Patient pre-positioning in frameless cranial radiosurgery using thermal imaging

1. A computer-implemented medical data processing method for supporting positioning an associated patient for treatment by at least one of radiotherapy or radiosurgery, the method comprising executing, on at least one processor of at least one computer, steps of:

acquiring at the at least one processor, planning image data describing a digital planning image of a reference structure;

acquiring at the at least one processor, reference structure position data describing a predetermined relative position between the reference structure and an anatomical body part of the associated patient and describing a relative position between the reference structure and a predetermined reference position;

acquiring at the at least one processor, thermal image data describing a digital thermal image of the reference structure;

acquiring at the at least one processor, imaging device position data describing a relative position between the reference structure and an associated thermal imaging device used for taking the digital thermal image and describing a predetermined relative position between the associated thermal imaging device and the predetermined reference position;

determining, by the at least one processor and based on the planning image data, planning image pattern data describing a planning image pattern in the digital planning image assigned to a representation of the reference structure;

determining, by the at least one processor and based on the thermal image data, thermal image pattern data describing a thermal image pattern in the digital thermal image assigned to the representation of the reference structure;

determining positional difference data by the at least one processor based on: the reference structure position data, the imaging device position data, the planning image pattern data, and the thermal image pattern data, the positional difference data describing a difference between:

a relative position between the anatomical body part of the associated patient and the predetermined reference position at a point in time at which the planning image data was generated, and

a relative position between the anatomical body part of the associated patient and the predetermined reference position at a point in time at which the thermal image data was generated.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining the planning image pattern data comprises:

segmenting the representation of the reference structure in the digital planning image.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining the thermal image pattern data comprises:

segmenting the representation of the reference structure in the digital thermal image.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the planning image pattern comprises a contour or an area in the planning image.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal image pattern comprises a contour or an area in the planning image.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the positional difference data describes a transformation between:

the relative position between the anatomical body part and the predetermined reference position at the point in time at which planning image data was generated; and

the relative position between the anatomical body part and the predetermined reference position at the point in time at which the thermal image data was generated.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined reference position comprises an isocenter of an associated treatment device usable for the radiotherapy therapy or the radiosurgery.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining the planning image data and the thermal image pattern data comprises:

determining similarity measure data describing a similarity measure defining a similarity between image features in the digital planning image and the digital thermal image.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining the positional difference data comprises:

determining, by the at least one processor and based on the similarity measure data and the reference structure position data and the imaging device position data, relative position data describing:

the relative position between the anatomical body part and the predetermined reference position at the point in time at which planning image data was generated; and

the relative position between the anatomical body part and the predetermined reference position at the point in time at which the thermal image data was generated.

10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising generating the planning image data by applying a tomographic imaging modality to the reference structure or by imaging the reference structure with an infrared-sensitive imaging device.

11. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

acquiring, at the at least one processor, thermal reference data describing a predetermined model of a thermal image appearance of the reference structure; and

determining, by the at least one processor and based on the thermal reference data and the planning image data, thermal planning data describing a mapping of the predetermined model onto the digital planning image,

wherein the positional difference data is determined based on the thermal planning data.

12. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the at least one processor and based on the positional difference data, treatment device control data describing positional control information for controlling a relative position between a patient support unit for supporting a body of the associated patient and a treatment device usable for treating the patient with at least one of radiotherapy or radiosurgery, and determining, by the at least one processor and based on the treatment device control data, control data describing a command for moving the patient support unit relative to the treatment device and issuing the command to a motion control unit such that a target area being the target of the at least one of radiotherapy or radiosurgery is positioned at the reference position.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the acquiring the planning image data describing the digital planning image of the reference structure comprises:

acquiring planning image data describing a digital planning image of:

a face of the associated patient; and

an open face mask medical device attached to the face of the associated patient, the open face mask medical device defining a contour in the planning image data, wherein the planning image pattern data describes the contour as the planning image pattern.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the acquiring the thermal image data describing the digital thermal image of the reference structure comprises:

acquiring, after the associated patient has been placed on a patient support unit of a treatment apparatus for carrying out the at least one of the radiotherapy treatment or the radiosurgery, thermal image data describing a digital thermal image of:

the anatomical body part of the associated patient; and

the reference structure attached to the anatomical body part of the associated patient.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium storing a program thereon for supporting positioning an associated patient for treatment by at least one of radiotherapy or radiosurgery, the program being executable by a computer of an associated patient pre-positioning apparatus for supporting the pre-positioning by:

acquiring planning image data describing a digital planning image of a reference structure;

acquiring reference structure position data describing a predetermined relative position between the reference structure and an anatomical body part of the associated patient and describing a relative position between the reference structure and a predetermined reference position;

acquiring thermal image data describing a digital thermal image of the reference structure;

acquiring imaging device position data describing a relative position between the reference structure and an associated thermal imaging device used for taking the digital thermal image and describing a predetermined relative position between the associated thermal imaging device and the predetermined reference position;

determining, based on the planning image data, planning image pattern data describing a planning image pattern in the digital planning image assigned to a representation of the reference structure;

determining, based on the thermal image data, thermal image pattern data describing a thermal image pattern in the digital thermal image assigned to the representation of the reference structure;

determining positional difference data based on: the reference structure position data, the imaging device position data, the planning image pattern data, and the thermal image pattern data, the positional difference data describing a difference between:

a relative position between the anatomical body part of the associated patient and the predetermined reference position at a point in time at which the planning image data was generated, and

a relative position between the anatomical body part of the associated patient and the predetermined reference position at a point in time at which the thermal image data was generated.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium according to claim 15 , wherein the program stored thereon is executable by the computer of the associated patient pre-positioning apparatus for further supporting the pre-positioning by:

acquiring planning image data describing a digital planning image of:

a face of the associated patient; and

an open face mask medical device attached to the face of the associated patient, the open face mask medical device defining a contour in the planning image data, wherein the planning image pattern data describes the contour as the planning image pattern.

17. A system for supporting positioning a patient for at least one of radiotherapy treatment or radiosurgery, the system comprising:

a) a computer operable to:

acquire planning image data describing a digital planning image of a reference structure;

acquire reference structure position data describing a predetermined relative position between the reference structure and an anatomical body part of the associated patient and describing a relative position between the reference structure and a predetermined reference position;

acquire thermal image data describing a digital thermal image of the reference structure;

acquire imaging device position data describing a relative position between the reference structure and an associated thermal imaging device used for taking the digital thermal image and describing a predetermined relative position between the associated thermal imaging device and the predetermined reference position;

determine, based on the planning image data, planning image pattern data describing a planning image pattern in the digital planning image assigned to a representation of the reference structure;

determine, based on the thermal image data, thermal image pattern data describing a thermal image pattern in the digital thermal image assigned to the representation of the reference structure;

determine positional difference data based on: the reference structure position data, the imaging device position data, the planning image pattern data, and the thermal image pattern data, the positional difference data describing a difference between:

a relative position between the anatomical body part of the associated patient and the predetermined reference position at a point in time at which the planning image data was generated, and

a relative position between the anatomical body part of the associated patient and the predetermined reference position at a point in time at which the thermal image data was generated;

b) an electronic data storage device storing at least the planning image data, the reference structure position data and the imaging device position data;

c) a thermal imaging device receiving the digital thermal image, the thermal imaging device being operably coupled to the at least one computer for transmitting a signal to the at least one computer corresponding to the thermal image data;

d) a treatment device usable for treating the patient with the at least one of the radiotherapy treatment or the radiosurgery; and

e) a patient support unit for supporting the patient's body,

wherein the computer is operably coupled with the at least one electronic data storage device for acquiring, from the at least one data storage device, the planning image data, the reference structure position data and the imaging device position data,

wherein the computer is operably coupled to at least one of the treatment device or the patient support unit.