KR20150143051A - Method and apparatus for controlling position of radiation treatment system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling the position of a radiation treatment apparatus. The position controlling method for the radiation treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a step of photographing a first image of a patient with respect to a first axis and a second axis using a first camera, and photographing a second image of the patient with respect to the second axis and a third axis using a second camera; a step of obtaining a third image of the patient photographed using the first camera during a previous radiation treatment, and a fourth image of the patient photographed using the second camera; a step of calculating a first position change of the patient with respect to the first axis and the second axis using the first image and the third image, and calculating a second position change of the patient with respect to the second axis and the third axis using the second image and the fourth image; and a step of controlling the position of the patient using the first position change and the second position change calculated, so that the position of the patient is equal to a position of the patient during the previous radiation treatment.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling a position of a radiation therapy apparatus,

The present invention relates to position control of a radiation therapy apparatus, and more particularly, to a position control method and apparatus for a radiation therapy apparatus capable of reducing the amount of radiation exposed to a patient and automatically controlling the position of a patient during radiation therapy will be.

The present invention was derived from research carried out as part of the global expertise development project (World Class 300 R & D project) of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Industry and the Korea Industrial Technology Evaluation and Management Service [Task Number: 10040362, Development].

In general, many systems or devices should be used for radiation therapy in hospitals. These systems and devices include Electronic Medical Record (EMR), Order Communication System (OCS), Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), Radiation Therapy Planning System Radiation Treatment Planning (RTP), and radiotherapy (e.g., Linear Accelerator (LINAC)).

The prescription delivery system (OCS) is a database (DB) that stores various medical information and patient's medical examination data, and a system that a doctor diagnoses a patient and delivers a prescription to each corresponding medical department through a communication network.

An electronic medical record system (EMR) is a system configured for the purpose of archiving and retrieving electronic medical records.

The medical image storage and delivery system (PACS) includes a computed tomography (CT) device, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, a positron emission tomography (PET) device, a CT simulator, and a computed radiography Is a system that stores and transmits images captured by at least one medical imaging device to a computer file.

The Radiation Therapy Planning System (RTP) is a system that establishes (builds) a patient's radiotherapy plan programmatically. It establishes a radiotherapy plan, that is, it creates radiotherapy plan information and calculates and reviews radiation dose. Among these images of cancer-causing areas acquired by CT or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using such a radiotherapy planning system, a user selects an optimal image or displays a medical image of a patient After digitizing and digitizing the image, it performs basic image processing, sets the reference coordinates of the acquired image, contouring each part, and calculates the direction and dose of the beam according to the size of the onset of cancer .

The basic principles of radiation therapy aim at minimizing secondary tumor development as well as acute and chronic radiation reactions or complications that can occur in normal tissues while enhancing cancer treatment effectiveness. For this purpose, it is necessary to establish an appropriate radiotherapy plan.

A radiotherapy device is a device that actually performs radiation therapy on a patient, in accordance with a radiation treatment plan written by the Radiation Therapy Planning System (RTP).

Tumor treatment methods for radiation oncology have been newly developed and diversified, and therapies and applications for various treatment methods have been newly developed.

In the Radiation Oncology Department, the process of radiotherapy for the patient is as follows. First, a medical image of the patient is obtained through a medical imaging device to obtain information about the patient's tumor. The radiation therapy plan is then established via the Radiation Therapy Planning System (RTP) through the medical image of the patient. Next, based on the radiation treatment plan established through the above-described radiation treatment planning system (RTP), the radiation treatment is performed using the radiation therapy apparatus.

At this time, a radiotherapeutic apparatus has been developed and used such as a linear accelerator (LINAC), a brachytherapy, a cyberknife, and a tomotherapy. These radiation therapy devices are appropriately selected according to the condition of a patient, Has been used.

Conventional radiotherapy devices used radiation to confirm that they were located at the same location as the patient's location in previous radiation treatments, e.g., initial radiotherapy or mock therapy, prior to performing the radiation therapy.

For example, in the case of Tomotherapy, radiating a beam of radiation to check the initial position of the patient in the presence of a dual beam of radiation may interfere with the treatment plan because it shoots the therapeutic beam while imaging the diagnostic radiation.

In addition, even if the difference between the original position and the current position of the patient is known, movement of the patient by shifting the patient by matching or fusing the images or manually moving the diagnostic couch causes movement of the patient, There is a problem that it can become a rather cumbersome operation.

Korean Patent No. 10-1212792, which is a prior art to solve the above problems, relates to a patient placement system for a radiotherapy system, which generates a control signal for moving at least one of a movable patient positioner or a radiation nozzle And acquiring positional information indicating a current spatial position of at least one of a patient positioner, a radiation nozzle, and fixed reference objects from a plurality of external measurement devices.

However, the prior art has a problem in that the external measuring apparatus is arranged at various angles, the position is detected through image analysis, and the position signals from each are corrected with each other.

Therefore, there is a need for a method of automatically controlling the position of a patient with a simple structure while reducing the amount of radiation exposed to the patient.

Korean Patent No. 10-1212792 entitled " Patient Placement System for Radiation Therapy System "(Registered on December 12, 2012)

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a position control method of a radiation therapy apparatus capable of reducing the amount of radiation exposed to a patient and automatically controlling the position of a patient during radiotherapy, The purpose is to provide.

The present invention also provides a position control method and apparatus for a radiotherapy apparatus capable of automatically controlling a position of a patient through comparison of previous radiotherapy using two fixed cameras and image comparison of a patient's position in a current radiotherapy .

It is another object of the present invention to provide a position control method and apparatus for a radiation therapy apparatus capable of automatically controlling the position of a patient by calculating the number of pixels per unit length and using the calculated number of pixels.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a position of a radiation therapy apparatus, comprising: capturing a first image of a patient with respect to a first axis and a second axis using a first camera; 2 photographing a second image of the patient with respect to the second axis and the third axis using a camera; Obtaining a third image of the patient photographed using the first camera and a fourth image of the patient photographed using the second camera in a previous radiotherapy; Calculating a first positional change of the patient with respect to the first axis and the second axis using the first image and the third image and calculating a first positional change of the patient with respect to the first axis and the second axis using the first image and the third image, Calculating a second positional change of the patient with respect to the third axis; And controlling the position of the patient using the calculated first positional change and the second positional change such that the position of the patient is the same as the position of the previous radiotherapy.

Wherein the step of calculating comprises using at least one or more reference patterns formed in advance on the diagnostic couch lying on the patient and at least one or more feature points preset for the patient and the shape of the patient, The first position change and the second position change can be calculated.

Wherein the calculating comprises calculating a first number of pixels for the length of the diagnostic couch lying on the patient in the third and fourth images and a second number of pixels for the location of the patient in the diagnostic bed Calculates a third number of pixels for the length of the diagnostic needle bed in the first image and the second image and a fourth number of pixels for the position of the patient in the diagnostic needle bed, The first position change and the second position change can be calculated using the number of pixels to the fourth pixel number.

Wherein the controlling step moves or rotates the diagnostic needle bed on which the patient lies by using the first positional change and the second positional change in the first axis, the second axis, and the third axis direction, The position of the patient can be controlled.

The apparatus for controlling a position of a radiation therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first camera for capturing an image of a patient on a first axis and a second axis in a diagnostic couch; A second camera for capturing an image of the patient with respect to the second axis and the third axis with respect to the patient; An image acquiring unit acquiring a first image and a second image including the diagnosis needle bed and the patient previously photographed and stored by the first camera and the second camera in previous radiation treatment; A method of radiotherapy comprising: receiving first and second images taken by a first camera and a second camera for a current radiation therapy; and using the first and third images, Calculating a second positional change of the patient with respect to the second axis and the third axis using the second image and the fourth image, ; And a patient position control unit for controlling the position of the patient using the calculated first positional change and the second positional change such that the position of the patient is the same as the position of the previous radiotherapy.

According to the present invention, the position of the patient is automatically controlled to the reference position by comparing the image of the reference position of the patient using two fixed cameras and the image of the patient during the current radiation therapy, .

In addition, the present invention can reduce the amount of calculation for the position correction of the patient by automatically controlling the position of the patient using the number of pixels for the patient's reference position in the diagnostic needle bed and the number of pixels for the patient's position in the current radiation treatment .

In addition, the present invention can improve the reliability of the position control of the patient by reflecting the photographing position of the camera using the image of the reference photographing position of the camera, thereby improving the reliability of the radiation treatment.

Specifically, the present invention corrects or compensates for a change in position of a patient by correcting the angle or position of the camera using a diagnostic needle bed and reflecting the angle or position of the corrected camera, Can be improved.

According to the present invention, the reference position of the diagnostic needle bed and the change of the position of the markers displayed on the body of the patient are detected using two cameras having a relatively simple configuration, so that not only the fine distortion of the angle of the camera, There is provided a positioning method of a radiation therapy apparatus capable of coping with a minute change of a pose.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a position of a radiation therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 shows an operational flow diagram of an embodiment of step S140 shown in Fig.
FIG. 3 shows another exemplary operational flow diagram for step S140 shown in FIG.
Fig. 4 shows an example of a radiation therapy apparatus for explaining the present invention.
5 shows an example of an image taken by the first camera.
6 shows an example of an image taken by a second camera.
FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration of a position control apparatus for a radiation therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

Hereinafter, a method and an apparatus for controlling a position of a radiation therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG.

The present invention is to automatically control the position of a patient in a diagnostic couch of a radiotherapy apparatus. The image comparison using a camera that is taken from the upper part of the diagnostic bed and a camera which is taken from the side, By controlling the patient position at the time of treatment, the amount of radiation exposed to the patient is reduced, and the position of the patient is automatically controlled with a simple structure.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a position of a radiation therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The position control method of FIG. 1 may be executed through a processor of a computing system capable of controlling the position of the radiotherapy apparatus, and may be stored in the form of an instruction loaded into a memory connected to the processor.

Referring to FIG. 1, a method according to an embodiment of the present invention uses a first camera provided in a radiotherapy apparatus to detect an image of a patient (hereinafter, referred to as a "first image") on a first axis and a second axis of a diagnostic needle bed (Hereinafter referred to as "second image") of the second axis and the third axis of the diagnostic needle bed using the second camera (S110, S120).

4, the second camera 420 may be a camera for photographing a patient on the upper part of the diagnostic needle bed 430, and the second camera 420 may be a camera And the first, second, and third axes may be x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis. The first camera and the second camera may be fixed to the gantry 440 of the radiotherapy apparatus, but may be fixed and positioned at a specific position other than the gantry.

The camera in the present invention means a photographing device using a CCD (charge coupled device), a CMOS, or the like.

Accordingly, the first image captured by the first camera may be an image for mainly detecting a change in position of the patient in the x-axis and the y-axis, and the second image captured by the second camera may be an image detected in the y- It may be an image for mainly detecting a change in position.

The first image and the second image in the present invention may be an upper image and a lateral image for confirming the position of the patient during the current radiation therapy.

When the first image and the second image are photographed, reference images of the patient previously captured and stored by the first camera and the second camera are obtained at the previous radiation treatment (S130).

At this time, the reference images are the medical images including the patients photographed by the first camera and the second camera in the previous radiation therapy, for example, the initial radiation therapy or the immediately preceding radiation therapy. In the present invention, .

That is, the third image means the x-axis and y-axis images of the patient taken by the first camera during the previous radiation treatment performed with the radiation therapy, and the fourth image is taken by the second camera during the previous radiation treatment And the y-axis and the z-axis of the patient.

The third image and the fourth image may be acquired from a separate storage device or system connected to the radiotherapy apparatus, for example, a medical image storage transmission system (PACS), and may be acquired from PACS or the like using patient information . Of course, the method according to the present invention can be performed when a user input for controlling the position of a patient is received through a user interface by a specialist performing radiotherapy.

If a third image and a fourth image with respect to the patient's position in the previous radiotherapy are acquired in step S130, a first image corresponding to the third image and a third image corresponding to the third image are used, (Hereinafter, referred to as " first positional change ") of the second and third axes, using the second image corresponding to the fourth image and the fourth image, Quot; second position change ") (S140, S150). In this case, the positional change is calculated on the basis of the markers displayed on the body of the patient and the specific reference position of the pre-checked diagnostic bed, and according to the present invention, a change in position taken by the patient on the diagnostic coach, You can calculate all of the changes in your pose.

The present invention calculates the difference between the position and the posture taken by the patient in the previous radiation treatment and the position and posture currently taken to determine the region of interest (ROI) of the radiation treatment so that the radiation therapy can achieve the desired purpose in the present state. Is a technique that moves a patient's lying down bed so that it can be positioned correctly on the path of the patient.

The patient may have moved parallel to the x-axis and y-axis on the diagnostic needle bed compared to the previous treatment, or may be lying obliquely compared to the previous treatment. In the present invention, a plurality of markers displayed on the patient's body are used to compare the first image with the third image to determine the position of the patient in the xy plane And the rotation in the xy plane can be extracted. In addition, when the patient's pose is supine pose, prone pose, or lateral pose, the patient is more twisted compared to the previous treatment , The difference may be detected.

For example, in the case of a lateral pose, if the positions of the markers between the first image and the third image are the same in the y-axis direction and the positions of the markers differ only in the x-axis direction, It is possible to detect that the angle of the back is different.

According to the present invention, when analyzing the pixel change between specific reference positions of the diagnostic needle bed, the positions of the diagnostic needle beds are the same, but also whether the patient's position or posture has changed or whether the diagnostic needle bed itself has moved.

In the present invention, the positional change of the patient can be calculated in more detail by using the number of pixels, which will be described with reference to FIG.

Fig. 2 shows an operational flow diagram of an embodiment of step S140 shown in Fig.

Referring to FIG. 2, the step S140 of calculating the first positional change may include calculating a predetermined length of the diagnostic couch in the reference image, for example, the number of pixels for the width or length of the diagnostic needle bed, (S210). ≪ / RTI >

That is, step S210 calculates the number of pixels per unit length (pixel / mm) of the diagnostic needle bed and the position of the patient position on the diagnostic needle bed as the number of pixels. For example, in step S210, the number of pixels per unit length is calculated using the number of pixels for the width of the diagnostic needle bed and the predetermined width of the diagnostic needle bed in the third image, and the number of pixels for the x- The position may calculate the number of pixels on the basis of the end of the diagnostic needle bed or may calculate the number of pixels on the basis of at least one reference pattern or reference mark preset in the diagnostic needle bed. Of course, the position of the patient in the diagnostic bed may be determined by the number of pixels per unit length between the at least one reference pattern preset on the diagnostic bed and the characteristic points preset on the patient, for example, between the marks displayed on the eyes, nose, Axis position and the y-axis position in the diagnosis needle bed can be calculated using the number of pixels per unit length between the reference pattern and the shape of the patient, the body length, and the interval length of the body part, You can also calculate position and y-axis position.

Likewise, in order to confirm the position of the patient on the diagnostic bed for current radiotherapy, the number of pixels for the width or length of the diagnostic couch and the number of pixels for the patient's position in the first image are calculated (S220).

That is, if the number of pixels with respect to the width of the diagnostic needle bed is calculated in step S220, the positional change with respect to the first axis, the second axis, and the third axis in the first image is obtained through the number of pixels per unit length calculated in step S210 . For example, if the number of pixels per unit length is equal to 3 in S210 and S220, it can be determined that the positional change in the z-axis does not occur, and if the number of pixels is different, it can be determined that the positional change in the z- . Of course, if the number of pixels per unit length is the same in S210 and S220, the number of pixels from the image oblique to the diagnostic needle, and the number of pixels with respect to the patient's position in the diagnostic needle bed are different, the diagnostic needle or patient's position is changed in the x- and y- It can be judged. On the other hand, if the number of pixels per unit length of the first image and the third image is different, since the position of the diagnostic needle bed changes in the z-axis, the positional change in the x-axis and the y- .

The number of pixels per unit length in the steps S210 and S220 can be calculated using the width A and the length of the diagnostic needle bed 430 as well as the interval between the reference patterns 510 (B, C).

Similarly, the number of pixels per unit length in the second image and the fourth image can be calculated using the height D of the diagnostic needle bed 430, as in the example shown in FIG.

If the number of pixels is calculated in steps S210 and S220, the position change of the patient is calculated using the calculated number of pixels or the number of pixels per unit length (S230).

Although it is described in FIG. 1 that the first and third images are used to calculate the positional change of the patient with respect to the x-axis and the y-axis, the positional change with respect to the x-axis and the y-axis as well as the z-axis can be calculated.

The process of calculating the position change of the patient using the first image and the third image described in FIG. 2 can be similarly applied to the process of calculating the position change of the patient using the second image and the fourth image. That is, using the fourth image, the number of pixels per unit length, the number of pixels per unit length with respect to the lying height of the patient, and the number of pixels with respect to the position in the y-axis direction in the diagnostic needle bed are calculated, By calculating the number of pixels described above in the two images, the change in the x and y axes as well as in the z axis can be calculated. Of course, if the number of pixels per unit length of the second image and the fourth image is different, since the position of the diagnostic needle bed changes in the x axis, the positional change in the y axis and the z axis is calculated by reflecting the positional change of the x axis .

That is, the positional change of the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis with respect to the patient position in the previous radiotherapy and the patient position to perform the current radiotherapy is calculated through FIG. Of course, the calculated positional change may include a change in the rotation angle in the x-axis direction, the rotation angle in the y-axis direction, and the rotation angle in the z-axis direction.

Depending on the situation, the first position change may mean a position change in the x-axis and the y-axis, and the second position change may mean a position change in the z-axis. But can include rotation.

Of course, the first positional change for the patient may be partially corrected or supplemented using the second positional change, and likewise the second positional change for the patient may also be partially corrected or supplemented using the first positional change.

For example, the first position change may include a position change with respect to the x-, y-, and z-axes, and the second position change may also include a position change with respect to the x-, y-, and z-axes. Therefore, the first positional change for confirming the positional change with respect to the x-axis and the y-axis compensates the positional change with respect to the patient's x-axis and y-axis using the positional change of the x- And a second positional change to confirm the positional change with respect to the z-axis may compensate for the positional change with respect to the patient's z-axis using the positional change with respect to the z-axis of the first positional change. Of course, the first position change and the second position change do not include only the positional change with respect to the corresponding axis.

Referring again to FIG. 1, when the positional change of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis is calculated for the patient position for performing the current radiation therapy based on the patient position at the previous radiotherapy, The position is automatically controlled (S150).

That is, in step S150, the position of the patient is shifted in the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis direction by using the calculated position changes of the patient so that the position of the patient is equal to the position of the patient in the previous radiotherapy Position.

At the time of the previous treatment and in the current state, the patient may flex the body, stretch the body, or twist the body further. The plurality of markers displayed on the patient's body may appear to be distorted in addition to appearing to be parallel / rotated / enlarged / reduced between the first image and the third image. In this case, the center of the plurality of markers may be regarded as the center of the ROI, and step S150 may be performed based on the position control reference.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the first camera and the second camera for capturing the first image and the second image are fixed at specific positions. However, depending on the situation, the first camera or the second camera may have a small angle It can be turned off.

Therefore, when the photographing angles or positions of the first camera and the second camera for photographing the position of the patient are different, it is not possible to accurately calculate the position change of the patient, so that the photographing angles or positions of the first and second cameras It is preferable to judge whether or not it is the same as the photographing angle or the position of the photographing lens.

This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 illustrates another exemplary operational flow diagram for step S140 shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, the step S140 of calculating the first positional change may include analyzing the first image and the second image captured by the first camera and the second camera, analyzing the first image and the second image, It is determined whether the position and angle of the camera should be corrected (S310, S320).

At this time, whether or not the camera is corrected can be achieved through image processing of the patient's bed with the diagnosis needle included in the first image, and the angle direction and position of the camera can be confirmed through the image processing. Therefore, By comparing the positions, it is possible to judge whether the camera is corrected or not.

That is, in step S3320, the camera determines whether a change in angle direction and position has occurred due to an external environment or an internal problem.

If it is determined in step S320 that at least one of the first camera and the second camera needs to be corrected, an angle and a position to be corrected for the camera are calculated (S330).

Here, the correction angle and the correction position are calculated by checking the angle and position of the camera through analysis of the first and second images, and comparing the determined angle direction and position with a predetermined reference angle direction and reference position .

When the correction angle and the correction position are calculated in step S330, the first position change including the first axis, the second axis, and the third axis is calculated by reflecting the calculated correction angle and the correction position on the first image (S340).

Of course, such a correction for the angle and position of the camera and reflection in calculating the positional change can be applied not only to the first positional change but also to the second positional change.

Even in the case of adjusting the angle of the camera, the number of pixels between a plurality of markers in each image and the number of pixels between specific reference positions of the diagnostic needle bed are changed, Or the second camera) can be detected. For example, if it is determined that the angle of the second camera is slightly changed due to a pixel change between a specific reference position of the diagnostic needle bed between the second image and the fourth image captured by the second camera, The derived movement of the position in the z-axis direction needs to be corrected by the angle change of the second camera. At this time, it is determined whether there is a position change in the z-axis direction besides the xy plane by using a change in the number of pixels between specific reference positions appearing between the first image and the third image taken by the first camera, It is possible to verify or supplement the calculation result of the z-axis position movement of the second camera using the information extracted from the image captured by the first camera.

As described above, the method according to the present invention calculates the number of pixels per unit length through image capturing using a camera configured on the upper part of the diagnostic needle bed and a camera configured on the side, and calculates the number of pixels per unit length Calculates the positional change with respect to the patient position to perform the current radiotherapy, and controls the patient to automatically move or rotate the diagnosis needle lying on the x-, y-, and z-axis can do. Accordingly, the method according to the present invention can reduce the amount of radiation exposed to the patient, improve the reliability of radiation treatment with a simple structure, and reduce the amount of computation.

Furthermore, the method according to the present invention can improve the accuracy of the positional change by correcting or supplementing the positional change by reflecting the number of pixels per unit length of another image with respect to rotation or movement in a specific direction.

In addition, the present invention calculates an angle change and a position change with respect to a camera when an angle direction and a position are changed with respect to a camera that captures an image, reflects the calculated angle change and the position change, It is possible to improve the accuracy of the change and the change of the second position, thereby improving the reliability of the radiation therapy

FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration of a position control apparatus for a radiation therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7, the apparatus 700 includes a first camera 710, a second camera 720, an image acquisition unit 730, a position change calculation unit 740, and a patient position control unit 750, .

The first camera 710 photographs the patient on the first axis and the second axis, that is, the x-axis and the y-axis, with the camera for photographing the patient on the upper part of the diagnosis couch lying on the patient in the radiation therapy .

The second camera 720 is a camera for photographing a patient on the side of a diagnosis couch in which a patient lays down during radiation therapy. The second camera 720 is a camera for capturing a patient on the second axis and the third axis, i.e., the y axis and the z axis, The patient's image is taken.

The image acquiring unit 730 acquires images captured by the first camera and the second camera, that is, the third image and the fourth image, in the previous radiation therapy.

At this time, the image acquiring unit 730 may acquire images of the patient at the time of previous radiotherapy from a separate storage device or system connected to the radiotherapy apparatus, for example, a medical image storage transmission system (PACS).

The position change calculation unit 740 receives the image of the patient for performing the current radiation therapy, that is, the first image photographed by the first camera and the second image photographed by the second camera, Calculating a first positional change of the patient with respect to the first axis and the second axis using the third image and calculating a second positional change of the patient with respect to the second axis and the third axis using the second image and the fourth image, .

At this time, the position change calculation unit calculates the number of pixels per unit length in the reference image and the number of pixels with respect to the patient position in the diagnostic needle bed using the predetermined length of the diagnostic couch in the third image and the fourth image, respectively And calculating the number of pixels per unit length and the number of pixels with respect to the patient position in the diagnostic needle bed using the predetermined length of the diagnostic needle bed in the first image and the second image, It is possible to calculate the first positional change and the second positional change to know how much the positional change has occurred based on the patient position at the time of the treatment.

The position change calculation unit 740 calculates the position change of the patient using the number of pixels. The position change calculation unit 740 can calculate the number of pixels based on at least one reference pattern or reference mark set in advance on the diagnosis needle bed, The number of pixels per unit length between the set one or more reference patterns and the feature points set in advance on the patient, for example, the eyes, nose, mouth, or marks displayed at specific positions of the patient, Position, and z-axis position of the patient. Further, the position change calculator 740 may calculate the position of the patient on the diagnosis bed using the reference pattern of the diagnosis needle bed and the number of pixels per unit length between the patient's shape, body length, and body part interval length have.

The position change calculator 740 calculates a position change in the x-axis and the y-axis by reflecting the change in the position in the z-axis in calculating the change in the first position of the patient through comparison between the first and third images. And calculating the second positional change of the patient by comparing the second image with the fourth image, the positional change in the y-axis and the z-axis or the change in the position in the z-axis May be corrected or supplemented.

In calculating the first position change and the second position change of the patient, the position change calculator 740 may calculate the position change of the at least one of the first camera and the second camera through the analysis of the first image and the second image, The correction angle and the correction position of the camera are calculated and then the calculated correction angle and the correction position are reflected on the image so that the first position change and the second position change can be accurately calculated .

The patient position control unit 750 calculates the position of the patient's bed on the first axis and the second position using the first positional change and the second positional change calculated by the positional change calculation unit 740, The second axis, and the third axis in order to control the position of the patient.

The position control method of the radiation therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a program command that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and configured for the present invention or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, such as specific elements, and specific embodiments and drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above- And various modifications and changes may be made thereto by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, belong to the scope of the present invention .

Claims (8)

Capturing a first image of a patient with respect to a first axis and a second axis using a first camera and photographing a second image of the patient with respect to the second axis and the third axis using a second camera ;
Obtaining a third image of the patient photographed using the first camera and a fourth image of the patient photographed using the second camera in a previous radiotherapy;
Calculating a first positional change of the patient with respect to the first axis and the second axis using the first image and the third image and calculating a first positional change of the patient with respect to the first axis and the second axis using the first image and the third image, Calculating a second positional change of the patient with respect to the third axis; And
Controlling the position of the patient using the calculated first positional change and the second positional change so that the position of the patient is the same as the position in the previous radiotherapy
Wherein the position of the radiation therapy apparatus is determined based on the positional information. The method according to claim 1,
The step of calculating
Using the at least one or more reference patterns formed in advance on the diagnostic couch lying on the patient and at least one or more feature points predetermined for the patient and the shape of the patient, And calculating the second positional change. The method according to claim 1,
The step of calculating
Calculating a first number of pixels for the length of the diagnostic couch lying on the patient in the third image and the fourth image and a second number of pixels for the position of the patient in the diagnostic needle bed, 1 < / RTI > image, the third pixel number for the length of the diagnostic needle bed in the second image, and the fourth pixel number for the position of the patient in the diagnostic needle bed, Wherein the first positional change and the second positional change are calculated using the number of 4 pixels. The method according to claim 1,
The step of controlling
The position of the patient is controlled by moving or rotating the diagnostic needle bed on which the patient lies, using the first positional change and the second positional change in the first axis, the second axis, and the third axis direction Wherein the position of the radiation treatment apparatus is determined based on the position of the radiation treatment apparatus. A first camera for capturing an image of a patient with respect to the first axis and the second axis in a diagnostic couch;
A second camera for capturing an image of the patient with respect to the second axis and the third axis with respect to the patient;
An image acquiring unit acquiring a first image and a second image including the diagnosis needle bed and the patient previously photographed and stored by the first camera and the second camera in previous radiation treatment;
A method of radiotherapy comprising: receiving first and second images taken by a first camera and a second camera for a current radiation therapy; and using the first and third images to rotate the first and second axes Calculating a second positional change of the patient with respect to the second axis and the third axis using the second image and the fourth image, ; And
And controls the position of the patient using the calculated first positional change and the second positional change so that the position of the patient is the same as the position of the previous radiotherapy,
And a control unit for controlling the position of the radiation therapy apparatus. 6. The method of claim 5,
The position change calculation unit
Calculating the first positional change and the second positional change by using at least one or more reference patterns previously formed on the diagnosis needle bed and at least one or more characteristic points preset for the patient and a shape of the patient; The position of the radiation therapy apparatus is controlled. 6. The method of claim 5,
The position change calculation unit
Calculating a first number of pixels for the length of the diagnostic needle bed in the first image and a second image and a second number of pixels for the position of the patient in the diagnostic needle bed, Calculating a third number of pixels with respect to the length of the diagnostic needle bed and a fourth number of pixels with respect to the position of the patient in the diagnostic needle bed in the diagnostic needle bed using the calculated first to fourth number of pixels, Wherein the first positional change and the second positional change are calculated based on the first positional change and the second positional change. 6. The method of claim 5,
The patient position control unit
The position of the patient is controlled by moving or rotating the diagnostic needle bed in the first axis, the second axis, and the third axis using the first positional change and the second positional change. The position of the radiation therapy apparatus is controlled.

Images