Patent Application 17204657 - USE OF MAGNETIC ELEMENTS TO SHAPE AND DEFOCUS

Title: USE OF MAGNETIC ELEMENTS TO SHAPE AND DEFOCUS CHARGED PARTICLE BEAMS

Application Information

Invention Title: USE OF MAGNETIC ELEMENTS TO SHAPE AND DEFOCUS CHARGED PARTICLE BEAMS
Application Number: 17204657
Submission Date: 2025-05-12T00:00:00.000Z
Effective Filing Date: 2021-03-17T00:00:00.000Z
Filing Date: 2021-03-17T00:00:00.000Z
National Class: 250
National Sub-Class: 3960ML
Examiner Employee Number: 87462
Art Unit: 2881
Tech Center: 2800

Rejection Summary

102 Rejections: 1
103 Rejections: 1

Cited Patents

No patents were cited in this rejection.

Office Action Text

DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –

(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.

Claim(s) 1-6, 8-13, and 15-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2010/024392 (Flynn et al.).
Regarding claim 1, Flynn et al. discloses a radiotherapy treatment system, comprising:
a source of a beam of charged particles (fig. 1, unlabeled source connected to accelerator 12);
a linear accelerator coupled to the source and that accelerates the charged particles in the beam (fig. 1, element 12); and
a beam transport subsystem coupled to the linear accelerator and having an exit window (fig. 1, element 16), and comprising a plurality of magnetic elements located inside the beam transport subsystem between the linear accelerator and the exit window, wherein the plurality of magnetic elements is used to defocus the beam before the beam exits the beam transport subsystem (fig. 8, elements 152 and 154).
Regarding claim 2, Flynn et al. discloses the system of Claim 1, wherein the charged particles comprise particles selected from the group consisting of: electrons; protons; and ions (‘The present invention relates to radiotherapy systems using ions (such as protons) for the treatment of cancer and the like’ P 3).
Regarding claim 3, Flynn et al. discloses the system of Claim 1, wherein the beam transport subsystem further comprises a plurality of bending magnets (‘The rotating arm 20 incorporates guiding magnet assemblies of a type known in the art to bend the pencil beam 14 radially away from the axis 22 then parallel to the axis and spaced from the axis 22 to be received by a treatment head 26.’ P 49), and wherein the plurality of magnetic elements is between the plurality of bending magnets and the exit window (see figures, note that exit window is not shown but located at the downstream end of element 30).
Regarding claim 4, Flynn et al. discloses the system of Claim 1, wherein the plurality of magnetic elements is also used to shape the beam before the beam exits the beam transport subsystem (‘The width of the ion beam may be adjusted by varying a separation of the quadrupole magnets or by varying the strength of at least one of the quadrupole magnets.’ P 20).
Regarding claim 5, Flynn et al. discloses the system of Claim 1, wherein the plurality of magnetic elements comprises at least two quadrupole magnets (fig. 8, elements 152 and 154).
Regarding claim 6, Flynn et al. discloses the system of Claim 5, wherein the quadrupole magnets have tunable field strengths (‘The width of the ion beam may be adjusted by varying a separation of the quadrupole magnets or by varying the strength of at least one of the quadrupole magnets.’ P 20).
Regarding claim 8, Flynn et al. discloses a radiotherapy treatment method, comprising:
generating a beam of charged particles (inherent in the acceleration);
accelerating the charged particles in the beam (‘As is understood in the art a dielectric wall accelerator provides a linear acceleration of charged particles through the use of successively applied electrostatic fields that serve to accelerate the charged particles as they move through the dielectric wall accelerator.’ P 79);
guiding the beam inside a waveguide toward an exit window that separates the inside of the waveguide from outside air (‘The rotating arm 20 incorporates guiding magnet assemblies of a type known in the art to bend the pencil beam 14 radially away from the axis 22 then parallel to the axis and spaced from the axis 22 to be received by a treatment head 26.’ P 49); and
before the beam reaches the exit window, defocusing the beam using a plurality of magnetic elements (‘FIG. 8 is a figure similar to that of FIG. 3 showing an alternative embodiment of the modulation assembly using quadrupole magnets for beam widening;’ P 44).
Regarding claim 9, Flynn et al. discloses the method of Claim 8, wherein the charged particles comprise particles selected from the group consisting of: electrons; protons; and ions (‘The present invention relates to radiotherapy systems using ions (such as protons) for the treatment of cancer and the like’ P 3).
Regarding claim 10, Flynn et al. discloses the method of Claim 8, further comprising shaping the beam using the plurality of magnetic elements (‘The width of the ion beam may be adjusted by varying a separation of the quadrupole magnets or by varying the strength of at least one of the quadrupole magnets.’ P 20).
Regarding claim 11, Flynn et al. discloses the method of Claim 8, wherein said guiding comprises bending the beam using a plurality of bending magnets (‘The rotating arm 20 incorporates guiding magnet assemblies of a type known in the art to bend the pencil beam 14 radially away from the axis 22 then parallel to the axis and spaced from the axis 22 to be received by a treatment head 26.’ P 49), wherein the plurality of magnetic elements is between the plurality of bending magnets and the exit window (see figures, note that exit window is not shown but located at the downstream end of element 30).
Regarding claim 12, Flynn et al. discloses the method of Claim 8, wherein the plurality of magnetic elements comprises at least two quadrupole magnets (fig. 8, elements 152 & 154).
Regarding claim 13, Flynn et al. discloses the method of Claim 12, further comprising changing a cross-sectional shape and size of the beam during treatment of a patient (‘A beam controller following a stored radiation plan communicates control signals to the means for varying the lateral width and the means for steering the ion beam to apply ion beams of different widths to different portions of the patient according to the treatment plan.’ P 9) by varying field strengths of the quadrupole magnets (‘The width of the ion beam may be adjusted by varying a separation of the quadrupole magnets or by varying the strength of at least one of the quadrupole magnets.’ P 20).
Regarding claim 15, Flynn et al. discloses a radiotherapy treatment method, comprising:
generating a beam of charged particles (inherent in the acceleration);
accelerating the charged particles in the beam (‘As is understood in the art a dielectric wall accelerator provides a linear acceleration of charged particles through the use of successively applied electrostatic fields that serve to accelerate the charged particles as they move through the dielectric wall accelerator.’ P 79);
guiding the beam inside a waveguide toward an exit window that separates the inside of the waveguide from outside air (‘The rotating arm 20 incorporates guiding magnet assemblies of a type known in the art to bend the pencil beam 14 radially away from the axis 22 then parallel to the axis and spaced from the axis 22 to be received by a treatment head 26.’ P 49); and
before the beam reaches the exit window, using a plurality of magnetic elements to change a cross-sectional shape and size of the beam during treatment of a patient (‘A beam controller following a stored radiation plan communicates control signals to the means for varying the lateral width and the means for steering the ion beam to apply ion beams of different widths to different portions of the patient according to the treatment plan.’ P 9) by varying field strengths of the plurality of magnetic elements (‘The width of the ion beam may be adjusted by varying a separation of the quadrupole magnets or by varying the strength of at least one of the quadrupole magnets.’ P 20).
Regarding claim 16, Flynn et al. discloses the method of Claim 15, wherein the charged particles comprise particles selected from the group consisting of: electrons; protons; and ions (‘The present invention relates to radiotherapy systems using ions (such as protons) for the treatment of cancer and the like’ P 3).
Regarding claim 17, Flynn et al. discloses the method of Claim 15, further comprising defocusing the beam using the plurality of magnetic elements (‘FIG. 8 is a figure similar to that of FIG. 3 showing an alternative embodiment of the modulation assembly using quadrupole magnets for beam widening;’ P 44).
Regarding claim 18, Flynn et al. discloses the method of Claim 15, wherein said guiding comprises bending the beam using a plurality of bending magnets (‘The rotating arm 20 incorporates guiding magnet assemblies of a type known in the art to bend the pencil beam 14 radially away from the axis 22 then parallel to the axis and spaced from the axis 22 to be received by a treatment head 26.’ P 49), wherein the plurality of magnetic elements is between the plurality of bending magnets and the exit window (see figures, note that exit window is not shown but located at the downstream end of element 30).
Regarding claim 19, Flynn et al. discloses the method of Claim 15, wherein the plurality of magnetic elements comprises at least two quadrupole magnets (fig. 8, elements 152 & 154).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.

Claim(s) 7, 14, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2010/024392 (Flynn et al.).
Regarding claims 7, 14, and 20, Flynn discloses the claimed invention except for the plurality of magnetic elements being selected from the group consisting of: solenoids; sextupole magnets; and octupole magnets. These are all well known forms of magnetic lenses and it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to substitute a sextupole or octupole magnet for the quadrupole magnets since the additional poles allow for the ability to steer or correct astigmatism. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to substitute a solenoid for the quadrupole magnets since a solenoid is simpler and more compact.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZA W OSENBAUGH-STEWART whose telephone number is (571)270-5782. The examiner can normally be reached 10am - 6pm Pacific Time M-F.
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/ELIZA W OSENBAUGH-STEWART/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2881