US Patent:
20020006182, Jan 17, 2002
Inventors:
Siyong Kim - Gainesville FL, US
Jatinder Palta - Gainesville FL, US
International Classification:
A61N005/10
Abstract:
A technique for Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), an advanced form of external beam irradiation that is commonly referred as three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT), uses an array of radiation sources disposed within cells of a two-dimensional (2D) grid of radiation blocking walls. The intensity of radiation applied to a patient from any individual source is modulated dependent on local properties of a target, such as characteristics or dimensions of that portion of a tumor subject to radiation from a given source at a given time. In particular, each source is individually moved toward or away from the patient depending on the local (i.e., local to that source) properties of the target.