems of the cancer therapy system; a first subsystem of the set of subsystems comprising an extraction system; and a second subsystem of the set of subsystems comprising a dual axis scanning system, the dual axis scanning system comprising: a first pair of magnets on opposite sides of a beam path chamber; a second pair of magnets on opposite sides of the beam path chamber; and a trapezoidal prism gap positioned between the first pair of magnets and the second pair of magnets, where communication from the cancer therapy system with each member of the set of subsystems occurs without direct communication between members of the set of subsystems.

Apparatuses and methods for producing neutrons for applications such as boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) are described. An apparatus can include a rotary fixture with a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet, and a plurality of neutron-producing segments. Each neutron-producing segment of the plurality of neutron-producing segments is removably coupled to the rotary fixture, and includes a substrate having a coolant channel circuit defined therein and a solid neutron source layer disposed thereon. The coolant channel circuits are in fluid communication with the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet.

The invention comprises a method and apparatus for treating a tumor of a patient with charged particles, comprising the step of developing a multi-modality treatment plan, the multi-modality treatment plan directing: (1) use of a first beam type to treat a first volume of the tumor, the first beam type a first mass per particle and (2) use of a second beam type to treat a second volume of the tumor, the second beam type comprising a second mass per particle, where the second mass per particle is at least ten percent different than the first mass per particle and the second volume differs from the first volume. The multi-modality treatment plan is optionally formed by selectively merging treatment plans using the respective particle types or is developed using properties of the multiple particle types.

The invention comprises a method and apparatus for treating a tumor of a patient with charged particles, comprising the step of developing a multi-modality treatment plan, the multi-modality treatment plan directing: (1) use of a first beam type to treat a first volume of the tumor, the first beam type a first mass per particle and (2) use of a second beam type to treat a second volume of the tumor, the second beam type comprising a second mass per particle, where the second mass per particle is at least ten percent different than the first mass per particle and the second volume differs from the first volume. The multi-modality treatment plan is optionally formed by selectively merging treatment plans using the respective particle types or is developed using properties of the multiple particle types.

A simulation apparatus includes: a factor amount converting information storage unit in which factor amount converting information, which is information indicating correspondence between low-fidelity information and high-fidelity information, is stored; a writing pattern information storage unit in which writing pattern information is stored; an ADI simulation unit that performs an ADI simulation using one or more evaluation points, for a writing pattern indicated by the writing pattern information, thereby acquiring one or more factor amounts; a converting unit that acquires high-fidelity information, which is one or more factor amounts, corresponding to the low-fidelity information, which is one or more factor amounts, using the factor amount converting information; and an etching simulation unit that performs an etching simulation using the one or more factor amounts acquired by the converting unit.

The invention comprises a method and apparatus for imaging a tumor of a patient with positively charged particles, comprising the steps of: (1) accelerating the positively charged particles to a relativistic energy using an accelerator; (2) transporting the positively charged particles from the accelerator, through a beam transport system, through an output nozzle of the beam transport system, and through the patient to yield a residual particle beam comprising a residual relativistic velocity; (3) determining the residual relativistic velocity using a first time of flight detector and a second time of flight detector separated by a separation distance; and (4) generating a positively charged particle computed tomography image using the residual relativistic velocity, where individual particles in the residual particle beam comprise a second mass of at least 1.02 times that of a first mass of the individual particles prior to the step of accelerating.