Multimodal radiation apparatus and methods
Multimodal imaging apparatus and methods include a rotatable gantry system with multiple sources of radiation comprising different energy levels (for example, kV and MV). Fast slip-ring technology and helical scans allow data from multiple sources of radiation to be combined or utilized to generate improved images and workflows, including for IGRT. Features include increasing the precision of spatial registrations between respective image sets to allow more precise radiation treatment delivery, reducing image artifacts (e.g., scatter, metal and beam hardening, image blur, motion, etc.), and utilization of dual energy imaging (e.g., for material separation and quantitative imaging, patient setup, online adaptive IGRT, etc.).
1. A multimodal imaging apparatus, comprising:
a rotatable gantry system positioned at least partially around a patient support;
a first source of radiation coupled to the rotatable gantry system, the first source of radiation configured for imaging radiation;
a second source of radiation coupled to the rotatable gantry system, the second source of radiation configured for at least one of imaging radiation or therapeutic radiation, wherein the second source of radiation has an energy level more than the first source of radiation; and
a first radiation detector coupled to the rotatable gantry system and positioned to receive radiation from at least one of the first source of radiation or the second source of radiation; and
a processor configured to generate a first attenuation estimate wherein a first measured projection data from the first source of radiation comprises more attenuation than a second measured projection data from the second source of radiation, and the first attenuation estimate is associated with the first measured projection data and is based on the second measured projection data.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first source of radiation comprises a kilo-electron volt peak photon energy (keV) up to 150 keV and the second source of radiation comprises a mega-electron volt peak photon energy (MeV) of 1 MeV or greater.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second source of radiation comprises a peak energy of 3 MeV and an average energy of about 1 MeV.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first measured projection data and the second measured projection data are acquired simultaneously or within about 50 ms of each other.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second measured projection data comprises sparse projection data.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first measured projection data or the second measured projection data are measured during a helical scan.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first measured projection data or the second measured projection data are measured during a circular scan.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising at least one beamformer configured to adjust a shape of a radiation beam emitted by the first source of radiation or the second source of radiation.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first source of radiation or the second source of radiation is configured to produce a fan beam shape.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first source of radiation or the second source of radiation is configured to produce a cone beam shape.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to generate a reconstructed image based on the first attenuation estimate and the first measured projection data.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first measured projection data comprises more scatter than the second measured projection data, and wherein a first scatter estimate associated with the first measured projection data is based on the second measured projection data.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first measured projection data is measured at a first frequency, the second measured projection data is measured at a second frequency, the first frequency is less than the second frequency, and wherein interpolation of the first measured projection data is based on the second measured projection data.
14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first measured projection data is measured at a first frequency, the second measured projection data is measured at a second frequency, the first frequency is less than the second frequency, and wherein a motion estimate of the first measured projection data is based on the second measured projection data.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first source of radiation is coupled to a first rotatable gantry of the rotatable gantry system and the second source of radiation is coupled to a second rotatable gantry of the rotatable gantry system.
16. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a second radiation detector, wherein the first radiation detector is positioned to receive radiation from the first source of radiation and the second radiation detector is positioned to receive radiation from the second source of radiation.
17. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first measured projection data is integrated at a first time, the second measured projection data is integrated at a second time, the first time is longer than the second time, and wherein reconstruction of the first measured projection data is based on the second measured projection data.
18. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first measured projection data and the second measured projection data are acquired sequentially.
19. A treatment method, comprising:
receiving first measured projection data from a first source of radiation, the first source of radiation configured for imaging radiation;
receiving second measured projection data from a second source of radiation, the second source of radiation configured for at least one of imaging radiation or therapeutic radiation, wherein the second source of radiation has an energy level more than the first source of radiation, and wherein the first measured projection data comprises more attenuation than the second measured projection data;
determining a first attenuation estimate associated with the first measured projection data based on the second measured projection data; and
reconstructing an image based on the first attenuation estimate and the first measured projection data.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the first measured projection data and the second measured projection data are acquired simultaneously or within about 50 ms of each other.
21. The method of claim 19 , further comprising registering a patient based on the reconstructed image during a patient registration workflow.
22. The method of claim 19 , further comprising modifying a treatment plan based on the reconstructed image during an adaptive planning workflow.
23. The method of claim 19 , further comprising calculating a treatment dose delivered to the patient based on the reconstructed image.
24. A radiotherapy delivery device comprising:
a rotatable gantry system positioned at least partially around a patient support;
a first source of radiation coupled to the rotatable gantry system, the first source of radiation being configured for imaging radiation;
a second source of radiation coupled to the rotatable gantry system, the second source of radiation being configured for at least one of imaging radiation or therapeutic radiation, wherein the second source of radiation has an energy level more than the first source of radiation; and
a first radiation detector coupled to the rotatable gantry system and positioned to receive radiation from at least one of the first source of radiation or the second source of radiation;
wherein a first measured projection data from the first source of radiation comprises more attenuation than a second measured projection data from the second source of radiation, and wherein a first attenuation estimate associated with the first measured projection data is based on the second measured projection data; and
a data processing system configured to:
receive measured projection data from the first source of radiation and the second source of radiation, wherein a first measured projection data from the first source of radiation comprises more attenuation than a second measured projection data from the second source of radiation;
determine a first attenuation estimate associated with the first measured projection data based on the second measured projection data; and
combine the first measured projection data and the first attenuation estimate to reconstruct an image during IGRT.