Systems and methods for biological adaptive radiotherapy
Inventors
OWENS, Michael Kirk • BASSALOW, Rostem • OLCOTT, Peter Demetri • VORONENKO, Yevgen • Larkin, David Quentin • Mazin, Samuel
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-12214219-B2
Publication Date
2025-02-04
Expiration Date
Abstract
Disclosed herein are systems and methods for adapting and/or updating radiotherapy treatment plans based on biological and/or physiological data and/or anatomical data extracted or calculated from imaging data acquired in real-time (e.g., during a treatment session). Functional imaging data acquired at the time of radiation treatment is used to modify a treatment plan and/or dose delivery instructions to provide a prescribed dose distribution to patient target regions. Also disclosed herein are methods for evaluating treatment plans based on imaging data acquired in real-time.
Core Innovation
The invention provides methods for calculating bounded dose-volume histograms (DVH) for evaluating a treatment plan. A plurality of images X′ is generated based on an acquired patient image X, with a patient target volume (PTV) located at j different positions within a radiation-firing zone (RFZ) of a patient. For each generated image X′j, a radiation dose Dj is calculated using a dose calculation matrix A and a radiation-firing matrix P according to Dj=A·P·X′j.
A DVH curve is plotted for each dose Dj to generate a family of j DVH curves where each DVH curve represents a volume fraction for each dose value. From the family of DVH curves, the method generates a minimum boundary curve (min-DVH curve) and a maximum boundary curve (max-DVH curve). The min-DVH curve comprises a first series of points representing a minimum volume fraction for each dose value of the family of DVH curves, and the max-DVH curve comprises a second series of points representing a maximum volume fraction for each dose value of the family of DVH curves.
The bounded DVH representation enables evaluating whether a calculated DVH is within a defined range bounded by the min-DVH and max-DVH curves. The invention also provides a method for evaluating a radiotherapy treatment plan by acquiring imaging data x of a patient, calculating a radiation dose Dx, and plotting a DVH based on the acquired imaging data using a radiation-firing matrix P and a dose calculation matrix A such that Dx=A·P·x.
A notification is generated and displayed on a monitor if the DVH is not within a range defined by a minimum-DVH curve and a maximum-DVH curve. In dependent variations, the notification condition can be tied to alternative criteria such as dose-distribution thresholds or plan-quality index (PQI) thresholds, and imaging data can be PET imaging data.
Claims Coverage
Independent claim 1 covers bounded DVH calculation using a family of DVHs derived from multiple patient image variations within a radiation-firing zone, producing min-DVH and max-DVH boundary curves. Independent claim 19 covers radiotherapy plan evaluation using acquired imaging data to compute a DVH and generating a monitor notification when the DVH lies outside a bounded DVH envelope.
Bounded DVH envelope generation from a family of DVH curves
Generating a plurality of images X′1, 2, 3, . . . j based on an acquired patient image X, where a patient target volume (PTV) is located at j different positions within a radiation-firing zone (RFZ) of a patient; calculating a dose Dj for each image by multiplying a dose calculation matrix A with a radiation-firing matrix P and X′j; plotting a DVH curve for each dose Dj to generate a family of j DVH curves representing a volume fraction for each dose value; and generating a minimum boundary curve (min-DVH curve) and a maximum boundary curve (max-DVH curve) of the family.
Plan evaluation with monitor notification based on bounded DVH range
Acquiring imaging data x of a patient; calculating a radiation dose Dx and plotting a DVH based on the acquired imaging data, a radiation-firing matrix P, and a dose calculation matrix A (Dx=A·P·x); and generating a notification that is displayed on a monitor if the DVH is not within a range defined by a minimum-DVH curve and a maximum-DVH curve.
The claim set defines bounded DVH computation by producing min-DVH and max-DVH boundary curves from a family of DVH curves generated from multiple images within an RFZ using dose-calculation matrices. It further defines a plan evaluation workflow that uses acquired imaging data to compute a DVH and triggers a monitor notification when the resulting DVH is outside the bounded envelope defined by the min-DVH and max-DVH curves.
Stated Advantages
Enables evaluating a treatment plan using a range defined by a minimum-DVH curve and a maximum-DVH curve.
Provides monitor notifications when a DVH is not within the defined bounded range.
Documented Applications
Evaluating a radiotherapy treatment plan by acquiring imaging data, calculating a radiation dose and plotting a DVH, and displaying a monitor notification if the DVH is not within a min-DVH/max-DVH defined range.
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