Radiation system with rotating patient support

1. A radiation system, comprising:

a radiation source; and

a patient support for supporting a patient, the patient support located at an operative position relative to the radiation source, wherein the radiation source is configured to deliver radiation towards the patient while the patient is supported on the patient support;

wherein the patient support and the radiation source are on opposite sides of a spatial region, and are configured to move circumferentially and at least partially around the spatial region.

2. The radiation system of claim 1 , wherein the patient support and the radiation source is rotatable about a same axis.

3. The radiation system of claim 2 , wherein the patient support is spaced away from the axis.

4. The radiation system of claim 1 , wherein the patient support has a surface for supporting the patient, and the patient support is configured to rotate around the spatial region while an orientation of the surface remains unchanged.

5. The radiation system of claim 1 , further comprising an imager that is rotatable about the spatial region.

6. The radiation system of claim 1 , wherein the radiation source is configured to deliver protons, photons, or electrons.

7. The radiation system of claim 1 , further comprising a positioner configured for positioning the patient support at least partially around the spatial region.

8. The radiation system of claim 7 , wherein the positioner is also configured for translating the patient support back and forth along an axis.

9. The radiation system of claim 8 , wherein the positioner is further configured for translating the patient support back and forth along an additional axis, wherein the translation of the patient support along the axis and the translation of the patient support along the additional axis are synchronized to cause the patient support to rotate at least partially around the spatial region.

10. The radiation system of claim 1 , wherein the patient support and the radiation source are configured to travel along different respective circular paths.

11. A radiation method, comprising:

placing a radiation source at a first gantry angle;

delivering a first beam using the radiation source towards a target supported on a support, the first beam is delivered when the radiation source is at the first gantry angle and when the support is located at a first position, wherein the radiation source and the support are on opposite sides of a spatial region;

placing the radiation source at a second gantry angle;

positioning the support circumferentially and at least partially around the spatial region to move the support from the first position to a second position; and

delivering a second beam using the radiation source towards the target when the radiation source is at the second gantry angle and when the support is at the second position.

12. The radiation method of claim 11 , wherein the act of placing the radiation source at the second gantry angle is performed simultaneously with the act of positioning the support.

13. The radiation method of claim 12 , wherein the first beam comprises protons.

14. The radiation method of claim 12 , wherein the act of positioning the support at least partially around the spatial region to move the support from the first position to the second position is accomplished by:

translating the patient support along a first axis;

translating the patient support along a second axis; and

synchronizing the translation of the patient support along the first axis and the translation of the patient support along the second axis.

15. The radiation method of claim 11 , wherein the support is positioned at least partially around an axis to move the support from the first position to the second position.

16. The radiation method of claim 15 , wherein the axis is parallel to a gantry axis.

17. The radiation method of claim 15 , further comprising translating the support in a direction that is parallel to the axis.

18. The radiation method of claim 17 , wherein the support is translated back and forth.

19. A patient support system, comprising:

a patient support having a surface for supporting a patient, the patient support having a longitudinal axis; and

a positioner coupled to the patient support for positioning the patient support, the positioner configured to rotate the patient support about an axis that is parallel to, and spaced away from, the longitudinal axis while the surface of the patient support remains horizontal.

20. The patient support system of claim 19 , wherein the positioner comprises an arm having a first end and a second end, the first end rotatably coupled to the patient support, and the second end being rotatable about the axis.

21. The patient support system of claim 19 , wherein the positioner is also configured to translate the patient support in a direction that is parallel to the axis.

22. The patient support system of claim 19 , wherein the positioner is configured to translate the patient support along a first axis, translate the patient support along a second axis, and synchronize the translation of the patient support along the first axis and the translation of the patient support along the second axis.

23. The patient support system of claim 22 , wherein the positioner is configured to synchronize the translation of the patient support along the first axis and the translation of the patient support along the second axis to thereby rotate the patient support about the axis.

24. The patient support system of claim 22 , wherein the positioner is configured to translate the patient support along each of the first axis and the second axis in a sinusoidal manner.

25. The patient support system of claim 19 ,

wherein the positioner is configured to move the patient support along a path that has an arc, circular, or zig-zag shape, while the surface of the patient support remains horizontal, and wherein the path lies within a plane that is perpendicular to the surface of the patient support.

26. The radiation system of claim 1 , further comprising an arm that is rotatably mounted to a structure, wherein the radiation source is coupled to the arm.