ION ACCELERATION COMPLEX FOR THE TREATMENT OF ATRIAL FIBRILLATIONS
A system ( 12 ) is proposed for the acceleration of ions to treat Atrial Fibrillation (AF), arteriovenous malformations (AVMS) and focal epileptic lesions; this system ( 12 ) includes a pulsed ion source ( 1 ), a pre-accelerator ( 3 ) and one or more linear accelerators or linacs ( 5, 6, 7 ) operating at frequencies above 1 GHz with a repetition rate between 1 Hz and 500 Hz. The particle beam coming out of the complex ( 12 ) can vary (i) in intensity, (ii) in deposition depth and (iii) transversally with respect to the central beam direction. The possibility of adjusting in a few milliseconds and in three orthogonal directions, the location of each energy deposition in the body of the patient makes that system of accelerators ( 12 ) perfectly suited to irradiation of a beating heart.
1 - 11 . (canceled)
12 . A method of using a linear ion accelerator for the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) in the heart of a patient in need thereof comprising:
producing beam pulses of accelerated ions with an atomic number between 1 (protons) and 10 (neon ions);
delivering a dose of the beam pulses of accelerated ions to the heart using spot scanning and multi-painting,
wherein a three-dimensional feedback system is used to deliver the dose to treat the AF in the heart without unwanted irradiation of tissues that have to be spared.
13 . The method of claim 12 wherein the feedback system is used to compensate for movements of the irradiated heart.
14 . The method of claim 13 further comprising varying two transverse positions and a depth of each spot before delivering each spot to compensate for movements due to the respiration cycle or to the patient's heartbeat.
15 . The method of claim 14 wherein the variation of the depth corresponds to a variation of energy of the accelerated ions.
16 . A method of using a linear ion accelerator for the treatment of an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in a patient in need thereof comprising:
producing beam pulses of accelerated ions with an atomic number between 1 (protons) and 10 (neon ions);
delivering a dose of the beam pulses of accelerated ions to the AVM using spot scanning and multi-painting,
wherein a three-dimensional feedback system is used to deliver the dose to the AVM without unwanted irradiation of tissues that have to be spared.
17 . The method of claim 16 wherein the feedback system is used to compensate for movements of the irradiated AVM.
18 . The method of claim 17 further comprising varying two transverse positions and a depth of each spot before delivering each spot to compensate for movements of the AVM.
19 . The method of claim 17 wherein the variation of the depth by the three-dimensional feedback system corresponds to a variation of energy of the accelerated ions.
20 . A method of using a linear ion accelerator for the treatment of an epileptic lesion in a patient in need thereof comprising:
producing beam pulses of accelerated ions with an atomic number between 1 (protons) and 10 (neon ions);
delivering a dose of the beam pulses of accelerated ions to the epileptic lesion using spot scanning and multi-painting,
wherein a three-dimensional feedback system is used to deliver the dose to the epileptic lesion without unwanted irradiation of tissues that have to be spared.
21 . The method of claim 20 wherein the feedback system is used to compensate for movements of the irradiated epileptic lesion.
22 . The method of claim 21 further comprising varying two transverse positions and a depth of each spot before delivering each spot to compensate for movements of the epileptic lesion.
23 . The method of claim 22 wherein the variation of the depth by the three-dimensional feedback system corresponds to a variation of energy of the accelerated ions.