RADIATION CONTROL AND MINIMIZATION SYSTEM AND METHOD
A radiation control system and method are provided in which radiation delivered to a patient and/or the operator of the equipment is minimized. The radiation control system may be used in a large variety of applications including applications in which radiation source is used to inspect an object, such as, for example, medical imaging, diagnosis and therapy, in manufacturing operation using radiation, in airports scanning systems, in different security setups, and in nuclear reactors automation and process control. The radiation control system and method may also be used with 3D imaging.
1 . A closed loop radiation guidance system, comprising:
a radiation source that generates a radiation beam;
a device for generating an attention monitor signal indicating when an attention of an operator is directed towards a patient area of interest;
a device for generating a radiation activation signal indicating a desire by the operator to activate the radiation beam; and
a control unit that generates, in real-time, a control signal based on the attention monitor signal and the radiation activation signal that controls the radiation from the radiation source towards the patient area of interest to provide real-time, closed loop feedback of the radiation from the radiation source towards the patient area of interest.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control signal turns on the radiation from the radiation source when the radiation activation signal indicates that the operator wants to generate radiation and the attention monitor signal indicates the attention of the operator is on the patient area of interest.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the attention monitor signal is generated by an attention monitor.
4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the attention monitor further comprises one of a gaze tracking system, a gaze direction system and a brain activity monitor.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the radiation source is one of an ionizing radiation source and a non-ionizing radiation source.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the radiation source generates a three dimensional image of the target.
7 . The system of claim 1 further comprising a controller for controlling one or more radiation parameters to the radiation source.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the attention monitor signal is generated by a tracking system that automatically identifies the patient area of interest.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the attention monitor signal is generated by an attention monitor and a tracking system that automatically identifies the patient area of interest.
10 . The system of claim 1 wherein the attention monitor device is an operator saccade detector that detects the saccades of the operator.
11 . The system of claim 1 wherein the attention monitor device is an operator blinking detector.
12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the medical radiation system has a patient table that is positioned based on the determined focus of attention.
13 . A method for closed loop control of radiation, the method comprising:
generating, by an attention monitor device, an attention monitor signal indicating an attention of an operator to the generating of a radiation beam from a radiation source towards a patient area of interest;
generating, by a radiation activator device, a radiation activation signal indicating a desire by the operation to activate the radiation beam; and
controlling, in real-time, the radiation beam towards the patient area of interest based on the attention monitor signal and the radiation activation signal to provide real-time, closed loop feedback of the radiation from the radiation source towards the patient area of interest.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the radiation beam generates a three dimensional image of the target.
15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein controlling the radiation beam further comprises controlling one or more radiation parameters that are communicated to the radiation source.
16 . The system of claim 14 , wherein controlling the radiation beam further comprising turning on the radiation beam from the radiation source when the radiation activation signal indicates that the operator wants to generate radiation and the attention monitor signal indicates the attention of the operator is on the patient area of interest.
17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein generating an attention monitoring signal further comprising detecting the saccades of the operator.
18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein generating an attention monitoring signal further comprising detecting blinking of the operator.
19 . The method of claim 13 further comprising positioning a patient table based on the determined focus of attention.