RADIATION THERAPY OF PROTRUDING AND/OR CONFORMABLE ORGANS
A system provided for delivering Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) and for delivering a boost to standard whole-breast irradiation (WBI) for the treatment of breast cancer that significantly reduces the risks of adverse cosmetic outcomes and toxicities. This is achieved by a method and device for delivering a uniform radiation dose to the target volume with significantly reduced dose to the non-target volume, skin and chest wall of the ipsilateral breast, and virtually no dose to the contralateral breast, lungs, and heart.
1 . A radiotherapy device, comprising:
a shield;
a single radiation source disposed within the shield, wherein the single radiation source is movable within a channel of the shield; and
a collimated opening disposed in the shield that enables the single radiation source to be moved along the channel into an exposed position within the shield.
2 . The radiotherapy device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a beam modulator component disposed adjacent to the collimated opening.
3 . The radiotherapy device according to claim 1 , wherein the single radiation source includes Se-75.
4 . The radiotherapy device according to claim 1 , wherein the single radiation sources includes at least one of: Co-56, Co-57, Co-58, Co-60, Zn-65, Pd-103, Cd-109, I-125, Cs-131, Cs-137, Sm-145, Gd-153, Yb-169, W-187, Ir-192, and Au-198.
5 . The radiotherapy device according to claim 1 , wherein the collimated opening has a conical shape.
6 . The radiotherapy device according to claim 1 , wherein the shield is made of a material having a density greater than 6 g/cm 3 .
7 . A method of performing radiotherapy, comprising:
disposing a single radiation source within a shield, wherein the single radiation source is movable within a channel of the shield;
moving the single radiation source along the channel into an exposed position above a collimated opening of the shield; and
delivering a uniform radiation dose from the single radiation source to a target volume.
8 . The method according to claim 7 , further comprising:
modulating the radiation beam before delivery to the target volume using a beam modulator component disposed adjacent to the collimated opening of the shield.
9 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the single radiation source includes Se-75.
10 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the single radiation sources includes at least one of: Co-56, Co-57, Co-58, Co-60, Zn-65, Pd-103, Cd-109, I-125, Cs-131, Cs-137, Sm-145, Gd-153, Yb-169, W-187, Ir-192, and Au-198.
11 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the collimated opening has a conical shape.
12 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the shield is made of a material having a density greater than 6 g/cm 3 .
13 . The method according to claim 7 , further comprising:
imaging the target volume.
14 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the imaging of the target volume is performed using the single radiation source.
15 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the single radiation source is a first single radiation source and wherein delivering the uniform radiation dose includes delivering a radiation dose from a second single radiation source located on an opposite side of a target volume with respect to the first single radiation source.
16 . A radiotherapy system, comprising:
a first radiotherapy device; and
a second radiotherapy device disposed on an opposite side of a target volume with respect to the first radiotherapy device, wherein each of the first radiotherapy device and the second radiotherapy device include:
a shield;
a single radiation source disposed within the shield; and
a collimated opening disposed in the shield that enables the single radiation source to be positioned in an exposed position within the shield.
17 . The radiotherapy system according to claim 16 , wherein at least one of: the first radiotherapy device or the second radiotherapy device includes a beam modulator component disposed adjacent to the collimated opening.
18 . The radiotherapy system according to claim 16 , wherein at least one of: the single radiation source of the first radiotherapy device or the single radiation source of the second radiotherapy device includes Se-75.
19 . The radiotherapy system according to claim 16 , wherein one of: the first radiotherapy device or the second radiotherapy device acts as a beam catcher for the other of: the first radiotherapy device or the second radiotherapy device.
20 . The radiotherapy system according to claim 16 , further comprising:
an imaging system that images the target volume using radiation from the single radiation source of at least one of: the first radiotherapy device or the second radiotherapy device.