US5769779A
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Method and apparatus for accurate radiation dosage control in breast cancer treatment
Assignee: Radiology Support Devices Inc
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Filing: 1995-04-27
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Granted: 1998-06-23
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Expires: 2015-04-27
Abstract
Abstract The present invention pertains to a method and apparatus for accurately monitoring radiation dosage to a patient. The invention provides a treatment brassiere having a visually transparent cup that consistently shapes and places a patient's breast for delivery of radiation therapy. The brassiere can also have shaping portion for shaping the contralateral breast such that it is positioned as far away from radiation treatment as possible. The shaping portion can additionally have dosimeters attached for measuring the radiation delivered to the skin of the contralateral breast and can have radiation absorbent material attached to the shaping portion to further protect the contralateral breast from radiation. The invention provides an overall method of consistent radiation therapy for a tumorous breast.
Inventors
- 👤 Samuel W. Alderson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 00:04
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61N; A61N5/00; A61N5/10; A61N5/1048
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
70 words
A brassiere for radiation treatment of a breast of a patient, the brassiere comprising a visually transparent cup having a predetermined shape adapted to hold the patient's breast in the predetermined shape and in a desired positions and means for fixing the cup to the patient's body with the cup over the patient's breast, whereby the patient's breast is consistently and repeatably held in the predetermined shape and desired position.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
70 words
A brassiere for radiation treatment of a breast of a patient, the brassiere comprising a visually transparent cup having a predetermined shape adapted to hold the patient's breast in the predetermined shape and in a desired positions and means for fixing the cup to the patient's body with the cup over the patient's breast, whereby the patient's breast is consistently and repeatably held in the predetermined shape and desired position.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
12 words
The brassiere of claim 1 wherein said cup comprises a semirigid material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
30 words
The brassiere of claim 1 further comprising means for shaping a contralateral breast, the shaping means adapted to hold the contralateral breast remote from the breast being treated with radiation.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
46 words
The brassiere of claim 3 wherein said shaping means comprises a material having a property of being relatively rigid in shape at room temperature after a predetermined period of time and being relatively pliable for conforming to a desired shape under heating in a water bath.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
13 words
The brassiere of claim 3 wherein said shaping means comprises a thermoplastic material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
20 words
The brassiere of claim 3 further comprising means attached to the shaping means for blocking radiation from the contralateral breast.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The brassiere of claim 6 wherein the means for blocking comprises a lead foil over the shaping means and wrapped partially around the shaping means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
36 words
The brassiere of claim 3 wherein the shaping means includes holes adapted to receive dosimeters for measuring radiation dosage to the skin of the contralateral breast and for monitoring effects of treatment on the contralateral breast.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
44 words
The brassiere of claim 1 wherein the cup has a plurality of holes formed therein adapted to allow marking of the patient's skin to ensure consistent, repeatable placement of the cup, and to allow assessment of skin reaction to the radiation after each treatment.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
52 words
The brassiere of claim 1 wherein the means for fixing the cup comprises means for positioning the cup at a predetermined location on the patient's upper thorax, the predetermined location being adapted from a radiation phantom for mapping dose distribution throughout the breast being treated and tissue surrounding the breast being treated.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
49 words
The brassiere of claim 1 further comprising means for marking the patient's skin when the cup is positioned in the predetermined shape and desired position, the marking means is adapted to allow the cup to be placed consistently and repeatable in the same position on the patient's upper thorax.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
53 words
The brassiere of claim 1 wherein the transparent cup is selected from a set of brassiere cups for use in a radiation treatment of the patient's breast, the set comprising a plurality of brassiere cups comprising at least two different breast sizes and at least two different predetermined shapes in each breast size.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
44 words
The set of brassiere cups according to claim 12 wherein there are cups for each of A, B, C, D, DD and DDD, for both left and right breasts and six different shapes for each size cup for each side totaling 72 different cups.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
21 words
The set of brassiere cups according to claim 13 wherein the set contains custom made cups different from the 72 cups.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
65 words
A set of breast adaptors for a radiation phantom for measuring radiation dosage effects, the breast adaptors comprising bodies of material having shapes and sizes corresponding to different shapes and sizes of breasts and having means formed therein for receiving tissue equivalent pins to measure radiation dosages, and having means adapted to releasably mounting the bodies to a radiation therapy phantom corresponding to a torso.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
65 words
A set of breast adaptors for a radiation phantom for measuring radiation dosage effects, the breast adaptors comprising bodies of material having shapes and sizes corresponding to different shapes and sizes of breasts and having means formed therein for receiving tissue equivalent pins to measure radiation dosages, and having means adapted to releasably mounting the bodies to a radiation therapy phantom corresponding to a torso.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
19 words
The set of breast adaptors of claim 15 wherein the tissue equivalent pins comprise means for receiving thermoluminescent dosimeters.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
31 words
The set of breast adaptors of claim 15 wherein the means formed therein for receiving defines holes disposed in a pattern corresponding to a pattern of holes in the radiation phantom.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
196 words
A method of radiation therapy for a tumorous breast, the method comprising the steps of: (a) placing a visually transparent cup over a patient's tumorous breast and aligning the tumorous breast with respect to a fixed reference using the visually transparent cup and a measuring device to determine the breast's location in three dimensional space with respect to the fixed reference; (b) removing the patient from the fixed reference and placing a phantom including a phantom breast adapted to monitor radiation dosage on the fixed reference and aligning it with respect to the fixed reference in the same location as the patient's breast was; (c) applying radiation to the phantom breast in accordance with a selected radiation treatment plan for the tumorous breast; (d) analyzing radiation dosage produced by the radiation treatment to the phantom breast and, if necessary, revising the treatment plan and repeating steps (b) and (c) above until the radiation results are as desired; (e) removing the phantom and replacing the patient with the cup over the patient's tumorous breast at the same location with respect to the fixed reference; and (f) treating the patient's tumorous breast with the selected radiation treatment plan.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
196 words
A method of radiation therapy for a tumorous breast, the method comprising the steps of: (a) placing a visually transparent cup over a patient's tumorous breast and aligning the tumorous breast with respect to a fixed reference using the visually transparent cup and a measuring device to determine the breast's location in three dimensional space with respect to the fixed reference; (b) removing the patient from the fixed reference and placing a phantom including a phantom breast adapted to monitor radiation dosage on the fixed reference and aligning it with respect to the fixed reference in the same location as the patient's breast was; (c) applying radiation to the phantom breast in accordance with a selected radiation treatment plan for the tumorous breast; (d) analyzing radiation dosage produced by the radiation treatment to the phantom breast and, if necessary, revising the treatment plan and repeating steps (b) and (c) above until the radiation results are as desired; (e) removing the phantom and replacing the patient with the cup over the patient's tumorous breast at the same location with respect to the fixed reference; and (f) treating the patient's tumorous breast with the selected radiation treatment plan.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 18 further comprising a step of repeating steps (a) to (f) for a duration of a therapy program.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-06-22 | 2001-12-22 | 2002-06-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-06-22 | 2005-12-22 | 2006-06-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-06-22 | 2009-12-22 | 2010-06-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |