When constructing compensators for radiation therapy using ion or proton radiation beams, a computer-aided compensator editing method includes overlaying an initial 3D compensator model on an anatomical image of a target mass (e.g., a tumor) in a patient, along with radiation dose distribution information. A user manipulates pixels or voxels in the compensator model on a display, and a processor automatically adjusts the dose distribution according to the user edits. The user iteratively adjusts the compensator model until the dose distribution is optimized, at which time the optimized compensator model is stored to memory and/or output to a machining device that constructs a compensator from the optimized model.

Systems and methods are provided for designing and/or modifying a radiation therapy bolus for the reduction of hot spots. A digital bolus model may be modified based on the identification of a peak in the outer surface of the digital bolus model, where the peak satisfies search criteria associated with the generation of a hot spot through scattering from the peak. The digital bolus model is modified within a region surrounding the peak to smooth the peak and thereby reduce the intensity of the hot spot. The modified digital bolus model may be employed to fabricate a bolus for use in radiation therapy. The search criteria may be evaluated according to a proximity between a location measure associated with the peak and a location measure associated with the hot spot, optionally when the location measures are projected in a reference plane that resides perpendicular to the beam axis.

Systems for immobilizing a patient are disclosed. The system includes at least one preform formed from a low melting temperature thermoplastic, the preform being configured to be formed to the anatomy of the patient, at least one frame coupled to the at least one preform, and at least one support configured to support the anatomy of the patient. The system also includes at least one lock mechanism coupled to at least one of the frame and the support and configured to couple the at least one frame to the at least one support, and at least one adjuster mechanism coupled to at least one of the at least one frame and the at least one support and configured to selectively adjust a distance between the at least one frame and the at least one support while the at least one frame is coupled to the at least one support.

A medical apparatus, particularly suitable for the treatment of a breast cancer, which apparatus has: a support for a patient, such as to expose a breast in a predetermined position of the support; an imaging unit, configured in such a way as to provide, in use, a 3D image of the breast; a treatment unit, having delivery means of a ionizing radiation beam and configured so as to provide, in use, the beam at the breast; a control unit of the imaging unit and/or treatment unit, configured to determine the delivery of a radiation beam with a shape dependent upon the image of the target body district supplied by the imaging unit.

The present invention includes new medical techniques involving radiation and electromagnetic actuation of reagents deployed and directed within bodily fluids (e.g., the bloodstream, digestive tract, or lymph ducts) of a patient. In one aspect of the invention, a medical reagent and/or particle is provided with multiple dipoles, oriented differently in three-dimensional space, allowing a remote control system to drive the acceleration and three-dimensional orientation of the medical agent or particle according to a three-dimensional path. In some embodiments, the medical reagent and/or particle is energized remotely to an activation energy level, and then driven into the treatment target. The design of each small-scale machine may include different sub-devices and electrostatic charges or magnetic dipoles, at different surface or internal locations. In some aspects, the sub-devices include actuable housings and other sub-devices, to deliver drugs or other factors at specific locations commanded by the control system or a user.

A system for treating a patient during radiation therapy is disclosed. The system includes a shell, a plurality of material inserts disposed in the shell, where each material insert of the plurality of material inserts respectively shapes a distribution of a dose delivered to the patient by a respective beam of a plurality of beams emitted from a nozzle of a radiation treatment system, and a scaffold component disposed in the shell that holds the plurality material inserts in place relative to the patient such that each material insert lies on a path of at least one of the beams.

A removable implant having a radiation shield adapted to reduce radiation exposure to one or more secondary radio-sensitive tissues during breast cancer radiation therapy is provided herein, the implant including: a radiation-absorbing core adapted to absorb at least a portion of cardiac impact zone radiation when compared to a control, wherein the radiation-absorbing core comprises: a flexible solid polymer; and a plurality of radiation-absorbing members dispersed throughout the flexible solid polymer, wherein the radiation-absorbing core comprises a plurality of zones, each of said zones comprising a distinct capacity for radiation absorption, wherein capacity for radiation absorption is proportional to a sensitivity of the secondary radio-sensitive tissues to radiation, such a zone that shields tissue comparatively more sensitive to radiation comprises a zone having a comparatively higher capacity for radiation absorption, and a zone that shields tissue comparatively less sensitive to radiation comprises a zone having a comparatively lower capacity for radiation absorption. Also provided is an implant having a breast tissue expander disposed on a top face of the flexible casing of the implant. Methods of use of the described implants are also provided herein.

To provide patient shielding of non-treatment areas bordering a treatment zone of the patient during radiation therapy, a shield device may be located on the patient. The shield device has a plurality of interconnected and overlapping elements, e.g. in a scale maille arrangement, that forms a conformal sheet that can be laid over the shielded portion of the patient, e.g. over the contralateral breast during breast cancer treatment. The edge of the scale maille sheet is substantially configurable and can be made to conform to the field edge of the treatment zone on the patient.

A novel treatment method is disclosed, wherein a patch configured to be placed on a patient's skin is activated, before placement, to deliver localized radiotherapy to a diseased area of the skin. The disclosed devices and methods minimize or prevent collateral damage to the neighboring tissues. In most cases, the disclosed devices and methods include coating a contoured, solid, flexible or conformal substrate with one or more lanthanide elements and then activating (e.g. neutron irradiation) the elements such that its resulting radioisotope emits beta-particles into the diseased skin surface when applied to the patient's skin. Novel processes are described for fabricating and irradiating the lanthanide-based skin patch, for example a holmium-based skin patch.

A radiotherapy system including a radiotherapy component, a structural imaging component, a functional imaging component, and a workstation coupled to the radiotherapy component, the structural imaging component, and the functional imaging component. The workstation includes a processor which combines the structural imaging data and the functional imaging data to produce a fused model for a least a portion of the region of interest, to generate a plan for radiotherapy treatment of the region of interest based on the fused model, and apply, via the radiotherapy component, the radiotherapy treatment.