Abstract:
A radiotherapy apparatus comprises a source for producing a beam of ionising radiation along an axis, the beam covering a maximum aperture of the source, a collimator for collimating the beam to produce a collimated beam covering a sub-part of the maximum aperture, a patient support positioned in the path of the beam, a rotatable gantry, on which the source is mounted, for rotating the source around the patient support thereby to deliver the beam from a range of directions, an imaging device located opposite the source and with the patient support between the source and the imaging device, and mounted on the gantry via a drive member allowing translational motion of the imaging device in at least one direction perpendicular to the axis, and a control unit adapted to control the drive member to move the imaging device within the maximum aperture and maintain coincidence between the imaging device and the sub-part of the maximum aperture. Accordingly, the EPID can be moved during the treatment in order to maintain the collimated field of the radiation beam within the bounds of the EPID. This ensures that the image is valid and prevents damage to the EPID as a result of exposure of more sensitive (or less shielded) parts to the beam.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention seeks to improve upon existing methods of portal imaging during radiotherapy treatment. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]    Radiotherapy is the treatment of lesions such as tumours with ionising radiation such as high-energy x-rays. The radiation interferes with cellular processes within the tumour and can lead to cellular death. To spare healthy tissue (such as skin or organs adjacent to the tumour, or through which the radiation needs to pass in order to treat the tumour), shaped radiation beams are aimed from several different angles to intersect at the tumour, thus delivering a peak dose in the tumour region and a lower dose elsewhere. 
         [0003]    To allow delivery of the radiation from several angles, the radiation source is usually mounted on the end of a cantilever arm projecting out from a rotatable gantry. The gantry has an axis of rotation that is horizontal, and the radiation source has a field of view whose central axis is perpendicular to and intersects with the axis of rotation. Thus, the point of intersection or “isocentre” remains within the field of view of the source at all times, and the direction of the radiation beam rotates around the isocentre. 
         [0004]    To shape the radiation beam, collimators are provided. These usually include one or more multi-leaf collimators (MLCs), which collimate the radiation field into the required shape by moving each of a number of long, narrow side-by-side leaves so that the tips of the leaves define the intended shape. Prior to radiotherapy, a treatment plan will usually be calculated based on the parameters of the radiotherapy apparatus and the desired three-dimensional dose distribution, which consists of a series of dose segments each characterised by a beam direction, beam shape (i.e. specific collimator positions) and dosage. 
         [0005]    Portal images are images of the therapeutic radiation taken after attenuation by the patient, usually by capturing the image in a plate that is located on the opposite side of the patient to the radiation source. Thus, the radiation passes through the patient and then reaches the portal imager. Although the contrast in a portal image is relatively poor due to the nature of the high-energy x-radiation that is used for radiotherapy, the image is still useful. It is possible to discern some features of the patient anatomy in order to determine correct positioning, the overall shape of the radiation field is visible and provides a check of collimator function and field shape &amp; size, and the attenuation (i.e. the difference between the observed radiation intensity after the patient and the known radiation intensity emitted towards the patient) gives information as to the dose actually received by the patient. All of these can be compared to that which was expected during the treatment planning stage. 
         [0006]    Portal images were originally captured using port films, i.e. photographic plates. These films would serve as a record of the field shape, and if anatomy could be seen in the field then it could be also used to verify the position of the beam relative to the patient&#39;s anatomy. Electronic Portal Imaging Devices (“EPIDs”) have now been in use for some time in preference to port films, as they have better sensitivity than films and allow the images to be collected and stored electronically. An EPID is now a well-established part of radiotherapy delivery. 
         [0007]    Because EPIDs are now quite common on modern radiotherapy equipment, a number of uses for EPIDs have been developed that go beyond the original port-film single exposure use. This includes portal dosimetry (noted above) which attempts to recalculate the patient dose by a method such as back projection, in order to check the end to end QA process. Another example is the capturing of video images showing the dynamic movement of the MLC leaves. All these uses are possible with existing EPID hardware. 
         [0008]    However, these new uses do have a limitation in that the field size of current EPIDs is smaller than the field sizes of most MLCs. For example, a typical MLC has a 40×40 cm field size when referenced to the isocentre, whereas a typical state-of-the-art EPID has a panel giving an effective image size of 26×26 cm at isocentre, and some EPIDs are smaller still (all dimensions being referenced to the isocentre). This is rarely a problem in obtaining an image of the treatment, however, because large field sizes are uncommon and so will usually fall onto the panel within its limits. Where the desired image is of an offset field, the panel can be manually adjusted to provide a corresponding offset. 
         [0009]    US2007/0195936A1 discloses an arrangement in which the field size is checked to ensure that the EPID aperture will not be exceeded, and moves the MLC leaves as necessary in order to keep the beam shape within the confines of the EPID panel. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present invention therefore provides a radiotherapy apparatus, comprising a source for producing a beam of ionising radiation along an axis, the beam covering a maximum aperture of the source, a collimator for collimating the beam to produce a collimated beam covering a sub-part of the maximum aperture, a patient support positioned in the path of the beam, a rotatable gantry, on which the source is mounted, for rotating the source around the patient support thereby to deliver the beam from a range of directions, an imaging device located opposite the source and with the patient support between the source and the imaging device, and mounted on the gantry via a drive member allowing translational motion of the imaging device in at least one direction perpendicular to the axis, and a control unit adapted to control the drive member to move the imaging device within the maximum aperture and maintain coincidence between the imaging device and the sub-part of the maximum aperture. 
         [0011]    Accordingly, the EPID can be moved during the treatment in order to maintain the collimated field of the radiation beam within the bounds of the EPID. This ensures that the image is valid and prevents damage to the EPID as a result of exposure of more sensitive (or less shielded) parts to the beam. No restrictions need be placed on the positioning of the patient, meaning that she or he can be positioned as desired. The treatment can be unaffected, unlike the suggestion made in US2007/0195936A1. 
         [0012]    There are various ways that the movement of the EPID can be controlled. One option is for the control unit to receive a treatment plan containing instructions for at least movement of the rotatable gantry, movement of the collimator, activation of the source, and movement of the drive member. In other words, alongside calculations of the necessary beam shapes and intensities over time, a treatment planning computer can also model the beam shape and position through the treatment (once the treatment is decided) and establish the EPID movements that will be needed in order to allow for that. 
         [0013]    An alternative is to adjust the EPID position in real time during treatment. The control unit will then receive an output image from the imaging device and adjust the position of the imaging device in reliance on that image. Thus, for example, if a distance in the output image between an image of the collimated beam and an edge of the output image is less than a threshold, the control unit will instruct a movement of the drive member. 
         [0014]    The gantry can be a rotatable drum, in which case the source can be attached to the gantry via an arm extending transversely to the drum, preferably with the beam axis co-incident with a rotation axis of the gantry. 
         [0015]    Alternatively, the gantry can comprise a circular path around which the source and the imaging device can travel, the axis of the source being directed to the centre of the circular path. 
         [0016]    In essence, therefore, the radiotherapy apparatus comprises a source arranged to emit a beam of therapeutic radiation and an imaging device for the therapeutic radiation, the source being movable to direct the beam towards a location from a plurality of directions and the imaging device being movable relative to the source, and a control unit arranged to co-ordinate the movement of both to ensure that the imaging device remains in the beam, as the source moves to different treatment positions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying figures in which; 
           [0018]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show a conventional radiotherapy apparatus in different rotational states; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show the radiotherapy apparatus of  FIGS. 1 and 2  in an alternative configuration; 
           [0020]      FIGS. 5 and 6  show an alternative radiotherapy apparatus; 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  shows a radiotherapy apparatus according to the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  shows a control schema for the radiotherapy apparatus of  FIG. 7 ; and 
           [0023]      FIGS. 9 to 11  show portal images derived from the apparatus of  FIG. 7 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0024]    As noted above, the field size of current EPIDs is smaller than the maximum apertures of most MLCs, although larger than most actual dose shapes. We have realised that this limitation becomes a problem when the EPID is used for portal dosimetry or to capture a dynamic MLC video under certain treatment conditions. As an example, we propose to discuss a volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) delivery to an off-axis target such as a tumour present in one breast or lung. This is not the only example, however, and the invention is applicable in other contexts. 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  shows such a situation. A rotatable gantry  10  is set in an upright orientation, perhaps recessed into a wall or projecting through a false wall. It is in the form of a drum, rotatable around a horizontal axis;  FIG. 1  is a view along that axis. The gantry  10  carries a radiation source  12  which can emit a collimated beam of therapeutic ionising radiation around a central axis  14 , which intersects with the horizontal axis around which the gantry  10  rotates. As the gantry  10  rotates and carries the source  12  around, the central axis  14  of the beam sweeps out a vertical plane and approaches the point of intersection (often referred to as the isocentre) from all possible directions. This forms the basis of a radiotherapy treatment; by placing the tumour or other lesion at the isocentre and irradiating the tumour from a range of directions, a dose can be delivered to the tumour which is substantially greater than the dose delivered to tissue around the tumour. 
         [0026]    The tumour  16  is positioned relative to the beam by placing the patient  18  on a patient support  20 . This is separate to the gantry, usually supported on a floor in front of the gantry. Many modern patient supports offer adjustment in six axes, i.e. three translational axes and three rotational axes. In this way, after the patient  18  has been helped onto the support, their position can be adjusted via the patient support  20  so as to locate the tumour as desired. Some limits will of course be imposed by the range of motion of the patient support  20 . 
         [0027]    An EPID  22  is also carried by the gantry  10 , located diametrically opposite the radiation source  12  to as to capture an image from the radiation beam after attenuation by the patient  18 , as described above. As the gantry rotates, this will rotate with the gantry so as to maintain its position relative to the radiation source  12 . The EPID could alternatively be carried by a separate structure, arranged to support the EPID in a suitable location opposite the source, but mounting it on the same gantry is likely to be easier and more accurate. 
         [0028]      FIG. 1  illustrates a situation as outlined above, in which the tumour  16  is significantly off-centre within the patient  18 . With the patient on the patient support  20 , the tumour is then away from the central axis  14 . The beam can however be collimated to compensate for this, thus producing an off-axis beam  24  which will deliver radiation to the tumour  16 . This off-axis beam  24  will miss the EPID  22  if in its usual or default position  26  (shown in dotted lines), so the EPID  22  is manually adjusted into a suitable position as shown. 
         [0029]    However, as the gantry rotates ( FIG. 2 ) and the patient  18  remains stationary on the patient support  20 , the degree of offset of the tumour  16  from the central axis  14  will vary. Considered geometrically, there will be a vector  28  from the isocentre to the tumour, and when the central axis  14  is perpendicular to the vector  28  (as in  FIG. 1 ) then the offset as viewed along the central axis will be at is maximum. Equally, after a 90° rotation(as in  FIG. 2 ), the central axis  14  will be parallel to the vector  28  and the offset will be at a minimum, possibly zero. This means that the EPID  22  in its offset position will no longer capture an image of the beam  24 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . In addition, at some point in the rotation between the states shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the beam  14  will leave the active imaging region and strike the edge of the EPID  22 ; this may damage neighbouring electronic components which are often much more radiation sensitive than the imaging panel itself, and are not intended to be exposed to the therapeutic beam. 
         [0030]    Thus, although the actual field size (projected to isocentre) is likely to be smaller than the 26×26 cm aperture of the EPID  22 , the offset position of beam may track across the full 40×40 cm beam aperture of the collimator as the gantry rotates. Thus, if the EPID is being used to collect portal dosimetry data, then some data will be lost and this will compromise the ability to accurately calculate the portal dose, as well as potentially causing damage to the EPID. 
         [0031]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show the alternative, to position the patient off-axis via adjustment of the patient support  20  (or otherwise). Thus, the tumour is placed at or nearer the isocentre. As shown in  FIG. 3 , this means that distance between the isocentre and the tumour  16  is small, and the EPID  22  does not need to be offset. As shown in  FIG. 4 , rotation of the gantry  10  leaves the beam  24  still within the effective aperture of the EPID  22 . However, this raises a risk of collision between the radiation head  12  rotating around the patient support  20  and the off-axis patient support  20 . Any further rotation in an anti-clockwise direction beyond that shown in  FIG. 4  will lead to a collision and possible injury to the patient, as well as damage to the apparatus. As a result, such treatment may have to be planned around a limited range of rotational movement of the head in order to prevent collision. This is possible within the bounds of treatment planning, but may lead to a sub-optimal treatment plan. Alternatively, the treatment can be interrupted in order to reposition the patient and/or imaging panel, but this will prolong the duration of the treatment session, which is undesirable for the patient and hospital. 
         [0032]    So, the treatment can be planned with the tumour placed away from the isocentre on the machine, to allow the patient to be positioned centrally, avoid collision risk, and allow use of the full 360° rotation of the source, but the EPID will not be available. Alternatively, the tumour can be positioned centrally, but the full range of rotation may not be available, so the treatment may be sub-optimal. In a further alternative, according to US2007/0195936A1, the MLC leaf positions are adjusted to ensure that the EPID is protected and usable, but this will also affect the treatment and render it sub-optimal. 
         [0033]      FIGS. 5 and 6  illustrate a further type of radiotherapy apparatus. Efforts are currently being made to integrate MRI scanning with radiotherapy; at present CT scanning (usually cone-beam CT) is easily integrated simply by adding a lower-energy diagnostic source to the gantry together with an opposing detector, usually located 90° away from the therapeutic beam and the EPID. The integration of MRI scanning is more complex as a design needs to be found that allows for the substantial magnets required by MRI systems, although once this is done there are benefits in that the background dose of ionising radiation given to the patient is reduced as compared to a CT scan.  FIGS. 5 and 6  show such a system; the patient  50  (not shown in  FIG. 6 ) lies on a patient support  52  that can be translated longitudinally into and out of a bore  54 . A pair of primary magnet windings  56 ,  58  are arranged concentrically around the bore  54 , spaced longitudinally along the central axis  60  of the bore  54  so that each winding extends from a respective end of the bore  54  towards the centre of the bore. A gap  62  is left at that centre of the bore between the two windings, and a rotating gantry  64  fits within that gap  62  and is able to rotate around the bore  54 . A therapeutic source  66  is mounted on the gantry  64  and is therefore rotateable around the bore  54  together with the gantry  64 ; collimators  68  are provided within the source  66  so that a radiotherapeutic dose can be delivered to the patient  50  in an otherwise known manner. An EPID (not shown) is mounted on the gantry  64 , opposite the source  66  and is used in a manner corresponding to that of the apparatus of  FIGS. 1 to 4 . 
         [0034]    An apparatus of this type presents additional difficulties, in that where the target is offset it will not generally be possible to offset the patient as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , as the patient must be located within the defined bore  54  and cannot be displaced significantly. Therefore, the only option is to offset the beam by use of the collimator  68 , leading to the difficulties illustrated in relation to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
         [0035]    Both problems can be addressed using the apparatus of  FIG. 7  in conjunction with the control schema of  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 7  shows a radiotherapy apparatus of the same general type as  FIGS. 1 to 4 , although the invention is also applicable to apparatus of the type shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6  by making a corresponding change. Thus, a patient  100  is supported on a patient support  102  in front of a gantry  104  that is rotatable around a horizontal axis  106 . In practice, the gantry  104  is in the form of a cylindrical drum resting on its circular face on a number of supporting wheels  108 , and driven to rotate by a motor (not shown) that engages with an edge of the drum. The drum thus rotates around its centre, through which the axis  106  passes. 
         [0036]    A radiotherapeutic source  110  is mounted on the drum, offset from its front face  112  by a gantry arm  114 . The source  110  is aimed towards the rotation axis  106 , thus defining an isocentre where the rotation axis  106  meets the central axis of the beam emitted by the source  110 . A collimator arrangement  116  is included in the radiation source  110  so as to shape the beam as desired and allow the required dose distribution to be built up. 
         [0037]    An EPID  118  is also mounted on the gantry  104 , via a gantry arm  120  that extends transversely from the front face  112  of the gantry  104  so as to place the EPID  118  generally opposite the source  110 , with the patient  100  and the patient support  102  between them. 
         [0038]    This allows the EPID  118  to capture an image of the beam as attenuated by the patient  100 . The EPID  118  is connected to its gantry arm  120  via a series of servo-controlled linkages  122  that allow x-y movement of the EPID  118  relative to the gantry arm  120 . The two translation axes of the linkages  122  are arranged transverse to the beam direction, so the effect of translating the EPID  118  is to scan it across the field of the beam. The gantry arm  120  and/or the linkages  122  may be also able to move the EPID  118  in a z-direction, i.e. towards or away from the source  110 . However, for the purposes of the present invention we are principally concerned with movement in the×and y directions; motion in the z direction is in principle irrelevant to the invention apart from its influence on the effective image size within the beam aperture. 
         [0039]    The movement of the EPID  118  in the y direction (i.e. parallel to the rotation axis  106 ) will usually be in a straight line. Its movement in the×direction (i.e. perpendicular to both the rotation axis  106  and the beam axis, into and out of the page in  FIG. 7 ) is ideally along a circular path centred on the rotation axis  106 , in order to maintain a fixed distance from the source  110 . However, for ease of manufacture it is likely that movement in a straight line will be a good first approximation to circular movement, especially for smaller translational movements. It is likely that correction of the images to account for the difference between circular and linear movement will be straightforward. 
         [0040]      FIG. 8  shows the control schema for the apparatus of  FIG. 7 . A physician prepares a prescription  124  setting out a dose and a dose distribution that are to be delivered to the patient. A separate document  126  sets out the delivery limitations imposed by the apparatus to be used, such as the resolution of the collimators, speed of collimator movement and gantry movement, the dose characteristics of the beam, etc. A treatment planning computer  128  processes the prescription and the machine characteristics according to known computational methods, to produce a treatment plan  130 . This sets out a sequence of gantry movements, collimator movements, beam intensities etc. which the apparatus can then follow in order to create a dose distribution in the patient which corresponds to the prescription. This treatment plan  130  is then passed to the apparatus control unit  132 . The control unit  132  is arranged to control the gantry drive motor  134 , the radiation source  136 , and the multi-leaf collimator (“MLC”) drives  138 . Thus, once initiated by a clinician, the apparatus control unit  132  can deliver the radiotherapy treatment. 
         [0041]    In practice, the apparatus control unit  132  may comprise several sub-modules, each attending to different functional aspects of the apparatus, which may be distributed around the apparatus as required. 
         [0042]    Also shown in  FIG. 8  is a link from the apparatus control unit  132  to the servo drive motors  140  of the EPID linkages  122  ( FIG. 7 ), thus allowing the apparatus control unit to control the x-y position of the EPID  118 . This permits the apparatus control unit  132  to adjust the position of the EPID within the beam aperture so as to maintain the beam within the bounds of the EPID, thus obtaining an accurate image of the attenuated beam and also protecting the EPID from the beam. This control can be done in one of two ways. 
         [0043]    A first way is to predict the necessary EPID movements and adjust it accordingly. Accordingly, the treatment planning computer  128  can use its a priori knowledge of the collimator positions during the treatment to calculate the required position of the EPID  118  at each point during the treatment. This can be done using simple ray projection methods, either to determine where the beam will fall in the plane containing the EPID, or to determine a correlation between EPID positions and MLC leaves and positions, from either of which the necessary EPID position for each collimator shape during the treatment can be determined. If a collimator shape is called for during treatment that is so large or unusual that the EPID cannot accommodate it, then the system can either issue a warning to the clinician or can incorporate the EPID size as an apparatus limitation within document  126  and then calculate or re-calculate the treatment plan, as necessary. The EPID positions during treatment that are determined in this way can then be incorporated into the treatment plan  130  and passed to the apparatus control unit  132 . During the treatment, the apparatus control unit  132  can then control the EPID drive motors  140  as required in order to achieve this. Adjustments to the planned EPID positions may of course be needed in view of any adjustments made to the planned collimator positions, such as to compensate for movement of the target. 
         [0044]    Of course, the EPID position calculations could be done by a separate module within the treatment planning computer  128 , or by a different computing element, or by the apparatus control unit  132 . In the latter case, the necessary EPID positions could be calculated in real time while acting on the collimator positions contained in the treatment plan. 
         [0045]    The alternative control mechanism for the EPID drive motors is a reactive feedback method which uses the images obtained from the EPID in order to determine a necessary movement. This is shown in  FIGS. 9 to 11 .  FIG. 9  shows an image  150  obtained from the EPID; the predominant feature in the EPID is the shape  152  of the beam as shaped by the multi-leaf collimator. Outside this outline  152 , the image is essentially dark other than any inevitable leakage; within this outline there will be information as to the attenuation by the patient, but for the purposes of clarity this detail is omitted from  FIGS. 9 to 11 . In  FIG. 9 , the beam shape  152  is in the centre of the EPID aperture  154  and so no action needs to be taken. 
         [0046]    As the treatment progresses, with rotation of the gantry and adjustment of the collimator shape, the beam shape  152  may well move as shown in  FIG. 10 . The apparatus control unit  132  therefore monitors the image  150  to detect when the beam shape  152  reaches the edge of a pre-defined margin  156  around the edge of the image.  FIG. 10  shows that the beam shape  152  has moved sufficient to touch the edge of the margin  156  at  158 . The apparatus control unit  132  therefore instructs the servo drive motors  140  of the 
         [0047]    EPID linkages  122  to move the EPID in the appropriate direction(s) to bring the beam shape  152  back to the centre of the image as shown in  FIG. 11 . In this way, a negative feedback loop is created which serves to keep the beam shape  152  within the bounds of the image  150 , responding both to gross movements of the beam shape (such as following rotation around an offset target) and to changes in the beam shape that take it towards an edge (such as due to reconfiguration of the collimator shape). 
         [0048]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 9 to 11 , the margin  156  is quite narrow. In practice, the choice of margin size will be a balance between factors, to be assessed by the skilled person. A narrow margin will reduce the number of movements of the EPID, thus reducing wear on the EPID drive motors and (possibly) reducing the complexity of correcting the images for position, but will require faster movement of the EPID and less lag in initiating movement. Equally, a larger margin means that the EPID drive motors need not react as promptly or move as quickly, but raises the possibility of very large beam shapes causing problems if they approach the margin on two or more sides. One possibility is a variable margin, chosen according to how large the beam shape is, with smaller beam shapes implying a larger margin and large beam shapes prompting a relaxation of the margin size. 
         [0049]    In either case, the EPID position is ideally recorded during the treatment, such as in conjunction with the images obtained from it. This then allows the images to be corrected for the EPID offset. Alternatively, the images could be processed in real time by offsetting them against (say) a plain background by an amount corresponding to the EPID offset when they were captured. The saved set of images are then in a comparable format for later analysis. 
         [0050]    Accordingly, the present invention allows the EPID to be used for real-time diagnostic purposes, regardless of the type of treatment, and without having to make potentially detrimental adjustments to the treatment plan. It will of course be understood that many variations may be made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention.