Particle Therapy System Having an Additional Degree of Freedom on the Synthesis of the Angle of Treatment

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This invention describes a particle therapy system for cancer treatment that utilizes a mechanically simplified gantry structure, providing two adjustable rotational axes for beam delivery. The gantry can tilt vertically and rotate the beam delivery nozzle, allowing for flexible and precise adjustment of the particle beam’s incident angle when targeting a patient’s tumor. The design reduces the system’s overall weight and space requirements compared to traditional large-scale rotating gantries, while maintaining or enhancing the flexibility needed for optimal treatment angles.

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• Proton or ion beam therapy for cancerous tumor treatment in hospitals and specialized cancer centers.
• Treatment of tumors located in difficult-to-reach anatomical regions, where flexible beam angles are needed to minimize exposure to healthy tissues.
• Medical centers looking to replace large, heavy gantry-based particle therapy systems with more compact and cost-effective solutions.
• Research facilities developing new protocols or methods in radiation oncology requiring advanced beam control and flexibility.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Significantly reduces the treatment room footprint and required infrastructure compared to conventional gantries.
• Offers an additional degree of freedom in constructing treatment angles, improving the ability to precisely target tumors and avoid healthy tissues.
• Simplifies mechanical construction and reduces the system’s overall weight, which can lower installation and maintenance costs.
• Allows for fine-tuned adjustments and compensation for misalignment, enhancing treatment accuracy.
• Modular design permits integration or adaptation with various beam scanning, degrading, or imaging systems.

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Patent Abstract

The present invention discloses a system (2, 2') for particle beam therapy, comprising as seen in the flow direction of the particle beam (4): a) an adjustable gantry (10, 10') for the beam delivery to a target volume, said gantry comprising: a1) a beam coupling section (6) for the incoming particle beam (4); said incoming particle beam (4) being oriented substantially horizontally thereby defining a horizontal plane; a2) a first beam bending section (8, 8') comprising a number of beam deflection and/or focusing magnets (12, 14) wherein the first bending section (8, 8') either bends the particle beam (4) with an adjustable angle into the vertical plane, or with 90 degrees in the horizontal plane, but with the mechanical possibility to rotate with an adjustable angle along the axis of the incoming particle beam (4); a3) a beam transport section (16) receiving the particle beam (4) leaving the first beam bending section (8, 8') and guiding the particle beam (4) to a second beam bending section (18); a4) the second beam bending section (18) comprising a number of beam deflection magnets and/or beam focusing magnets; a5) a beam nozzle (20) comprising a window for the exit of the particle beam (4); and b) a patient table/chair (22) being rotatable in the horizontal plane or in a plane being parallel to the horizontal plane and optionally being adjustable vertically, wherein: c) the gantry (10, 10') is supported by a tilting mechanism (24) allowing the gantry (10, 10') to be tilted vertically by an angle Æ 1 , Æ 1 µ [-90°; +90°], wherein the gantry (10, 10') comprises a pivot (7, 7') being disposed in the region of the first bending section (8, 8'); and d) a rotation mechanism (26) being disposed in a way that the second beam bending section (18) and the beam nozzle (20) being rotatable by an angle Æ 2 , Æ 2 µ [-180°; +180°] around a direction given by the angle Æ 1 .