Granted Patent B2

US 12,377,289 · App. 18/035,612 · Granted Aug 5, 2025

Inventors: Larry A Pierce, II (Seattle, WA); Robert S. Miyaoka (Seattle, WA); Robert L Harrison (Seattle, WA)

Assignee: University of Washington

A61N5/1071A61B5/6805A61B6/032A61B6/037A61B6/0407A61B6/4266

Abstract

Claims (87)

1. A system, comprising:

a garment comprising:

a wrap configured to be worn by a subject when the subject is lying down;

one or more fiducial markers integrated with the wrap, the one or more fiducial markers comprising a material configured to attenuate x-rays;

detectors configured to be integrated with the wrap and to detect photons emitted by a radionuclide disposed inside of the subject; and

a first transceiver configured to transmit detection data indicative of the photons detected by the detectors;

a second transceiver configured to receive the detection data;

at least one processor; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

identifying anatomic data of the subject indicating locations of organs of the subject with respect to the one or more fiducial markers integrated with the wrap when the wrap is worn by the subject and the subject is lying down;

identifying positions of the detectors along the wrap;

determining, based on the detection data, the anatomic data, and the positions of the detectors along the wrap, radiation dosages to the organs; and

determining that the radiation dosages to the organs are below one or more thresholds; and

outputting a message indicating that the radiation dosages are below the one or more thresholds.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the garment comprises:

a shell comprising:

a surface contoured around a shape of a torso of the subject; and

at least one of polystyrene foam, fiberglass, or silicon; and

fabric configured to at least partially wrap around a torso of the subject.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein determining, based on the detection data, the anatomic data, and the positions of the detectors along the wrap, the radiation dosages to the organs comprises:

generating, based on the position of the detectors relative to the organs, a systems matrix (P) comprising sensitivities of the detectors to the locations of the organs;

generating, based on the detection data, a data array (g) comprising counts of the photons detected by the detectors;

determine an dosage array (f) based on the following equation:

Pf=g , and

wherein f comprises a radiation distribution within the organs; and

determining the radiation dosages to the organs based on the radiation distribution within the organs.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) scanner configured to generate the anatomic data by performing a PET-CT scan on the subject when the wrap is worn by the subject, the subject is lying down, and the subject is dosed with a radiolabel, the radiolabel comprising a positron emitter and a first binding domain specifically binding a receptor, and

wherein a radiopharmaceutical comprises the radionuclide, a second binding domain specifically binding the receptor, and a chelator that connects the radionuclide to the second binding domain.

5. A method, comprising:

generating anatomic data by performing a computed tomography (CT) scan on a subject wearing a garment;

identifying, based on the anatomic data, location of organs of the subject with respect to one or more fiducial markers integrated with the garment by segmenting depictions of the organs in the CT scan;

determining, based on the location of the organs of the subject with respect to one or more fiducial markers of the garment, an optimal set of locations on the garment for detecting radiation from the organs of the subject;

outputting the set of locations on the garment;

receiving, from the garment, detection data indicating photons detected by detectors placed at the optimal set of locations on the garment when the subject is wearing the garment and has been dosed with a radiopharmaceutical targeting a receptor; and

determining, based on the detection data, radiation dosages to the organs.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the CT scan comprises a positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT) scan performed when the subject is dosed with a positron emitter targeting the receptor.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the receptor comprises a somastatin receptor, a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) receptor, or a thyroid cancer cell, and

wherein the radiopharmaceutical comprises 177 Lu-DOTATATE, 68 Ga-PSMA, 177 Lu-PSMA, 131 I, or 124 I.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the organs comprise at least one of a kidney, a liver, a spleen, or bone marrow.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the subject is lying down when the subject is wearing the garment.

10. The method of claim 5 , wherein the set of optimal locations comprises 10 to 15 positions along the garment, and

wherein the detectors comprise 10 to 15 detectors.

11. The method of claim 5 , wherein determining, based on the detection data, radiation dosages to the organs comprises:

defining a linear operator that takes a set of x i vectors to a space of measurements in the detection data, wherein the x i vectors are indicative of the locations of the organs of the subject; and

determining the radiation dosages to the organs by performing an inversion of the linear operator.

12. The method of claim 5 , wherein determining, based on the detection data, radiation dosages to the organs comprises:

generating, based on positions of the detectors relative to the organs, a systems matrix (P) comprising sensitivities of the detectors to the locations of the organs;

generating a data array (g) comprising counts of the photons detected by the detectors;

determining an dosage array (f) based on the following equation:

Pf=g , and

wherein f comprises a radiation distributions within the organs; and

determining the radiation dosages to the organs based on the radiation distributions within the organs.

13. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

determining, based on the anatomic data, locations of tumors of the subject with respect to the one or more fiducial markers,

wherein determining the optimal set of locations on the garment for detecting radiation from the organs of the subject is further based on the locations of the tumors of the subject.

14. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

determining, based on the anatomic data, optimal fields-of-view for the detectors;

determining pinhole sizes corresponding to the optimal fields-of-view; and

outputting the pinhole sizes.

15. The method of claim 5 , wherein the detection data comprises:

first photon counts detected by the detectors at a first time; and

second photon counts detected by the detectors at a second time, and

wherein the method further comprises:

generating a photon count model based on a predetermined half-life of the radiopharmaceutical and at least one of the first photon counts or the second photon counts;

determining that a difference between third photon counts detected by the detectors at a third time and the photon count model is greater than a threshold amount; and

excluding the third photon counts from the detection data.

16. The method of claim 5 , the detection data being first detection data indicating photons detected by the detectors when the subject has a first dose of the radionuclide targeting the receptor, the radiation dosages being first radiation dosages, the method further comprising:

receiving, from the garment, second detection data indicating photons detected by the detectors when the subject is wearing the garment and has a second dose of the radiopharmaceutical targeting the receptor;

determining, based on the second detection data, second radiation dosages to the organs; and

determining total radiation dosages to the organs by adding the first radiation dosages and the second radiation dosages.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

receiving, from a care provider, an indication of threshold radiation dosages;

determining that the total radiation dosages are less than the threshold radiation dosages; and

outputting a message indicating that the total radiation dosages are less than the threshold radiation dosages.

18. The method of claim 16 , the anatomic data being first anatomic data, the locations of the organs being first locations of the organs, the method further comprising:

in response to receiving the first detection data, generating second anatomic data by performing a CT scan on the subject when the subject is wearing a garment

identifying, based on the second anatomic data, second locations of the organs of the subject with respect to one or more fiducial markers integrated with the garment,

wherein determining the second radiation dosages to the organs is further based on the second locations of the organs.

19. A garment, comprising:

a wrap configured to be worn by a subject when the subject is lying down, the wrap comprising fabric configured to at least partially wrap around a torso of the subject;

a shell comprising a surface contoured to a shape of the subject;

one or more fiducial markers integrated with the wrap, the one or more fiducial markers comprising a material configured to attenuate x-rays;

detectors integrated with the wrap and configured to detect photons emitted by a radionuclide;

one or more batteries configured to supply electrical power to the detectors; and

a transceiver configured to transmit data indicative of the photons to an external device.

20. The garment of claim 19 , wherein the shell comprises at least one of polystyrene foam, fiberglass, or silicon.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (82)

Cited By (1)

US 12,544,593