Patent ID: 7469035

Claim:
A method of continuous real-time monitoring of anatomy and continuous real-time beam positioning using multi-leaf collimators (MLC) during on and off radiation exposure conditions of radiation therapy treatment in order to account for target and anatomical motion relative to a radiation beam comprising: a. using a prediction algorithm within a controller to estimate a future position of a target in relation to a radiation source reference frame; b. determining a position, a size, a shape and an orientation of said target according to a frame of reference of said radiation source; c. providing said determined target information to a controller; d. determine an initial position of each leaf of said MLC; e. provide a treatment plan to said controller from a treatment plan data file; f. provide temporal interpolations of radiation doses and a respiratory phase according to said treatment plan, whereby predetermined positions of said leaves are provided that correlate to radiation dose segments along a total duration of a total irradiation of said target; g. using Cartesian coordinates having an origin at an isocenter of an isocentric plane of said target to establish an initial position of aperture ends of said leaves; h. providing said initial position information of said aperture ends to said controller; i. determining an aperture end width and determining a midpoint of said aperture end for each said leaf; j. providing said width and midpoint information to said controller, wherein said controller directs motors to position said MLC midpoint aperture ends according to said initial position information and said provided target information; k. positioning each said aperture end midpoint to intersect a single point of a convolution of said target and said isocenter of said isocentric plane; and l. providing radiation source hold conditions, wherein said hold condition is according to predetermined undesirable operational and/or treatment states.