IP Library Granted Patent US 11,282,244
Granted Patent B2
US 11,282,244 · App. 16/783,206 · Granted Mar 22, 2022

Moving body tracking apparatus, radiation therapy system including the same, program, and moving body tracking method

Inventors: Toru Umekawa (Tokyo, JP); Koichi Miyazaki (Tokyo, JP); Takaaki Fujii (Tokyo, JP); Shinichi Shimizu (Sapporo, JP); Seishin Takao (Sapporo, JP); Kikuo Umegaki (Sapporo, JP); Naoki Miyamoto (Sapporo, JP); Norio Katoh (Sapporo, JP)
Assignees: HITACHI, LTD.; NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY
G06T11/008G06T7/0014G06T7/20G06T7/70G06T2207/10064G06T2207/10076
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,282,244
App. No.
16/783,206
Granted
Mar 22, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

Provided are a moving body tracking apparatus that contributes to shortening treatment time and a radiation therapy system including the moving body tracking apparatus, a program, and a moving body tracking method. The moving body tracking apparatus includes a fluoroscopic apparatus that acquires fluoroscopic images including the target 2 from at least two directions, and the moving body tracking control apparatus 30 A that obtains a position of the target 2 from the fluoroscopic images acquired by the fluoroscopic apparatus. The moving body tracking control apparatus 30 A creates a simulated fluoroscopic image from the CT image including the target 2 , creates a two-dimensional region including the target 2 from the simulated fluoroscopic image as a template, matches each of at least two fluoroscopic images with the template, and obtains a three-dimensional position of the target 2 from a plurality of matching results.

Claims (47)

1. A moving body tracking apparatus that obtains a three-dimensional position of a target and tracks movement of the target, the moving body tracking apparatus comprising:

a fluoroscopic apparatus that acquires fluoroscopic images including the target from at least two directions; and

a moving body tracking control apparatus that obtains a position of the target from the fluoroscopic images acquired by the fluoroscopic apparatus, wherein

the moving body tracking control apparatus:

creates a simulated fluoroscopic image from a CT image including the target,

creates a two-dimensional region including the target from the simulated fluoroscopic image as a template,

matches each of at least two fluoroscopic images with the template, and

obtains the three-dimensional position of the target from a plurality of matching results,

wherein the moving body tracking control apparatus creates a four-dimensional CT image from two or more three-dimensional CT images, obtains a movement amount of the target and movement amounts of peripheral structures from the four-dimensional CT image, extracts a peripheral structure in which a difference between the obtained movement amount of the target and movement amounts of the peripheral structures is equal to or less than a predetermined value as a tracking peripheral structure, and sets the two-dimensional region including the tracking peripheral structure as a template.

2. A moving body tracking apparatus that obtains a three-dimensional position of a target and tracks movement of the target, the moving body tracking apparatus comprising:

a fluoroscopic apparatus that acquires fluoroscopic images including the target from at least two directions; and

a moving body tracking control apparatus that obtains a position of the target from the fluoroscopic images acquired by the fluoroscopic apparatus, wherein

the moving body tracking control apparatus:

creates a simulated fluoroscopic image from a CT image including the target,

creates a two-dimensional region including the target from the simulated fluoroscopic image as a template,

matches each of at least two fluoroscopic images with the template, and

obtains the three-dimensional position of the target from a plurality of matching results,

wherein the moving body tracking control apparatus extracts the target and peripheral structures from each of two or more three-dimensional CT images, obtains movement amounts of the extracted target and the peripheral structures from the two or more three-dimensional CT images, extracts a peripheral structure whose difference in movement amount with the target is equal to or less than a predetermined value as a tracking peripheral structure, and set the two-dimensional region including the tracking peripheral structure as a template.

3. The moving body tracking apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the peripheral structures do not include tracking markers that are pre-filled in a subject having the target to track the target.

4. The moving body tracking apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the moving body tracking control apparatus calculates a deformation amount from the three-dimensional CT images of two or more different phases, creates an interpolation image between a plurality of three-dimensional CT images, and creates a simulated fluoroscopic image based on the interpolation image.

5. A radiation therapy system comprising:

an irradiation apparatus that generates and radiates radiation;

the moving body tracking apparatus according to claim 1 ; and

an irradiation control apparatus that controls irradiation of therapeutic radiation to a target by controlling the irradiation apparatus based on a signal from the moving body tracking apparatus.

6. The radiation therapy system according to claim 5 , further comprising:

a bed on which a subject having the target is placed; and

a CT capturing apparatus that is installed in a therapy room in which the bed is accommodated and that captures a CT image that is a basis for creating the simulated fluoroscopic image, wherein

the moving body tracking apparatus creates the simulated fluoroscopic image from a three-dimensional CT image captured by the CT capturing apparatus immediately before irradiation of therapeutic radiation.

7. A moving body tracking method that tracks movement of a target, the moving body tracking method comprising:

acquiring fluoroscopic images including the target from at least two directions;

creating a simulated fluoroscopic image from a CT image including the target;

creating a two-dimensional region including the target from the simulated fluoroscopic image as a template;

performing matching of each of at least two or more of the fluoroscopic images with the template;

obtaining a three-dimensional position of the target from a plurality of matching results,

creating a four-dimensional CT image from two or more three-dimensional CT images, obtaining a movement amount of the target and movement amounts of peripheral structures from the four-dimensional CT image, extracting a peripheral structure in which a difference between the obtained movement amount of the target and movement amounts of the peripheral structures is equal to or less than a predetermined value as a tracking peripheral structure, and setting the two-dimensional region including the tracking peripheral structure as a template.

8. The moving body tracking method according to claim 7 , wherein

obtaining the CT image including the target is performed immediately before obtaining the three-dimensional position of the target.

9. The moving body tracking apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the peripheral structures do not include tracking markers that are pre-filled in a subject having the target to track the target.

10. The moving body tracking apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the moving body tracking control apparatus calculates a deformation amount from the three-dimensional CT images of two or more different phases, creates an interpolation image between a plurality of three-dimensional CT images, and creates a simulated fluoroscopic image based on the interpolation image.

11. A radiation therapy system comprising:

an irradiation apparatus that generates and radiates radiation;

the moving body tracking apparatus according to claim 2 ; and

an irradiation control apparatus that controls irradiation of therapeutic radiation to a target by controlling the irradiation apparatus based on a signal from the moving body tracking apparatus.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 11, 2024
From: HITACHI, LTD.
To: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 068292/0514 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 6, 2020
From: UMEKAWA, TORU; MIYAZAKI, KOICHI; FUJII, TAKAAKI; SHIMIZU, SHINICHI; TAKAO, SEISHIN; UMEGAKI, KIKUO; MIYAMOTO, NAOKI; KATOH, NORIO
To: HITACHI, LTD.; NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY
Reel/Frame 051735/0595 →