IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,232,928

Granted Patent B2

US 9,232,928 · App. 11/116,699 · Granted Jan 12, 2016

Method and system for predictive physiological gating

Inventor: Hassan Mostafavi (Los Altos, CA)

A61B6/541 A61B5/113 A61B5/7292 A61B6/463 A61N5/1048 A61N5/1049 A61B5/055 A61B5/1127 A61B5/7289 A61B6/5288 A61B19/54 A61B2019/5227 A61N5/1037 A61N5/1064 A61N2005/1059

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 9,232,928
App. No.: 11/116,699
Granted: Jan 12, 2016
Kind: B2

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Abstract

A method and system for physiological gating is disclosed. A method and system for detecting and predictably estimating regular cycles of physiological activity or movements is disclosed. Another disclosed aspect of the invention is directed to predictive actuation of gating system components. Yet another disclosed aspect of the invention is directed to physiological gating of radiation treatment based upon the phase of the physiological activity. Gating can be performed, either prospectively or retrospectively, to any type of procedure, including radiation therapy or imaging, or other types of medical devices and procedures such as PET, MRI, SPECT, and CT scans.

Claims (135)

1. A method for use in a radiation procedure, comprising:

obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion, wherein the analysis is performed using a processor; and

generating a signal to control a treatment machine in a radiation procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein a portion of the respiratory motion and a portion of the reference respiratory motion are parts of a same breathing cycle; and

wherein the processor comprises a respiratory motion comparison module configured to perform the analysis using the first and second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing the analysis comprises performing a pattern matching analysis.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second set of data is a model of a respiratory wave form.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating the second set of data.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the second set of data is generated using respiratory motion data of the patient.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal is a “ON” signal.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal is a “OFF” signal.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference respiratory motion is immediately before the respiratory motion.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the respiratory motion comprises a first wave form, and the reference respiratory motion comprises a second wave form, and wherein the analysis is performed to compare the first and second wave forms.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analysis is performed to compare a pattern of the respiratory motion with a pattern of the reference respiratory motion.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal is generated using the processor.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the machine comprises a radiation machine, and the signal comprises a control signal for controlling the radiation machine.

13. A method for use in a radiation procedure, comprising:

obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion, wherein the analysis is performed using a processor; and

generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the performing comprises determining a degree of deviation between the respiratory motion and the reference respiratory motion; and

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the signal comprises a treatment machine control signal.

15. An apparatus comprising a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium having a set of stored instructions, an execution of which causes a process to be performed by a processor, the process comprising:

obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion; and

generating a signal to control a treatment machine in a radiation procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein a portion of the respiratory motion and a portion of the reference respiratory motion are parts of a same breathing cycle; and

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the act of performing the analysis comprises performing a pattern matching analysis.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the second set of data is a model of a respiratory wave form.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the signal is a “ON” signal.

19. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the signal is a “OFF” signal.

20. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the reference respiratory motion is immediately before the respiratory motion.

21. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein a portion of the respiratory motion and a portion of the reference respiratory motion are parts of a same breathing cycle.

22. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the respiratory motion comprises a first wave form, and the reference respiratory motion comprises a second wave form, and wherein the analysis is performed to compare the first and second wave forms.

23. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the analysis is performed to compare a pattern of the respiratory motion with a pattern of the reference respiratory motion.

24. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the machine comprises a radiation machine, and the signal comprises a control signal for controlling the radiation machine.

25. A system for use in a radiation procedure, comprising:

means for obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

means for obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

means for performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion; and

means for generating a signal to control a treatment machine in a radiation procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein a portion of the respiratory motion and a portion of the reference respiratory motion are parts of a same breathing cycle.

26. The system of claim 25 , wherein the means for performing the analysis is configured to perform a pattern matching analysis.

27. The system of claim 25 , wherein the second set of data is a model of a respiratory wave form.

28. The system of claim 25 , wherein the signal is a “ON” signal.

29. The system of claim 25 , wherein the signal is a “OFF” signal.

30. The system of claim 25 , wherein the reference respiratory motion is immediately before the respiratory motion.

31. The system of claim 25 , wherein the respiratory motion comprises a first wave form, and the reference respiratory motion comprises a second wave form, and wherein the means for performing the analysis is configured to compare the first and second wave forms.

32. The system of claim 25 , wherein means for performing the analysis is configured to compare a pattern of the respiratory motion with a pattern of the reference respiratory motion.

33. The system of claim 25 , wherein the machine comprises a radiation machine, and the signal comprises a control signal for controlling the radiation machine.

34. A method for use in a radiation procedure, comprising:

obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion, wherein the analysis is performed using a processor; and

generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the act of performing the analysis comprises using an autocorrelation function; and

35. A method for use in a radiation procedure, comprising:

obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion, wherein the analysis is performed using a processor; and

generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the act of performing the analysis comprises using an absolute function; and

36. An apparatus comprising a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium having a set of stored instructions, an execution of which causes a process to be performed by a processor, the process comprising:

obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion; and

generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the act of performing the analysis comprises determining a degree of deviation between the respiratory motion and the reference respiratory motion; and

37. The apparatus of claim 36 , wherein the signal comprises a treatment machine control signal.

38. An apparatus comprising a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium having a set of stored instructions, an execution of which causes a process to be performed by a processor, the process comprising:

obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion; and

generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the act of performing the analysis comprises using an autocorrelation function; and

39. An apparatus comprising a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium having a set of stored instructions, an execution of which causes a process to be performed by a processor, the process comprising:

obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion; and

generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the act of performing the analysis comprises using an absolute function; and

40. A system for use in a radiation procedure, comprising:

means for obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

means for obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

means for performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion; and

means for generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the means for performing the analysis is configured to determine a degree of deviation between the respiratory motion and the reference respiratory motion; and

wherein the means for performing comprises a respiratory motion comparison module configured to perform the analysis using the first and second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion.

41. The system of claim 40 , wherein the signal comprises a treatment machine control signal.

42. A system for use in a radiation procedure, comprising:

means for obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

means for obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

means for performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion; and

means for generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the means for performing the analysis is configured to use an autocorrelation function;

43. A system for use in a radiation procedure, comprising:

means for obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

means for obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

means for performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion; and

means for generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the means for performing the analysis is configured to use an absolute function; and

44. A method for use in a radiation procedure, comprising:

obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion, wherein the analysis is performed using a processor; and

generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the first set of data comprises a first plurality of data, the second set of data comprises a second plurality of data, and the act of performing the analysis comprises performing an autocorrelation function using the first plurality of data and the second plurality of data;

45. An apparatus comprising a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium having a set of stored instructions, an execution of which causes a process to be performed by a processor, the process comprising:

obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion; and

generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

46. A system for use in a radiation procedure, comprising:

means for obtaining a first set of data representative of a respiratory motion of a patient;

means for obtaining a second set of data representative of a reference respiratory motion;

means for performing an analysis using the first and the second sets of data to compare the respiratory motion with the reference respiratory motion; and

means for generating a signal for physiological gating of a medical procedure based at least on a result of the step of performing;

wherein the first set of data comprises a first plurality of data, the second set of data comprises a second plurality of data, and the means for performing the analysis is configured to perform an autocorrelation function using the first plurality of data and the second plurality of data; and

Assignments (1)

MERGER Recorded Oct 23, 2008

From: VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

To: VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.

Reel/Frame 021728/0123 →

Continuity (6)

Continuation 09893122 · Jun 26, 2001

Continuation In Part 09178383 · Oct 23, 1998

Continuation In Part 09178385 · Oct 23, 1998

Continuation In Part 09712724 · Nov 14, 2000

Continuation 09178384 · Oct 23, 1998

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