Abstract: These teachings include accessing energy dosing information along with at least one quality-of-care model that correlates at least one categorical energy-based treatment patient quality-of-care outcome with at least one resultant energy-based treatment description. The model can be created via probabilistic mapping that maps patient impact information to dose impartation information to infer non-biological impact to a patient. A patient treatment plan can be optimized for a particular patient as a function of the foregoing information to provide corresponding resultant benefit trade-of evaluation information. This benefit trade-off evaluation information can be displayed to a user to permit the user to explore the benefit trade-off evaluation information to thereby identify a resultant energy-based treatment plan having a selected balance between dosing a treatment target with energy and a quality-of-care impact on the particular patient.

Abstract: A control circuit controls real-time administration of a radiation-treatment plan that administers a therapeutic radiation dose to a patient. This includes compensating for a first movement as regards the application setting using a first treatment-administration modality and responding to detection of a second movement by using a second treatment-administration modality that is different from the first treatment-administration modality.

Abstract: A method of obtaining a volumetric image includes obtaining a plurality of volumetric images, the volumetric images generated using respective sets of projection images, wherein the volumetric images and the respective sets of projection images correspond with different respective bins for a physiological cycle, and determining an additional volumetric image using one or more of the projection images from each of the sets that correspond with the different respective bins for the physiological cycle, wherein the act of determining the additional volumetric image is performed using a processor.

Abstract: A radiation-treatment planning apparatus accesses first information regarding a first image that pertains to a patient's body at a first time as well as second information regarding a second image that pertains to the patient's body at a second, later time. The radiation-treatment planning apparatus then correlates components of the patient's body as appear in the second image with components that appear in the first image while treating the components as comprising rigid structures regardless of whether those components, in fact, are rigid structures. The first information can include segmentation information as pertains to the components. These teachings will accommodate a wide range of components including, but not limited to, organs, portions of organs, and even implanted man-made objects.

Abstract: A control circuit operably couples to a memory having historical information stored therein. This historical information comprises information regarding delivered radiation doses to non-targeted patient volumes for a plurality of different volume presentations. The control circuit iteratively optimizes a radiation-treatment plan for a specific plan using that historical information. The aforementioned historical information can comprise delivered-dose metrics as correspond to different relative distances within given patients. The control circuit can employ such information to determine, for example, an estimated dosage (including, if desired, a corresponding range of estimated dosages) for at least one volume within the specific patient at a specific distance from a specific point of reference. The control circuit can compare such historical information against radiation-treatment plan optimization results to qualitatively assess the radiation-treatment plan optimization results.

Abstract: A method of processing image data includes obtaining an image set that includes at least a first image and a second image, determining a deformation registration using the first and second images, wherein the act of determining the deformation registration is performed using a processor, performing image compression on at least a portion of the image set using the determined deformation registration to obtain compressed image data, and storing the compressed image data. A method of processing image data includes obtaining compressed image data, obtaining a deformation registration previously used to create the compressed image data, performing image decompression on the compressed image data using the deformation registration to obtain decompressed image data, wherein the act of performing the image decompression is performed using a processor, and storing the decompressed image data.

Abstract: A method of obtaining a volumetric image includes obtaining a plurality of volumetric images, the volumetric images generated using respective sets of projection images, wherein the volumetric images and the respective sets of projection images correspond with different respective bins for a physiological cycle, and determining an additional volumetric image using one or more of the projection images from each of the sets that correspond with the different respective bins for the physiological cycle, wherein the act of determining the additional volumetric image is performed using a processor.

Abstract: A control circuit controls real-time administration of a radiation-treatment plan that administers a therapeutic radiation dose to a patient. This includes compensating for a first movement as regards the application setting using a first treatment-administration modality and responding to detection of a second movement by using a second treatment-administration modality that is different from the first treatment-administration modality.

Abstract: A radiation-treatment planning apparatus accesses first information regarding a first image that pertains to a patient's body at a first time as well as second information regarding a second image that pertains to the patient's body at a second, later time. The radiation-treatment planning apparatus then correlates components of the patient's body as appear in the second image with components that appear in the first image while treating the components as comprising rigid structures regardless of whether those components, in fact, are rigid structures. The first information can include segmentation information as pertains to the components. These teachings will accommodate a wide range of components including, but not limited to, organs, portions of organs, and even implanted man-made objects.

Abstract: A method of processing image data includes obtaining an image set that includes at least a first image and a second image, determining a deformation registration using the first and second images, wherein the act of determining the deformation registration is performed using a processor, performing image compression on at least a portion of the image set using the determined deformation registration to obtain compressed image data, and storing the compressed image data. A method of processing image data includes obtaining compressed image data, obtaining a deformation registration previously used to create the compressed image data, performing image decompression on the compressed image data using the deformation registration to obtain decompressed image data, wherein the act of performing the image decompression is performed using a processor, and storing the decompressed image data.