Methods and system for breathing-synchronized, target-tracking radiation therapy

1. A method of preparing a plan to synchronize delivery of radiation to a target in a patient, wherein the method comprises:

(a) obtaining simultaneous imaging data on the patient's breathing and tracking of the target in the patient,

wherein the data on the breathing of the patient includes the phase and amplitude of breaths and the data on the tracking of the target includes a location of the target and a shape of the target,

(b) correlating the data on the breathing of the patient and the data on the tracking of the target in the patient and optimizing the correlation,

whereupon a three-dimensional image of the patient for each phase/amplitude of breath is generated, and

(c) establishing optimal parameters for the delivery of radiation by a machine to the target in the patient for each phase/amplitude of breath in view of the optimized correlation of (b),

whereupon a look-up table for the plan of synchronizing delivery of radiation to the target in the patient is prepared.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data were previously generated using free-breathing imaging and deep-breathing imaging.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the free-breathing imaging and deep-breathing imaging was conducted using a four-dimensional (4-D) computed tomography (CT) scan.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the optimal parameters for the delivery of radiation by the machine to the target are established based on a 4-dimensional reference image set.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the optimal parameters for the delivery of radiation by the machine to the target for a sequential breathing phase are established using optimal parameters for an initial breathing phase as initial input into an inverse planning algorithm and optimal parameters for each subsequent sequential breathing phase are established using optimal parameters for a previous sequential breathing phase while enforcing a field connectivity constraint between optimal parameters for immediately sequential breathing phases.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the field connectivity constraint is the shape of the field of radiation.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the optimal parameters for the delivery of radiation to the target are established by assigning a radiation dose efficiency index to each phase of a breathing cycle.

8. The method of claim 4 , wherein the optimal parameters for the delivery of radiation to the target for each sequential breathing phase are established while enforcing a field connectivity constraint between immediately sequential breathing phases by applying an algorithm of directly transforming a parameter between the immediately sequential breathing phases.

9. A method of synchronizing delivery of radiation to a target in a patient with breathing of the patient, wherein the method comprises:

(a) positioning the patient for delivery of radiation to the target in the patient,

(b) either monitoring the breathing of the patient in real time via an external indicator of internal target motion or monitoring directly in real time the shape and/or location of the target within the patient, and

(c) while continuing to monitor the breathing of the patient or the shape and location of the target in the patient, loading optimal parameters onto a machine for delivery of radiation to the target in the patient according to a look-up table for a radiation treatment plan in view of the breathing of the patient or the shape and location of the target, wherein the look-up table for the radiation treatment plan was prepared by a method comprising:

(i) obtaining simultaneous imaging data on the breathing of the patient and tracking of the target in the patient,

wherein the data on the breathing of the patient includes the phase and amplitude of breaths and the data on tracking of the target includes location of the target and shape of the target,

(ii) correlating the data on the breathing of the patient and the data on the tracking of the target in the patient and optimizing the correlation,

whereupon a three-dimensional image of the patient for each phase/amplitude of breath is generated, and

(iii) establishing optimal parameters for the delivery of radiation by the machine to the target in the patient for each phase/amplitude of breath in view of the optimized correlation of (ii),

whereupon delivery of radiation to the target in the patient is synchronized with breathing of the patient.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the data of (i) were previously generated using free-breathing imaging and deep-breathing imaging.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the free-breathing imaging and deep-breathing imaging was conducted using a 4-D CT scan.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the optimal parameters for the delivery of radiation by the machine to the target were established based on a 4-dimensional reference image set.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the optimal parameters for the delivery of radiation by the machine to the target for a sequential breathing phase were established using optimal parameters for an initial breathing phase as initial input into an inverse planning algorithm and optimal parameters for each subsequent sequential breathing phase were established using optimal parameters for a previous sequential breathing phase while enforcing a field connectivity constraint between optimal parameters for immediately sequential breathing phases.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the field connectivity constraint is the shape of the field of radiation.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the optimal parameters for the delivery of radiation to the target were established by assigning a radiation dose efficiency index to each phase of a breathing cycle.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the optimal parameters for the delivery of radiation to the target for each sequential breathing phase are established while enforcing a field connectivity constraint between immediately sequential breathing phases by applying an algorithm of directly transforming a parameter between the immediately sequential breathing phases.