The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for reconstructing fluence map. The system may obtain a plurality of radiation tasks based on a radiotherapy plan. Each of the plurality of radiation tasks may include a radiation field corresponding to the radiation task. For each of the plurality of radiation tasks, the system may determine whether a shape change between a radiation field corresponding to the radiation task and a radiation field corresponding to a preceding radiation task exceeds a shape change threshold. The system may determine a fluence map corresponding to the radiation task based on a first determination result of whether the shape change between the radiation field corresponding to the radiation task and the radiation field corresponding to the preceding radiation task exceeds the shape change threshold.

The present application provides an initial, or first, packed arc setup to be compared with predefined arc setup constraints. These predefined arc setup constraints at least constrain the number of patient table angles per target volume, constrain the number of times the gantry moves along one arc per table angle, constraint the sum of gantry span per metastasis over all arcs, and constrain the minimum table span. Based on the result of the comparison between the first packed arc setup with the predefined arc setup constraints, a second arc setup is automatically suggested. The automatically suggested second arc setup may then be compared with the first one by calculating a score for both setups. Several iterations of such a method can be carried out based on the comparison between an arc setup and the following, subsequent arc setup in the iteration.

A method for generating a radiation treatment plan is provided. The method may include determining a set of one or more optimization goals for radiation delivery by a therapeutic radiation delivery apparatus. The method may also include determining a plan for radiation delivery from a radiation source of the therapeutic radiation delivery apparatus. The radiation source may be capable of continuously rotating around a subject. The plan may include a plurality of radiation segments. Each radiation segment may be characterized by at least one parameter selected from a start angle, a stop angle, a two-dimensional segment shape, or a segment MU value such that the plurality of radiation segments satisfy the set of one or more optimization goals by superimposing at least two radiation segments from at least two different rotations into a target volume of the subject.

A method provides real-time correction of the spatial position of the central beam of radiation therapy devices and therapy simulators, along with the patient position. In particular, the method relates to the real-time correction of irradiation positions of the collimator and/or the position of the patient positioning table during the performance of radiation therapy or therapy simulation. Positional deviations of the central beam of existing radiation therapy devices are reduced. Position adjustments of the collimator elements and/or of the patient support table are carried out through functional connections of separate control modules via separate adjustment devices. Those are added to the collimator and/or patient support table. Calculation of the correction movements takes place outside the radiation therapy device in the irradiation planning system and/or in at least one microcontroller of the control system of the radiation therapy device.

A control circuit accesses historical information regarding previously optimized radiation treatment plans for different patients and processes that information to determine the relative importance of different clinical goals. The circuit then facilitates development of a particular plan for a particular patient as a function of the relative importance of the clinical goals. By one approach the control circuit can be configured as a radiation treatment plan recommendation resource that accesses a database of radiation treatment plan formulation content items including at least one of a radiation treatment plan template, an auto-planning algorithm, and an auto-segmentation algorithm. By one approach the control circuit can be configured to, when presenting automatically-generated radiation treatment plans to a user, also co-present an opportunity for the user to signal to a remote entity that none of the plans are acceptable and that the user will instead employ a user-generated plan for the particular patient.

An example particle therapy system includes a particle accelerator to output a particle beam having a spot size; a scanning system for the particle accelerator to scan the particle beam in two dimensions across at least part of a treatment area of an irradiation target; and an adaptive aperture between the scanning system and the irradiation target. The adaptive aperture includes structures that are movable relative to the irradiation target to approximate a shape to trim part of the treatment area. The part of the treatment area has a size that is based on an area of the spot size.

An example particle therapy system includes a particle accelerator to output a particle beam having a spot size; a scanning system for the particle accelerator to scan the particle beam in two dimensions across at least part of a treatment area of an irradiation target; and an adaptive aperture between the scanning system and the irradiation target. The adaptive aperture includes structures that are movable relative to the irradiation target to approximate a shape to trim part of the treatment area. The part of the treatment area has a size that is based on an area of the spot size.

A volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment plan may be optimized by obtaining a VMAT treatment plan and calculating a radiation dose matrix corresponding to each a plurality of beamlets, wherein each beamlet represents a change in field when an MLC leaf is moved a predetermined unit distance. The method includes defining an enhanced objective function (EOF) for achieving one or more clinical objectives and minimizing the EOF for proposed leaf positions iterating through each leaf of at least a subset of the leaves of the VMAT treatment plan (wherein the proposed leaf positions move each leaf into the field or out of the field by the predetermined unit distance and correspond to the addition or subtraction of the corresponding radiation dose matrix). The set of leaf positions of the VMAT treatment plan is updated according to the proposed leaf positions of the minimized EOF.

Disclosed herein are methods for patient setup and registration for the irradiation of target tissue regions. A method for positioning a patient for radiation therapy may include acquiring an image of a first patient target region and a second patient target region. A first set of patient position-shift vectors may be calculated based on the acquired image and a treatment planning image of the first patient target region. A second set of patient position-shift vectors may be calculated based on the acquired image, a treatment planning image of the second patient target region, and the first set of patient position-shift vectors. The patient may be positioned according to the first set of patient position-shift vectors in a first location. The patient may be moved to a second location and positioned according to the second set of patient position-shift vectors.

A radiation dose received by a patient from a radiation therapy system can be verified by acquiring a cine stream of image frames from an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) that is arranged to detect radiation exiting the patient during irradiation. The cine stream of EPID image frames can be processed in real-time to form exit images providing absolute dose measurements at the EPID (dose-to-water values), which is representative of the characteristics of the radiation received by the patient. Compliance with predetermined characteristics for the field can be determined during treatment by periodically comparing the absolute dose measurements with the predetermined characteristics, which can include a predicted total dose in the field after full treatment and/or a complete irradiation area outline (CIAO). The system operator can be alerted or the irradiation automatically stopped when non-compliance is detected.