CONE-BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IMAGING DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS
Granted: September 9, 2021
Application Number:
20210275112
Cone-beam computer tomography systems, devices, and methods for image acquisition of large target volumes using partial scans.
SINGLE-PASS IMAGING AND RADIATION TREATMENT DELIVERY VIA AN EXTENDED ROTATION GANTRY
Granted: July 1, 2021
Application Number:
20210196985
An example method of radiation therapy in a radiation therapy system that includes a gantry with a treatment-delivering X-ray source and an imaging X-ray source mounted thereon is described. The method includes rotating the gantry in a first direction at a first rotational velocity about an open bore and concurrently rotating an annular support structure at a second rotational velocity about the open bore, wherein the second rotational velocity is less than the first rotational velocity.…
TOMOGRAPHIC IMAGE ANALYSIS USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ENGINES
Granted: June 24, 2021
Application Number:
20210192810
Example methods and systems for tomographic data analysis are provided. One example method may comprise: obtaining first three-dimensional (3D) feature volume data and processing the first 3D feature volume data using an AI engine that includes multiple first processing layers, an interposing forward-projection module and multiple second processing layers. Example processing using the AI engine may involve: generating second 3D feature volume data by processing the first 3D feature…
TOMOGRAPHIC IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ENGINES
Granted: June 24, 2021
Application Number:
20210192809
Example methods and systems for tomographic image reconstruction are provided. One example method may comprise: obtaining two-dimensional (2D) projection data and processing the 2D projection data using the AI engine that includes multiple first processing layers, an interposing back-projection module and multiple second processing layers. Example processing using the AI engine may involve: generating 2D feature data by processing the 2D projection data using the multiple first…
TRAINING DEEP LEARNING ENGINES FOR RADIOTHERAPY TREATMENT PLANNING
Granted: June 24, 2021
Application Number:
20210192719
Example methods and systems for training deep learning engines for radiotherapy treatment planning are provided. One example method may comprise: obtaining a set of training data that includes unlabeled training data and labeled training data; and configuring a deep learning engine to include (a) a primary network and (b) a deep supervision network that branches off from the primary network. The method may further comprise: training the deep learning engine to perform the radiotherapy…
REDUCTION OF IMAGE LAG IN AN X-RAY DETECTOR PANEL
Granted: June 17, 2021
Application Number:
20210185245
A radiation therapy system is configured with fast readout of X-ray images with significantly reduced image lag. A reset phase is included in the process of acquiring an X-ray image to reduce image lag in a subsequently acquired X-ray image. During the reset phase, residual charge is concurrently transferred from multiple arrays of pixel detector elements in an X-ray detector panel. As a result, image lag present in a subsequent X-ray image is minimized or otherwise reduced.
BEAM ANGLE OPTIMIZATION FOR EXTERNAL BEAM RADIATION THERAPY USING SECTIONING
Granted: June 17, 2021
Application Number:
20210178189
Methods of beam angle optimization for intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment include determining beam's eye view (BEV) regions and a BEV region connectivity manifold by evaluating dose response of each region of interest for each vertex in a delivery coordinate space (DCS). The information contained in the BEV regions and the BEV region connectivity manifold is used to guide an optimizer to find optimal field geometries in the IMRT treatment. To improve the visibility of…
INCORPORATING MULTIPLE TARGETS IN TRAJECTORY OPTIMIZATION FOR RADIOTHERAPY TREATMENT PLANNING
Granted: June 17, 2021
Application Number:
20210178188
Methods of treatment trajectory optimization for radiotherapy treatment of multiple targets include determining beam's eye view (BEV) regions and a BEV region connectivity manifold for each target group of a plurality of target groups separately. The information contained in the BEV regions and the BEV region connectivity manifolds for all target groups is used to guide an optimizer to find optimal treatment trajectories. To improve the visibility of insufficiently exposed voxels of…
STATISTICAL METHOD FOR MATERIAL PROPERTY EXTRACTION FROM MULTI-ENERGY IMAGES
Granted: June 17, 2021
Application Number:
20210177366
An apparatus for determining material property, includes: an interface configured to obtain a first HU value associated with a first image of an object, and to obtain a second HU value associated with a second image of the object, wherein the first image is created using a first energy having a first energy level, and wherein the second image is created using a second energy having a second energy level that is different from the first energy level; and a processing unit configured to…
DEFORMABLE IMAGE REGISTRATION BASED ON AN IMAGE MASK
Granted: May 13, 2021
Application Number:
20210142494
In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, a process to improve computed tomography (CT) to cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) registration is disclosed. The process may include receiving a CT image generated by CT-scanning of an object, and receiving a CBCT image generated by CBCT-scanning of the object. The process may include generating an image mask based on Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) information extracted from the CBCT…
EXPANSION OF SEARCH SPACE FOR MULTICRITERIA OPTIMIZATION IN RADIATION TREATMENT PLANNING
Granted: May 13, 2021
Application Number:
20210138267
A search space used for multicriteria optimization in radiation treatment planning can be expanded using extrapolation. For instance, given an initial set of base plans, one or more virtual plans can be generated by assigning a weight to each base plan such that at least one of the weights is less than zero and/or such that the sum of the weights is not normalized to 1. The dose distribution for the virtual plan is computed as the weighted sum of the dose distributions of the base plans.…
BIOMARKERS FOR RADIATION TREATMENT
Granted: March 4, 2021
Application Number:
20210062277
The methods described herein allow for the classification of patients into groups for receiving optimized radiation treatment based on patient specific biomarker signature. The biomarker signature includes markers that have been shown to correlate with TGF-B expression and to be associated with tumor aggressiveness, radioresistance and poor prognosis. The markers play a key role in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The methods described herein provide the dual benefits of anti-tumor…
QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESS FOR RADIATION THERAPY TREATMENT PLANNING
Granted: December 24, 2020
Application Number:
20200398083
A method enables testing and evaluation of an expert human reviewer or an artificial intelligence (AI) error detection engine associated with a radiotherapy treatment planning process. Intentional errors are introduced into the output of a software module or AI engine that performs a certain step in the radiotherapy treatment planning process. The efficacy of the human or AI reviewer in detecting errors can then be evaluated or tested by determining whether the human or AI reviewer has…
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR QUALITY-AWARE CONTINUOUS LEARNING FOR RADIOTHERAPY TREATMENT PLANNING
Granted: December 24, 2020
Application Number:
20200398079
Example methods and systems for quality-aware continuous learning for radiotherapy treatment planning are provided. One example method may comprise: obtaining an artificial intelligence (AI) engine that is trained to perform a radiotherapy treatment planning task. The method may also comprise: based on input data associated with a patient, performing the radiotherapy treatment planning task using the AI engine to generate output data associated with the patient; and obtaining modified…
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR RADIOTHERAPY TREATMENT PLANNING BASED ON CONTINUOUS DEEP LEARNING
Granted: December 10, 2020
Application Number:
20200388371
Example methods and systems for radiotherapy treatment planning based on continuous deep learning are provided. One example method may comprise: obtaining a deep learning engine that is trained to perform a radiotherapy treatment planning task based on first training data associated with a first planning rule. The method may also comprise: based on input data associated with a particular patient, performing the radiotherapy treatment planning task using the deep learning engine to…
RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM WITH FOLLOW-THE-LIGHTS USER INTERFACE
Granted: October 29, 2020
Application Number:
20200338366
Example methods and apparatuses of controlling a user interface with a plurality of input mechanisms are disclosed. One example method includes causing a first set of input mechanisms in the plurality of input mechanisms to be visually emphasized via a first visual technique while a second set of input mechanisms in the plurality of input mechanisms is not visually emphasized via the first visual technique, receiving a user input via an input mechanism that is included in the first set,…
IMAGE FUSION IN MULTI-LAYER FLAT PANEL IMAGER
Granted: October 15, 2020
Application Number:
20200326435
An imaging apparatus includes: a first scintillator layer configured to provide first image signals with a first quantum efficiency and a first spatial resolution; a second scintillator layer configured to provide second image signals with a second quantum efficiency and a second spatial resolution, wherein the first quantum efficiency is lower than the second quantum efficiency, but the first spatial resolution is higher than the second spatial resolution; and an image combiner…
USING ISODOSE SURFACES FOR OPTIMIZING DOSE DISTRIBUTION IN RADIATION TREATMENT PLANNING
Granted: October 1, 2020
Application Number:
20200306559
Cost functions and cost function gradients for use in radiation treatment planning can be computed based on an approximation of an “isodose” surface. Where a clinical goal is expressed by reference to a threshold isodose surface, a corresponding cost function component can be defined directly by reference to that isodose surface, and a corresponding contribution to the cost function gradient can be approximated by identifying voxels that are intersected by the threshold isodose…
IMAGING SYSTEMS AND METHODS
Granted: October 1, 2020
Application Number:
20200305807
An image acquisition apparatus includes: a positioner controller communicatively coupled to a positioner, wherein the positioner controller is configured to generate a control signal to cause the positioner to rectilinearly translate a patient support relative to an imager, and/or to rectilinearly translate the imager relative to the patient support; an imaging controller configured to operate the imager to generate a first plurality of two-dimensional images for a patient while the…
TEMPLATE MATCHING METHOD FOR IMAGE-BASED DETECTION AND TRACKING OF IRREGULAR SHAPED TARGETS
Granted: September 10, 2020
Application Number:
20200285915
A method of generating a template image includes: receiving an input from a user representing identifications of an object in different respective slices of a volumetric image; using the input to determine a volume-of-interest (VOI) that includes voxels in a subset of the volumetric image; and determining the template image using at least some of the voxels in the VOI, wherein the act of determining the template image comprises performing a forward projection of the at least some of the…
