Patent ID: 8288742

Claim:
An apparatus for positioning a patient for irradiation of a tumor with charged particles extracted from a synchrotron, comprising: a lower support unit; at least one patient positioning device, said lower support unit supporting said patient positioning device; means for rotating said lower support unit about an about vertical axis to a plurality of rotation positions; an upper support unit mechanically connected to said lower support unit, said means for rotating rotating said lower support unit in synchronization with said upper support unit, a first thermal resistor held by said upper support unit, said first thermal resistor configured in an exhalation path of the patient; a second thermal resistor configured to sense environmental temperature out of the exhalation path; and a controller using at least one reading from said first thermal resistor and said second thermal resistor to determine a respiration cycle of the patient, wherein said plurality of rotation positions comprises at least five computer controlled rotation positions in a period of less than two minutes during irradiation of the tumor by the charged particles, said synchrotron configured to deliver the charged particles along an about horizontal axis over a portion of said lower support unit, and wherein said controller controls delivery of the charged particles from said synchrotron in phase with said respiration cycle.