Patent ID: 9474914
Filing Date: 2016-10-25
CPC Classification: A61B,A61N,G16H

Claim Text:
1. A method of tracking a target within an anatomical region in order to deliver therapeutic radiation to the target during motion of the anatomical region, the anatomical region comprising one or more internal reference structures, the method comprising: constructing, by one or more processors, a 4D mathematical model that correlates relative 3D locations of the target and the one or more internal reference structures each identified in one or more pre-operative images, as a function of time within a periodic cycle P, wherein the periodic cycle P characterizes periodic motion of the anatomical region; after constructing the 4D mathematical model, tracking, by the one or more processors, the periodic motion of the anatomical region to determine in real time a current point in time within the periodic cycle P; registering, by the one or more processors, one or more near real time images of the one or more internal reference structures with one or more of the one or more pre-operative images of the one or more internal reference structures to determine a 3D location of the one or more internal reference structures in near real time within the periodic cycle P; and computing, by the one or more processors, a 3D location of the target in real time using the 3D location of the one or more internal reference structures, and the relative 3D locations of the target and the one or more internal reference structures from the 4D mathematical model at the current point, wherein computing the 3D location of the target comprises determining vectors from the one or more internal reference structures to the target to identify the 3D location of the target; and providing information, based on the 3D location of the target, to a treatment beam generator to deliver therapeutic radiation to the target.