In various embodiments, a radiation therapy method can include loading a planning image of a target in a human. In addition, the position of the target can be monitored. A computation can be made of an occurrence of substantial alignment between the position of the target and the target of the planning image. Furthermore, after the computing, a beam of radiation is triggered to deliver a dosage to the target in a short period of time (e.g., less than a second).

A method for determining a deformation measurement of a couch in a medical procedure may include determining a first deformation measurement of the couch at a reference point, the first deformation measurement corresponding to a first working position of the couch. The method may also include determining a second deformation measurement of the couch at the reference point, the second deformation measurement corresponding to a second working position of the couch. The method may further include determining a difference between the first deformation measurement and the second deformation measurement and causing an adjustment of one of the first working position and the second working position of the couch based on the difference between the first deformation measurement and the second deformation measurement.

A system including a diagnostic-quality CT scanner for imaging a patient, the diagnostic-quality CT scanner having an imaging isocenter and a radiation therapy device positioned adjacent the diagnostic-quality CT scanner, the radiation therapy device including a gantry carrying a radiation therapy beam source and having a radiation therapy isocenter separate from the imaging isocenter of the diagnostic-quality CT scanner. The system including a couch configured to position the patient for imaging and for radiation therapy by translating the patient between the diagnostic quality CT scanner and the radiation therapy device.

Systems and methods for shuttle mode radiation delivery are described herein. One method for radiation delivery comprises moving the patient platform through the patient treatment region multiple times during a treatment session. This may be referred to as patient platform or couch shuttling (i.e., couch shuttle mode). Another method for radiation delivery comprises moving the therapeutic radiation source jaw across a range of positions during a treatment session. The jaw may move across the same range of positions multiple times during a treatment session. This may be referred to as jaw shuttling (i.e., jaw shuttle mode). Some methods combine couch shuttle mode and jaw shuttle mode. Methods of dynamic or pipelined normalization are also described.

The invention comprises a method and apparatus for treating a tumor, comprising the steps of: (1) a main controller sequentially delivering charged particles from a synchrotron along a first beam transport line, through a nozzle system, and to the tumor according to a current version of the radiation treatment plan; (2) concurrent with the step of delivering, generating an image of the tumor using an imaging system; (3) the main controller automatically generating an updated version of the radiation treatment plan using the image, the updated version of the radiation treatment plan becoming the current version of the radiation treatment plan; and (4) repeating the steps of: delivering grouped bunches of the charged particles, generating an image of the tumor, and automatically generating the updated or current version of the radiation treatment plan with optional intervening doctor approval.

A method for positioning an object positioned on a table is provided. The method may include: obtaining a plan image, the plan image illustrating a virtual surface of the object; obtaining, by one or more capture devices, a 3-dimensional (3D) image, the 3D image including a set of elements corresponding to the object; obtaining a registration result by registering the plan image and the 3D image; determining whether the object needs to be moved based on the registration result; and in response to a determination that the object needs to be moved, causing the object to move according to the registration result.

A treatment system of embodiments includes an imaging system including one or more radiation sources and a plurality of detectors, a first acquirer, a second acquirer, a first deriver, a second deriver, and a calibrator. The radiation sources radiate radiation to an object in a plurality of different directions. The plurality of detectors detect the radiation at different positions. The first acquirer acquires images based on the radiation. The second acquirer acquires position information of a first imaging device in a three-dimensional space. The first deriver derives the position of the object in the images. The second deriver derives the position of a second imaging device in the three-dimensional space based on the position of the object in the images, the position of the first imaging device, and the like. The calibrator performs calibration of the imaging system based on a derivation result of the second deriver.

A camera assembly (3) for use in medical tracking applications, comprising a range camera (4) and a thermographic camera (5) in a fixed relative position.

Images obtained by a camera system (10) arranged to obtain images of a patient (20) undergoing radio-therapy are processed by a modeling unit (56,58) which generates a model of the surface of a patient (20) being monitored. Additionally the patient monitoring system processes image data not utilized to generate a model of the surface of a patient being monitored to determine further information concerning the treatment of the patient (20). Such additional data can comprise data identifying the relative location of the patient and a treatment apparatus (16). This can be facilitated by providing a number or retro-reflective markers (30-40) on a treatment apparatus (16) and a mechanical couch (18) used to position the patient (20) relative to the treatment apparatus (16) and monitoring the presence and location of the markers in the portions of the images obtained by the stereoscopic camera (10).

Disclosed is a method for determining a positional pattern of an irradiation unit for irradiating a patient with treatment radiation. Optimal order data describing an order of the irradiation unit positions for which the statistical value is optimal is determined. The optimal order data is determined based on irradiation unit position data describing irradiation unit positions of the irradiation unit for which the imaging device has a free viewing direction onto the position of the patient, position orders data describing all possible orders of the irradiation unit positions for which the imaging device has a free viewing direction onto the position of the patient, and intersection angle data describing a statistical quantity of the intersection angles between free viewing directions of the imaging unit for irradiation unit positions which are immediately subsequent in the order described by the position orders data.