Method and system for treatment planning
A computer-implemented method may be provided to aid in radiation treatment planning, the method comprising: receiving a reference objective, the reference objective representing a goal to be achieved by a radiotherapy system; selecting a cost function associated with the reference objective from a plurality of cost functions, the selected cost function being associated with an assigned initial weight value, the assigned initial weight value corresponding to sensitivity of an example dose distribution relative to changes in the selected cost function; applying an optimization procedure to a radiation treatment plan for radiation treatment in a patient according to the received reference objective, wherein the optimization procedure uses the assigned initial weight value of the selected cost function and seeks to minimize the selected cost function.
1 . A computer-implemented method for radiation treatment planning, the method comprising:
receiving a reference objective, the reference objective representing a goal to be achieved by a radiotherapy system;
selecting a cost function associated with the reference objective from a plurality of cost functions, the selected cost function being associated with an assigned initial weight value, the assigned initial weight value corresponding to sensitivity of an example dose distribution relative to one or more changes in an output of the selected cost function; and
applying an optimization procedure to a radiation treatment plan for radiation treatment in a patient according to the received reference objective, wherein the optimization procedure uses the assigned initial weight value of the selected cost function and seeks to minimize the selected cost function.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the optimization procedure comprises determining a dose distribution indicating expected dosage in a target region of the patient and/or a surrounding region of the patient, based on the reference objective.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected cost function is associated with an assigned weight handling parameter, and the optimization procedure comprises multiple optimization iterations, wherein:
a first optimization iteration uses the assigned initial weight value of the selected cost function and seeks to minimize the selected cost function; and
subsequent optimization iterations use the assigned weight handling parameter of the selected cost function to modify the assigned initial weight value.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the optimization procedure iteratively adapts the radiation treatment plan to minimize the selected cost function.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the optimization procedure seeks to minimize the selected cost function with respect to one or more optimizable parameters.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the one or more optimizable parameters comprise one or more of: number of beams, beam angles, a dose per beam, beamlet weights, segment or control point shapes, segment or control point weights, dose-volume histogram information, a dose excess value.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a second reference objective;
selecting a cost function associated with the second reference objective from the plurality of cost functions, the second selected cost function being associated with a second assigned weight value, the second assigned weight value corresponding to sensitivity of the example dose distribution relative to changes in the second selected cost function; and
applying the optimization procedure to the radiation treatment plan for radiation treatment in the patient according to the second reference objective.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cost functions comprises a subset of cost functions, the subset comprising at least two cost functions that share an assigned weight value and/or an assigned weight handling parameter.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference objective comprises a reference dose value for a target region of the patient and/or a surrounding region.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference objective comprises a reference volume value for a target region of the patient and/or a surrounding region.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cost functions comprises any or all of the following:
an equivalent uniform dose cost function, proportional to:
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a partial volume cost function, proportional to:
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a dose-volume histogram cost function, proportional to:
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wherein b i =(±D i Δ+d o )/d o , and wherein the cost function represents a summation of i voxels in a volume V of the patient, wherein V i is a volume of an i-th voxel, D i is a dose delivered to the i-th voxel, Δ is a reference dose value, and wherein the reference dose value corresponds to or includes a maximum radiation dose within a target region of the patient and/or a surrounding region of the patient, p is a power law exponent, and d 0 is a constant or a function of Δ.
12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising accepting user input into a graphical user interface, the user input comprising the reference objective and/or the selected cost function.
13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining parameter values corresponding to the radiation treatment plan, wherein the parameter values comprise one or more of:
number of beams, beam angles, a dose per beam, beamlet weights, segment or control point shapes, segment or control point weights, dose-volume histogram information, a dose excess value; and
outputting the parameter values.
14 . A data processing apparatus comprising:
a memory storing computer-executable instructions; and
a processor configured to execute the instructions to:
receive a reference objective, the reference objective representing a goal to be achieved by a radiotherapy system;
select a cost function associated with the reference objective from a plurality of cost functions, the selected cost function being associated with an assigned initial weight value, the assigned initial weight value corresponding to sensitivity of an example dose distribution relative to one or more changes in an output of the selected cost function value; and
apply an optimization procedure to a radiation treatment plan for radiation treatment in a patient according to the received reference objective, wherein the optimization procedure uses the assigned initial weight value of the selected cost function and seeks to minimize the selected cost function.
15 . A computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
receive a reference objective, the reference objective representing a goal to be achieved by a radiotherapy system;
select a cost function associated with the reference objective from a plurality of cost functions, the selected cost function being associated with an assigned initial weight value, the assigned initial weight value corresponding to sensitivity of an example dose distribution relative to one or more changes in an output of the selected cost function value; and
apply an optimization procedure to a radiation treatment plan for radiation treatment in a patient according to the received reference objective, wherein the optimization procedure uses the assigned initial weight value of the selected cost function and seeks to minimize the selected cost function.
16 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
receive a reference objective, the reference objective representing a goal to be achieved by a radiotherapy system;
select a cost function associated with the reference objective from a plurality of cost functions, the selected cost function being associated with an assigned initial weight value, the assigned initial weight value corresponding to sensitivity of an example dose distribution relative to one or more changes in an output of the selected cost function value; and
apply an optimization procedure to a radiation treatment plan for radiation treatment in a patient according to the received reference objective, wherein the optimization procedure uses the assigned initial weight value of the selected cost function and seeks to minimize the selected cost function.