HK1157266B - Accelerated particle irradiation equipment and structure of storage chamber - Google Patents

Description

Accelerated particle irradiation apparatus and accommodation chamber structure

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an accelerated particle irradiation apparatus including an irradiation device such as a rotating gantry for radiotherapy, and a structure of a housing chamber housing the irradiation device.

Background

An apparatus for irradiating a patient with accelerated particles such as proton beams to perform cancer therapy is known. This device is provided with: a cyclotron that generates accelerated particles; a rotatable irradiation device (rotating gantry) for irradiating a patient with accelerated particles from an arbitrary direction; and a guide duct that guides the accelerated particles generated by the cyclotron to the irradiation device. The revolving stage is provided with: a treatment table on which the patient lies; an irradiation unit that irradiates the accelerated particles toward a patient; and an introduction line for introducing the accelerated particles guided by the guide line into the irradiation section.

Various types of irradiation units are known as a system of introducing accelerated particles into the irradiation unit. For example, an introduction line (beam delivery device 7) described in patent document 1 includes a connection portion that is connected to the introduction line on a rotation axis that is a rotation center of an irradiation portion (irradiation apparatus 8), and is further bent in a substantially U-shape on a plane through which the rotation axis passes to be connected to the irradiation portion. The introduction line (delivery system 12) described in patent document 2 includes a coupling portion that is coupled to the introduction line on the rotation axis, and is further bent to be twisted to the circumferential side of the rotation axis and coupled to the irradiation portion (zone 32).

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2001-259058

Patent document 2: specification of U.S. Pat. No. 4917344

However, in the apparatus including the rotating gantry described in patent document 1, it is difficult to appropriately guide the accelerated particles, and it is difficult to shorten the path length of the introduction pipe in the rotation axis direction from the introduction requirement, and it is difficult to reduce the dimension in the rotation axis direction of the rotating gantry. As a result, it is difficult to reduce the size of the rotating gantry, and the installation space for housing the rotating gantry needs to be wide, which increases the size of the facility and makes it difficult to reduce the facility cost. Further, the facility described in patent document 2 does not consider the arrangement of the rotating gantry in the house, and is not sufficient in reducing the facility cost by avoiding the increase in the size of the facility.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an accelerated particle irradiation apparatus and a storage chamber structure that can reduce the size of a housing in which an irradiation device is installed and that is effective in reducing the cost of the apparatus.

The present invention is an accelerated particle irradiation apparatus for irradiating accelerated particles, comprising: an irradiation device that has a rotating portion that can rotate around a rotation axis and irradiates accelerated particles generated by a particle accelerator; and a housing chamber for housing the irradiation device, wherein the rotating part of the irradiation device has a protruding part protruding outward in the radial direction than the rotating part main body, and a housing recess capable of housing the protruding part at the edge of the rotating part is formed in the radiation shielding wall of the housing chamber, and the housing recess is formed in the rotating direction of the protruding part.

The irradiation device of the accelerated particle irradiation equipment according to the present invention includes a rotating portion rotatable about a rotation axis, and the rotating portion has a structure having a protruding portion protruding radially outward from a rotating portion main body. A housing recess capable of housing a projection part which is an edge part of the rotation part is formed on a radiation shielding wall of a housing chamber for housing the irradiation device. Further, since the housing recess is formed in the rotation direction of the protruding portion, a movement space in which the edge portion of the rotating portion can move can be secured. Thus, the housing recess capable of housing the protruding portion of the rotating portion is formed, and the housing chamber corresponding to the shape of the irradiation device can be realized. Therefore, the size of the housing room can be reduced, and the house can be miniaturized. As a result, the construction cost of the house can be reduced and the facility cost can be reduced. By reducing the size of the house, for example, the amount of concrete used for the radiation shielding wall can be reduced, and therefore the construction cost of the house can be reduced.

Preferably, the housing recess is formed in a radiation shielding wall of a ceiling of the housing chamber. Since a movable space in which the edge portion of the rotating portion is movable is secured in the radiation shielding wall of the ceiling of the storage chamber, the ceiling of the storage chamber can be lowered. Thus, unnecessary space above the accommodating chamber is eliminated, and the height of the accommodating chamber can be reduced. This makes it possible to reduce the height of the house, to reduce the size of the house, and to reduce the cost of equipment.

Further, it is preferable that the housing recess is covered with a shielding member made of a material different from that of the radiation shielding wall. Examples of the different materials include lead and heavy concrete. Heavy concrete is more expensive than general concrete, but has a higher radiation shielding property. Therefore, when the heavy concrete is used as the shielding member, the thickness of the shielding member can be reduced. For example, the thickness may be about 2/3 in the conventional case. Further, by modularizing the shield member as a unit part, construction can be easily performed.

The housing recess is an opening that penetrates the radiation shielding wall, and the opening is preferably covered with a shielding member from the outside of the radiation shielding wall. Since the opening portion penetrating the radiation shielding wall is formed, when the irradiation device is mounted in the housing chamber, the parts of the irradiation device can be carried into the housing chamber through the opening portion. Further, since the opening is covered with the shielding member from the outside of the radiation shielding wall, leakage of radiation from the opening can be prevented.

The irradiation device preferably includes a circumferential introduction line as the projection portion, the circumferential introduction line being curved in the circumferential direction and introducing accelerated particles into the irradiation portion, and the housing recess portion may house the circumferential introduction line. By providing the circumferential introduction pipe curved so as to be twisted in the circumferential direction, the length of the protruding portion in the rotation axis direction can be shortened, and the width of the housing recess in the rotation axis direction can be prevented from increasing.

The present invention is a housing chamber structure for housing an irradiation device for irradiating accelerated particles, wherein the irradiation device includes a rotating portion rotatable about a rotation axis, the rotating portion includes a protruding portion protruding radially outward from a rotating portion main body, a housing recess portion capable of housing the protruding portion as an edge portion of the rotating portion is formed in a radiation shielding wall of the housing chamber, and the housing recess portion is formed along a rotation direction of the protruding portion.

The housing chamber structure according to the present invention is a housing chamber for housing the irradiation device, and the irradiation device includes a rotating portion rotatable about a rotation axis and having a protruding portion protruding radially outward from a rotating portion main body. According to the housing chamber structure of the present invention, since the housing recess (cutout structure) that can house the projection portion that becomes the edge portion of the rotating portion of the irradiation device is formed in the radiation shielding wall of the housing chamber, a moving space in which the edge portion of the rotating portion can move can be secured. Thus, the housing recess portion for housing the protruding portion of the rotating portion is formed, and the housing chamber corresponding to the shape of the irradiation device can be realized. Therefore, the size of the housing room can be reduced, and the house can be miniaturized. As a result, the construction cost of the house can be reduced, and the facility cost can be reduced. By reducing the size of the house, for example, the amount of concrete used for the radiation shielding wall can be reduced, and therefore the construction cost of the house can be reduced.

The invention has the following effects:

according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of a house in which an irradiation device is installed, and to effectively reduce the equipment cost.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram of a particle beam therapy system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a particle beam therapy device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a rotating gantry according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the rotating gantry according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along the rotation axis in the horizontal direction.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the stage chamber according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the rack room shown in fig. 5, taken along the longitudinal direction X, as viewed from the back side of the house.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the gantry chamber shown in fig. 5, which is sectioned by a vertical plane including the rotation axis, and is viewed from the side of the rotating gantry.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the gantry chamber shown in fig. 5, taken along a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis, as viewed from the back side of the rotating gantry.

Fig. 9 is a view showing a procedure of installing a shield member having a cut-out structure for shielding a ceiling.

In the figure: 1-particle beam therapy apparatus (accelerated particle irradiation apparatus), 2-cyclotron (particle accelerator), 3-rotating gantry (thin irradiation device), 4-guide line, 6-house, 7-cyclotron chamber, 8-gantry chamber (housing chamber), 9-joining chamber, 32-irradiation section, 33-introduction line, 33 b-circumferential introduction line (projection), 34-1 st cylindrical section (main rotating section)Body), 38-counterweight (projection), 86-ceiling (radiation shielding wall), 87-floor (radiation shielding wall), 91, 92-cutout structure (housing recess), 93-shielding member, P-axis of rotation, P₁P₂Diagonal (maximum width of the set space), R₁Maximum outer diameter (the portion that becomes the maximum width of the rotating gantry), X-long side direction, Y-short side direction, Z-height direction.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an accelerated particle irradiation apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the accelerated particle irradiation apparatus is a particle beam therapy apparatus will be described. A particle beam therapy apparatus is an apparatus applied to cancer therapy, for example, and is a device that irradiates a tumor (irradiation target object) in a patient with a proton beam (accelerated particles).

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the particle beam therapy system 1 includes: a cyclotron (particle accelerator) 2 that generates a proton beam; a rotatable gantry (irradiation device) 3 which is rotatable and irradiates a proton beam to a patient from an arbitrary direction; and a guide line 4 for guiding the proton beam generated by the cyclotron 2 to the rotating gantry 3. The particle beam therapy system includes the cyclotron 2, the rotating gantry 3, and the guide line 4 as respective devices. The particle therapy system 1 includes a house 6 in which the devices of the particle therapy system are arranged.

A particle beam therapy system is explained. The proton beam generated by the cyclotron 2 changes its path along the guide line 4 and is guided to the rotating gantry 3. The guide line 4 is provided with a deflection magnet for changing the path of the proton beam.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the rotating table, and fig. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the rotating table cut in a horizontal direction along the rotation axis. The rotating stand 3 includes: a treatment table 31 on which the patient lies (see fig. 7); an irradiation unit 32 that irradiates a proton beam toward a patient; and an introduction line 33 for introducing the proton beam guided by the guide line 5 to the irradiation unit 32.

The rotating gantry 3 is provided rotatably, and includes a 1 st cylindrical portion 34, a conical portion 35, and a 2 nd cylindrical portion 36 in this order from the front side. These 1 st cylindrical portion 34, conical portion 35, and 2 nd cylindrical portion 36 are coaxially arranged and connected. The irradiation portion 32 of the rotating gantry 3 is disposed on the inner surface of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34 and faces the axial direction of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34. A treatment table 31 (not shown in fig. 3 and 4) is disposed at the axial center of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34. The 2 nd cylindrical portion 36 is formed to have a smaller diameter than the 1 st cylindrical portion 34, and the conical portion 35 is formed in a conical shape to connect the 1 st cylindrical portion 34 and the 2 nd cylindrical portion 36.

A front ring 39a is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the front end of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34, and a rear ring 39b is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the rear end of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34. As shown in fig. 8, the 1 st cylinder portion 34 is rotatably supported by a roller device 40 disposed below the 1 st cylinder portion 34. The outer peripheral surfaces of the front ring 39a and the rear ring 39b are in contact with the roller devices 40, and a rotational force is applied by the roller devices 40.

A guide line 4 that guides the proton beam to the rotating gantry 3 is connected to the back surface side of the rotating gantry 3. The guide line 4 is connected to the irradiation unit 32 through an introduction line 33. The introduction line 33 includes 2 sets of 45-degree deflection magnets and 2 sets of 135-degree deflection magnets. The introduction line 33 includes a radial introduction line 33a extending in the radial direction and a circumferential introduction line 33b continuing to a rear stage of the radial introduction line 33a and extending in the circumferential direction.

After being arranged in the rotation axis P direction in the 2 nd cylinder part 36, the radial introduction line 33a is bent 90 degrees (45 degrees × 2 times) from the rotation axis P direction, advances radially outward while heading radially outward, and protrudes outward from the 1 st cylinder 34, as shown in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 3, the circumferential introduction pipe 33b is bent 135 degrees in the radial direction and then moved upward in the circumferential direction.

The circumferential introduction pipe 33b is disposed on the outer surface of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34 at a position spaced outward from the outer peripheral surface of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34 in the circumferential direction. A mount 37 for supporting the circumferential introduction pipe 33b is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34. The mount 37 is formed to protrude radially outward and support the circumferential introduction pipe line 33 b.

Further, a counter weight 38 disposed to face each other with the rotation axis P interposed therebetween is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34. The counter weight 38 is provided to protrude outward from the outer peripheral surface of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34. The weight balance of the introduction pipe 33 and the mount 37 disposed on the outer surface of the 1 st cylinder 34 is ensured by providing the counter weight 38. Further, it is preferable that the length from the rotation axis P to the outer edge of the counter weight 38 is shorter than the length from the rotation axis P to the outer edge of the introduction pipe 33.

The rotating table 3 is driven to rotate by a motor not shown, and the rotation is stopped by a brake device not shown. The portion including the 1 st cylindrical portion 34, the introduction pipe 33, and the counter weight 38 corresponds to a rotation portion of the rotating gantry 3. The rotating unit body is, for example, a cylindrical body disposed with its axis along the rotation axis, and is a member having an outer peripheral surface on the same circumference throughout the entire circumference, or a member that can be regarded as having an outer peripheral surface on the same circumference throughout the entire circumference, and the 1 st cylindrical portion 34 corresponds to the rotating unit body in the present embodiment.

The circumferential introduction pipe line 33b and the counter weight 38 correspond to a protruding portion that protrudes radially outward from the rotor main body. In the present embodiment, the introduction pipe line 33 disposed on the outer surface side of the 1 st cylindrical portion 34 corresponds to a protruding portion which becomes a peripheral portion of the rotating portion. The length from the rotation axis P to the outer edge of the counter weight 38 is equal to the length from the rotation axis P to the outer edge of the circumferential introduction pipe line 33b, or the length to the outer edge of the counter weight 38 is longer than the length to the outer edge of the circumferential introduction pipe line 33b, the counter weight 38 corresponds to a protruding portion which becomes the peripheral portion of the rotating portion.

The rotating gantry 3 of the present embodiment is formed to have a length L in the front-rear direction₁Shorter than the maximum outer diameter of the rotary part (revolution orbit R)₁See fig. 8) is thin. Length L in front-rear direction₁For example, from the front end of the 1 st cylindrical part 34 to the 2 nd cylindrical part36 length L of the rear end₁. The maximum outer diameter of the rotating portion is a length r from the rotation axis P to the outer edge of the circumferential introduction pipe line 33b₁Corresponding portion (maximum outer diameter ═ radius r)₁X 2). Further, a portion corresponding to the length from the rotation axis P to the outer edge of the counter weight 38 may have the maximum outer diameter.

Next, house 6 will be explained. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the house 6 is provided with a cyclotron room 7 in which the cyclotron 2 is disposed, a gantry room 8 in which the rotating gantry 3 is disposed, and a connection room 9 in which the guide duct 4 is disposed. The house 6 is, for example, a building made of reinforced concrete or steel reinforced concrete, and each room is partitioned by a radiation shielding wall made of concrete. House 6 of the present embodiment is rectangular in plan view. In the drawings, the longitudinal direction of the house 6 is shown as the X direction, the short side direction of the house 6 is shown as the Y direction, and the height direction of the house 6 is shown as the Z direction. The upper side in fig. 1 is assumed to be the front side of the house 6.

The cyclotron room 7 is disposed at one end in the longitudinal direction X of the house 6, for example. The cyclotron room 7 is rectangular in plan view and is surrounded by a (radiation) shielding wall 71. The front wall and the rear wall of the cyclotron room 7 are arranged along the longitudinal direction X of the house 6, and the side walls of the cyclotron room 7 are arranged along the short-side direction Y of the house 6. One side wall of the cyclotron room 7 doubles as a side wall of the house 6 and doubles as a back wall of the cyclotron room 7.

The cyclotron 2 is disposed on the front surface side of the cyclotron chamber 7, and the proton beam generated by the cyclotron 2 is extracted from the back surface side of the cyclotron 2. A coupling chamber 9 is connected to the back surface side of the cyclotron chamber 7.

The coupling chamber 9 extends from the cyclotron room 7 in the longitudinal direction X of the house 6. The coupling chamber 9 is disposed adjacent to the rear surface side of the plurality of stage chambers 8. In the present embodiment, the coupling room 9 is disposed on the most rear side of the house 6. The coupling room 9 is partitioned by a radiation shielding wall, and the shielding wall on the back side of the coupling room 9 extending in the longitudinal direction X also serves as the back wall of the house 6. On the other hand, the shield wall on the front side of the coupling chamber 9 extending in the longitudinal direction X also serves as the rear wall of the stage chamber 8. The guide passage 4 extending in the longitudinal direction X in the coupling chamber 9 is branched at a predetermined position. The branched guide passages 4 extend at a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal direction X and are led out to the respective stage chambers 8. The coupling chamber 9 may be configured to form a housing space for housing the guide passage 4 along the branched guide passage 4.

The plurality of rack rooms 8 are arranged adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction X of the house 6. The plurality of stage chambers 8 are disposed adjacent to the front side of the coupling chamber 9. As shown in fig. 1, the leftmost stage chamber 8 is disposed adjacent to the cyclotron chamber 7. The length of the stage chamber 8 in the longitudinal direction X is substantially the same as the length of the adjacent stage chamber 8 in the longitudinal direction X. The front side of the stage chamber 8 is formed with a passage having a labyrinth structure leading to the stage chamber 8.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view showing the stage chamber 8. As shown in fig. 5, the stage chamber 8 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view. For example, the stage chamber 8 is formed in a pentagon in which 1 corner of a square is cut off and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape. In the stage chamber 8 of the present embodiment, a corner portion of the rear surface on the left side in the figure is cut off to form a pentagon. The gantry chamber 8 is partitioned by a radiation shielding wall.

The gantry room 8 includes a front wall 81, a right side wall 82, a left side wall 83, a 1 st back wall 84, and a 2 nd back wall 85 as radiation shielding walls. The front wall 81 is disposed on the front side and extends in the longitudinal direction X. An entrance into the rack chamber 8 is formed in the front wall 81. The right side wall 82 and the left side wall 83 are disposed to face each other and extend in the short direction Y. The right side wall 82 and the left side wall 83 have different lengths in the short direction Y, and the right side wall 82 is longer than the left side wall 83. The right side wall 82 extends further to the rear side than the left side wall 83 in the short side direction Y.

The 1 st back wall 84 is disposed on the back side, extends in the longitudinal direction X, and faces the front wall 81. The 1 st back wall 84 is formed from the end of the right side wall 82 on the back side to a position beyond the center of the stage chamber 8 in the longitudinal direction X.

The 2 nd back wall 85 is disposed on the back side and extends in a direction intersecting the left side wall 83 and the 1 st back wall 84. The 2 nd rear wall 85 is formed from the end on the left side of the 1 st rear wall 84 to the end on the rear side of the left side wall 83. The 2 nd rear wall 85 is disposed to be inclined at substantially 45 degrees to the left side wall 83 and the 1 st rear wall 84.

In the rack chamber 8, an intersection point P connecting the front wall 81 and the left side wall 83₁Right side wall 82 and No. 1 back wall 84₂Diagonal line P of₁P₂The maximum width of the gantry chamber 8 is defined. In the stage chamber 8, a diagonal line P₁P₂Intersecting the longitudinal direction X and the lateral direction Y at an angle of substantially 45 degrees. In the stage chamber 8 of the present embodiment, the 2 nd back surface wall 85 is formed to form a diagonal line P with the first back surface wall₁P₂Parallel faces.

Here, in the particle beam therapy system 1 of the present embodiment, the portion that has the maximum width of the rotating gantry 3 is disposed along the maximum width of the installation space of the rotating gantry 3. For example, a rotation orbit of a point (outer edge of a rotation part of the rotating gantry 3) located at the farthest position from the rotation axis P of the rotating gantry 3 is arranged on the diagonal line P₁P₂In the upper plane. In addition, "diagonal line P₁P₂The above "means that the case where the substrate is arranged in the diagonal direction in the plan view is included, and the case where the substrate is arranged from the diagonal line P is also included₁P₂A slight deviation.

The rotation axis P of the rotating gantry 3 of the present embodiment is disposed at a predetermined inclination angle θ with respect to the longitudinal direction X and the short direction Y. Specifically, the rotation axis P of the rotating gantry 3 has an inclination angle of substantially 45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal direction X.

The rear surface side of the rotating table 3 is disposed to face the 2 nd rear surface wall 85, and the front surface side of the rotating table 3 faces the entrance of the table chamber 8. The entrance of the stage chamber 8 is provided at a corner formed by the front wall 81 and the right wall 82. A triangular region in plan view is formed on the front surface of the rotating gantry 3.

As shown in fig. 5, for example, the rotating gantry 3 is arranged such that the oblique side forming the outer edge of the conical portion 35 is parallel to the left side wall 83 and the 1 st back surface wall 84 in plan view.

Fig. 6 to 8 are each a cross section of the gantry chamber and a layout of the rotating gantry in the gantry chamber. As shown in fig. 6 to 8, the gantry room 8 includes a ceiling 86 and a floor 87 as radiation shielding walls.

As shown in fig. 7, a plurality of steps are provided on the floor 87 of the rack chamber 8, and: a 1 st floor surface 87a formed on the front surface of the rotating gantry 3; a 2 nd floor surface 87b formed at a position lower than the 1 st floor surface 87a and on which a support portion of the treatment table 31 is disposed; and a 3 rd floor surface 87c formed at a position lower than the 2 nd floor surface 87b and on which a support portion of the rotating gantry 3 is disposed.

Here, in the radiation shielding wall of the gantry chamber 8 of the present embodiment, the orbit R with the introduction piping 33 as the rotation part of the rotating gantry 3 is formed₁(see FIG. 8) and/or orbit R of counterweight 38₂Cut structures 91, 92 are formed at corresponding positions.

The notch structure 91 is formed on the floor 87 on the revolving orbit R of the introduction line 33 of the rotating table 3₁And/or the orbit R of the counterweight 38₂The corresponding position. The notch structure 91 is a space recessed downward from the 3 rd floor surface 87c, and forms a movement space in which the introduction pipe 33 of the rotating gantry 3 and/or the counterweight 38 move. The notch structure 91 is along a diagonal line P in plan view₁P₂(the direction of rotation of the projection).

The notch structure 92 is formed on the ceiling 86 on the revolving orbit R with the introduction line 33 of the rotating table 3₁And/or the orbit R of the counterweight 38₂The corresponding position. The notch structure 92 is a space recessed upward from the ceiling 86, and forms a movement space in which the introduction duct 33 and/or the counter weight 38 of the rotating gantry 3 move. The notch structure 92 is along a diagonal line P in plan view₁P₂(the direction of rotation of the projection).

The cutout structure 92 penetrates the ceiling 86 (the ceiling of the house 6) to open, and the opening is covered with a shielding member 93 made of a material different from that of the ceiling 86 from the outside of the rack room 8 (the house 6). The shield member 93 is formed by stacking a plurality of lead shield plates 93a, for example. Further, a concrete shield plate may be laminated as the shield member 93. Further, for example, the shield member may be a block body instead of a plate shape.

And the shielding member 93 may be a member made of heavy concrete as a different material. The shielding member 93 made of heavy concrete is more expensive than the shielding member 93 made of general concrete, but has a high radiation shielding property. For example, when a shield member made of heavy concrete is used, the thickness may be about 2/3 a compared to when a shield member made of general concrete is used. Further, by using the shielding member 93 which is modularized into a plate-like component, construction can be easily performed.

Further, since the cutout structure 92 is formed as an opening penetrating the ceiling 86, it can be used as a carrying-in port for carrying in components of the rotating gantry 3.

Next, the procedure of applying the shield member 93 will be described with reference to fig. 9. Only a portion of the ceiling 86 formed with the cutout structure 92 is shown in fig. 9. As shown in fig. 9a, the opening for rack carrying-in (notch structure 92) provided in the ceiling 86 is linear and has no step. That is, the side wall of the opening is formed linearly in the vertical direction.

Then, as shown in fig. 9(B), a plurality of shield plates 93a are stacked on the notch structure 92, and finally, the plurality of shield plates 93a are fixed to the outer surface of the ceiling 86 by a fixing device or the like, and the notch structure 92 is shielded as shown in fig. 9 (C).

Further, since the notch structure 92 penetrates in the vertical direction and no step is provided on the side wall of the notch structure 92, it is possible to prevent the component carried in from hitting the step and being damaged when the component of the rotating table 3 is carried in.

In this embodiment, since the thin rotating gantry 3 has a small thickness in the rotation axis direction of the portion having the maximum width, and the portion is along the diagonal line P of the gantry chamber 8₁P₂Thus, the installation space can be effectively used. This can shorten the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the rack chamber 8, and hence the dimensions of the house 6 in the longitudinal direction X and the short side direction Y can be shortened, and the house 6 can also be downsized. As a result, the construction cost of house 6 can be reduced. Further, the installation space can be effectively used, and the particle beam therapy system 1 can be constructed in a narrower space than in the conventional art.

In the house 6 of the present embodiment, since the rotation axis is arranged at an inclination angle of 45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal direction X and the short side direction Y in a plan view, the facility can be reduced by 5m for every 1 rotating gantry in the longitudinal direction X of the house 6. When 3 rotating stages 3 are arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction X, the facility can be reduced in size by 15 m.

Further, according to the particle beam therapy system 1 of the present embodiment, since only a part of the shielding wall of the ceiling of the house 6 corresponds to the peripheral edge portion of the introduction pipe line 33 and/or the counter weight 38 which are the rotating portions of the rotating gantry 3 and has the notch structure, the shielding wall moves in the notch structures 91 and 92 when the rotating portions of the rotating gantry 3 rotate. This ensures a movement space for the projection portion that becomes the peripheral edge portion of the rotating gantry 3, and realizes the gantry chamber 8 corresponding to the shape of the rotating gantry 3. Therefore, the dimension of the stage chamber 8 in the height direction can be suppressed. That is, the ceiling 86 can be lowered, unnecessary space above the rack room 8 can be eliminated, and the house 6 can be downsized. As a result, the construction cost of house 6 can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the rotating gantry 3 includes the circumferential introduction pipe 33b that is curved in the circumferential direction and introduces accelerated particles into the irradiation portion 32 as a protruding portion, and the notch structure 92 can accommodate the circumferential introduction pipe 33 b. As described above, since the rotating gantry 3 is configured to include the circumferential introduction pipe 33b bent so as to be twisted in the circumferential direction, the length of the protruding portion in the rotational axis direction can be shortened, and the width of the notch structure 92 in the rotational axis direction can be reduced.

In fig. 1 and 2, the size of a conventional house is shown by a dot-dash line as a comparison target. Conventionally, for example, in the case of a house having 3 rotating gantries, the dimensions of the house are as follows: width X as length of longitudinal direction X₁A depth Y of about 68m, which is the length of the short side direction Y₁Height Z of about 33m as a length in height direction Z₁About 18 m. On the other hand, in the case of house 6 of the present embodiment, the dimensions of house 6 are as follows: width X as length of longitudinal direction X_oA depth Y of about 53m as a length in the short side direction Y₀Height Z of about 26m as a length in height direction Z₀About 15 m. House 6 of the present embodiment can be reduced in house capacity by about 50% as compared with a conventional house, and can significantly reduce facility cost.

Further, by adopting this layout, a triangular region of about 7m × 7m can be secured in the gantry chamber 8, and this region can be effectively used as a treatment space. An online PET system including a C-arm protruding from the ceiling portion toward the rotating gantry 3 may be installed using the space.

An on-line PET system is known as a technique for imaging a change in the shape of an affected part after treatment, and is a system for acquiring a PET image by detecting a short-half-life positron atomic species emitted from the body of a patient immediately after irradiation with a proton beam. This makes it possible to accurately capture the shape change of the target tumor caused by the proton beam irradiation, and prevent the proton beam from being irradiated to the normal tissue. As a result, the accuracy of proton beam therapy can be further improved.

By arranging the rotating gantry 3 in an inclined manner in this manner, space can be effectively utilized, and the degree of freedom of the equipment can be increased.

The present invention has been specifically described above based on the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, the rack chamber 8 is formed in a pentagonal shape with one corner of a square shape cut out in a plan view, but the rack chamber 8 may be formed in another shape. For example, the chamber may be a square-shaped rack chamber, may be another polygonal shape such as a hexagon, or may be a corner portion connected smoothly. The facing shield walls may not be arranged in parallel.

Further, the notch structure may be provided in a stage chamber such as a side wall.

In the above embodiment, the cutout structure 91 provided in the ceiling 86 is formed to penetrate the ceiling 86 in the height direction, but the cutout structure 91 may not penetrate the ceiling 86.

Further, in the above embodiment, the gantry chamber 8 is provided to house the thin rotary gantry 3, but a slit structure may be formed in a shield wall of the gantry chamber 8 to house the conventional rotary gantry, and the slit structure forms a moving space of the rotary part.

Claims (3)

1. An accelerated particle irradiation apparatus irradiating accelerated particles,

the disclosed device is provided with:

an irradiation device that has a rotating portion that is rotatable about a rotation axis and irradiates the accelerated particles generated by the particle accelerator; and

a housing chamber housing the irradiation device,

the rotating part of the irradiation device has a protruding part protruding radially outward from the rotating part body,

a receiving recess capable of receiving the protruding portion which becomes an edge portion of the rotating portion is formed in a radiation shielding wall of a floor and a ceiling of the receiving chamber,

the receiving recess is formed in a rotation direction of the protrusion,

the housing recess formed in the radiation shielding wall of the ceiling of the housing chamber is an opening that penetrates the radiation shielding wall,

the opening portion is covered with a shielding member from the outside of the radiation shielding wall,

the shielding member has a material different from that of the radiation shielding wall.

2. An accelerated particle irradiation apparatus according to claim 1,

the irradiation device includes an irradiation unit that irradiates the accelerated particles toward a patient,

the irradiation device includes, as the projection, a circumferential introduction pipe which is curved in a circumferential direction and which introduces the accelerated particles into the irradiation portion,

the housing recess can house the circumferential introduction pipe.

3. A chamber structure for accommodating an irradiation device for irradiating accelerated particles,

the irradiation device includes a rotating portion rotatable around a rotation axis,

the rotating part has a protruding part protruding radially outward from the rotating part body,

a housing recess capable of housing the protruding portion which becomes an edge portion of the rotating portion is formed in the radiation shielding wall of the floor and ceiling of the housing chamber,

the receiving recess is formed in a rotation direction of the protrusion,

the housing recess formed in the radiation shielding wall of the ceiling of the housing chamber is an opening that penetrates the radiation shielding wall,

the opening portion is covered with a shielding member from the outside of the radiation shielding wall,

the shielding member has a material different from that of the radiation shielding wall.