Method and system for automated evaluation of multiple portal dose images in radiation therapy

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9956429-B2
Application number	US-201113073390-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 28, 2011
Priority date	Mar 28, 2011
Publication date	May 1, 2018
Grant date	May 1, 2018

Abstract

A method of evaluating a portal dose image includes obtaining a template from a database, the template prescribing one or more evaluation criteria, receiving a first portal dose image, and using a processor to evaluate the first portal dose image based at least in part on the one or more evaluation criteria from the template. In some embodiments, a second image is automatically evaluated after the first image is evaluated. A system for evaluating a portal dose image includes a processor that is communicatively coupled to a database, the database having a template that prescribes one or more evaluation criteria, wherein the processor is configured to obtain the template from the database, receive a first portal dose image, and evaluate the first portal dose image based at least in part on the one or more evaluation criteria from the template.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A method of evaluating a portal dose image, comprising:
obtaining a file of a template from a database, the template having one or more configurable field relating to dose image feature(s) to allow selectively prescribing of one or more evaluation parameters and one or more evaluation criteria, wherein the act of obtaining the template is performed by a processor;
receiving a first portal dose image of a patient, wherein the first portal dose image is generated by a portal imager in response to radiation in accordance with a treatment plan, the treatment plan being different from the template; and
after the first portal dose image is received, using the one or more evaluation parameters and the one or more evaluation criteria from the template by the processor to evaluate the first portal dose image.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising automatically using the one or more evaluation criteria from the template to evaluate a second portal dose image.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first and second portal dose images are for different respective fields of the treatment plan.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first and second portal dose images are for different sessions of the treatment plan.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first portal dose image is for the treatment plan, and the second portal dose image is for another treatment plan.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more evaluation criteria comprises one or more tests, one or more thresholds, one or more tolerances, one or more preprocessing steps, or combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the database comprises a plurality of templates that include the template, and the act of obtaining the template comprises selecting the template from the plurality of templates.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the act of evaluation is performed automatically after the first portal dose image is generated.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processor evaluates the first portal dose image by performing a first test and a second test, wherein the second test is automatically performed by the processor after the first test is performed.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using the processor to evaluate a second portal dose image, wherein the second portal dose image is evaluated automatically by the processor after the first portal dose image is evaluated.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating a report that summarizes a result of the evaluation; and
storing the report in a medium or presenting the report on a screen.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the report also summarizes another result of an evaluation of a second portal dose image.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the report also provides an overall result that is derived from the results of the evaluations of the first and second portal dose images.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the result of the evaluation of the first portal dose image comprises a first set of test results from a first plurality of tests for evaluating the first portal dose image, and the result of the evaluation of the second portal dose image comprises a second set of test results from a second plurality of tests for evaluating the second portal dose image.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
obtaining a first dose evaluation image using a first result of the evaluation; and
displaying the first dose evaluation image on a screen.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
obtaining a second dose evaluation image using a second result of an evaluation of a second portal dose image, wherein the act of obtaining the second dose evaluation image is performed automatically after the first dose evaluation image is obtained; and
displaying the second dose evaluation image on the screen.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first portal dose image is evaluated during an operation of a treatment radiation machine.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first portal dose image is evaluated while a treatment radiation machine is in a stand-by mode.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the template prescribes multiple dose image tests be performed.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the multiple dose image tests comprise (1) an area gamma test, (2) a maximum gamma test, (3) an average gamma test, (4) a gamma test with respect to a largest connected area (LCA), (5) a maximum dose difference value test, (6) an average dose difference value test, or (7) any combination of the foregoing.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the template prescribes an area dose difference test be performed.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the template prescribes multiple tests to be performed to evaluate the first portal dose image.

23. The method of claim 1 , further comprising outputting multiple test results for the first portal dose image based on the template.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein the act of using the processor to evaluate the first portal dose image comprises using the processor to evaluate different aspects of the first portal dose image.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein the act of using the processor to evaluate the first portal dose image comprises determining if at least one of the one or more evaluation parameters satisfies at least one of the one or more evaluation criteria.

26. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more evaluation parameters comprise multiple evaluation parameters, and the one or more evaluation criteria comprise multiple evaluation criteria for the respective multiple evaluation parameters; and
wherein the act of using the processor to evaluate the first portal dose image comprises determining if the multiple evaluation parameters satisfy the multiple evaluation criteria, respectively.

27. A system for evaluating a portal dose image, comprising:
a processor that is communicatively coupled to a database, the database having a file of a template that includes one or more configurable fields relating to dose image feature(s) to allow selectively prescribing of one or more evaluation parameters and one or more evaluation criteria;
wherein the processor is configured to (1) obtain the template from the database, (2) receive a first portal dose image of a patient, and (3) after the first portal dose image is received, use the one or more evaluation parameters and the one or more evaluation criteria from the template to evaluate the first portal dose image, wherein the first portal dose image is generated by a portal imager in response to radiation in accordance with a treatment plan, the treatment plan being different from the template.

28. The system of claim 27 , wherein the processor is configured for automatically using the one or more evaluation criteria from the template to evaluate a second portal dose image.

29. The system of claim 28 , wherein the first and second portal dose images are for different respective fields of the treatment plan.

30. The system of claim 28 , wherein the first and second portal dose images are for different sessions of the treatment plan.

31. The system of claim 28 , wherein the first portal dose image is for the treatment plan, and the second portal dose image is for another treatment plan.

32. The sys

Assignees

• Holmes Todd G
• Kleiner David
• Varian Medical Systems Int Ag
• Varian Med Sys Inc

Inventors

• Holmes Todd G
• Kleiner David

Classifications

• A61N2005/1054

  using a portal imaging system · CPC title

• A61N5/1048 Primary

  Monitoring, verifying, controlling systems and methods · CPC title

• G06F19/3481

  Physics · mapped topic

• A61N5/1071

  for verifying the dose delivered by the treatment plan · CPC title

• G16H20/40

  relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture · CPC title