Methods and apparatus are provided for planning and delivering radiation treatments by modalities which involve moving a radiation source along a trajectory relative to a subject while delivering radiation to the subject. In some embodiments the radiation source is moved continuously along the trajectory while in some embodiments the radiation source is moved intermittently. Some embodiments involve the optimization of the radiation delivery plan to meet various optimization goals while meeting a number of constraints. For each of a number of control points along a trajectory, a radiation delivery plan may comprise: a set of motion axes parameters, a set of beam shape parameters and a beam intensity.

Methods for delivering radiation dose to a target area within a subject comprise: defining a trajectory comprising relative movement between a treatment radiation source and the subject and determining a radiation delivery plan; and, while effecting relative movement between the treatment radiation source and the subject along the trajectory, delivering a treatment radiation beam from the treatment radiation source to the subject according to the radiation delivery plan to impart a dose distribution on the subject. Delivering the treatment radiation beam from the treatment radiation source to the subject comprises varying an intensity of the treatment radiation beam over at least a portion of the trajectory. Varying the intensity of the treatment radiation beam comprises varying a radiation output rate of the treatment radiation source in accordance with the radiation delivery plan while effecting relative movement between the treatment radiation source and the subject along the trajectory.

Systems for delivering radiation dose to a target area within a subject comprise: a radiation source for outputting a radiation beam; a support for supporting the subject; a movement mechanism for moving the radiation source relative to the subject along a trajectory; and a controller configured to cause, according to a radiation delivery plan: the radiation source to deliver the radiation beam to the subject while causing the movement mechanism to effect relative movement between the radiation source and the subject along the trajectory; and the radiation source to vary an intensity of the radiation beam by varying a radiation output rate of the radiation source according to the radiation delivery plan over at least a portion of the trajectory while causing the movement mechanism to effect relative movement between the radiation source and the subject, to thereby deliver dose to the subject according to the radiation delivery plan.

Systems for delivering radiation dose to a target area within a subject comprise: a radiation source for outputting a radiation beam; a support for supporting the subject; a movement mechanism for moving the radiation source relative to the subject along a trajectory; one or more sensors for monitoring a position of the subject; and a controller configured, in accordance with a radiation delivery plan, to: determine the position from one or more signals received from the one or more sensors; deactivate delivery of the treatment radiation beam upon determining that the position is outside of an acceptable range; and reactivate delivery of the treatment radiation beam upon determining that the position is within the acceptable range, to thereby deliver dose to the subject according to the radiation delivery plan.

Methods for planning delivery of radiation dose to a target region within a subject comprise: iteratively optimizing a simulated dose distribution relative to a set of one or more optimization goals comprising a desired dose distribution in the subject over a first plurality of control points located on a trajectory, the trajectory comprising relative movement between a radiation source and the subject; reaching one or more initial termination conditions, and after reaching the one or more initial termination conditions: specifying a second plurality of control points along the trajectory and comprising a larger number control points than the first plurality of control points; and iteratively optimizing a simulated dose distribution relative to the set of one or more optimization goals over the second plurality of control points to thereby determine a radiation delivery plan.

Systems for planning delivery of radiation dose to a target region within a subject comprise a processor configured to: iteratively optimize a simulated dose distribution relative to a set of one or more optimization goals comprising a desired dose distribution in the subject over a first plurality of control points located on a trajectory, the trajectory comprising relative movement between a treatment radiation source and the subject; reach one or more initial termination conditions, and after reaching the one or more initial termination conditions: specify a second plurality of control points along the trajectory, the second plurality of control points comprising a larger number control points than the first plurality of control points; and iteratively optimize a simulated dose distribution relative to the set of one or more optimization goals over the second plurality of control points to thereby determine a radiation delivery plan.

Methods for planning delivery of radiation dose to a target region within a subject comprise: initializing a first plurality of control points located on a trajectory, the trajectory comprising relative movement between a radiation source and the subject, wherein initializing the first plurality of control points comprises assigning, to each the first plurality of control points, one or more axis positions which specify a position of the radiation source relative to the subject; specifying a second plurality of control points along the trajectory, the second plurality of control points comprising a larger number of control points than the first plurality of control points; and iteratively optimizing a stimulated dose distribution over the second plurality of control points to thereby determine a radiation delivery plan by assigning each of the second plurality of control points optimized values for one or more radiation delivery parameters.

Systems for planning delivery of radiation dose to a target region within a subject comprise a processor configured to: initialize a first plurality of control points located on a trajectory, the trajectory comprising relative movement between a radiation source and the subject, wherein initializing the first plurality of control points comprises assigning, to each the first plurality of control points, one or more axis positions which specify a position of the radiation source relative to the subject; specify a second plurality of control points along the trajectory, the second plurality of control points comprising a larger number of control points than the first plurality of control points; and iteratively optimize a simulated dose distribution over the second plurality of control points to thereby determine a radiation delivery plan by assigning each of the second plurality of control points optimized values for one or more radiation delivery parameters.

Provided are a dose calculation method, a dose calculation device, and a computer-readable storage medium. The dose calculation method comprises: generating an intermediate image between a plurality of sequentially acquired diagnostic images; and calculating doses through a simulation using the diagnostic images and the intermediate image.

Methods and apparatus are provided for planning and delivering radiation treatments by modalities which involve moving a radiation source along a trajectory relative to a subject while delivering radiation to the subject. In some embodiments the radiation source is moved continuously along the trajectory while in some embodiments the radiation source is moved intermittently. Some embodiments involve the optimization of the radiation delivery plan to meet various optimization goals while meeting a number of constraints. For each of a number of control points along a trajectory, a radiation delivery plan may comprise: a set of motion axes parameters, a set of beam shape parameters and a beam intensity.