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In a complex, multi-processor software controlled system, such as proton beam therapy system (PBTS), it may be important to provide treatment configurable parameters that are easily modified by an authorized user to prepare the software controlled systems for various modes of operation. This particu

In a complex, multi-processor software controlled system, such as proton beam therapy system (PBTS), it may be important to provide treatment configurable parameters that are easily modified by an authorized user to prepare the software controlled systems for various modes of operation. This particular invention relates to a configuration management system for the PBTS that utilizes a database to maintain data and configuration parameters and also to generate and distribute system control files that can be used by the PBTS for treatment delivery. The use of system control files reduces the adverse effects of single point failures in the database by allowing the PBTS to function independently from the database. The PBTS accesses the data, parameters, and control settings from the database through the system control files, which insures that the data and configuration parameters are accessible when and if single point failures occur with respect to the database.

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1. A radiation beam therapy system having a plurality of treatment devices including a radiation beam source and a beam transport device, the radiation beam therapy system comprising:a database component that stores subsets of parameters associated with selected treatment devices, wherein the parame

1. A radiation beam therapy system having a plurality of treatment devices including a radiation beam source and a beam transport device, the radiation beam therapy system comprising:a database component that stores subsets of parameters associated with selected treatment devices, wherein the parameters comprise instructional information that can be used to configure the selected treatment devices for operation;an interface component that allows a user to modify the subsets of parameters associated with selected treatment devices stored in the database; anda management component that extracts subsets of parameters from the database and generates data storage elements comprising the extracted subsets of parameters in a format recognizable by the selected treatment devices, wherein the data storage elements permit configuration of the selected treatment devices based, at least in part, on the instructional information comprised therein, the management component further distributes the data storage elements to the selected treatment devices to thereby permit the selected treatment devices to operate independently of the database component. 2. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein operation of the selected treatment devices includes a treatment mode of operation. 3. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of treatment devices includes at least one of a charged particle source, an accelerator, and a beam transport system. 4. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 3, wherein the source or accelerator includes a proton synchrotron and the beam transport system includes a plurality of steering and focussing magnets with beam sensors distributed along an evacuated beam transport tube. 5. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 4, wherein the beam transport system connects to a series of switchyards that include an array of dipole bending magnets which deflect the beam to any one of a plurality of beam focussing and deflection optics leading to respective treatment locations having rotatable gantries. 6. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 5, wherein a beam delivery system is located within each rotatable gantry, which is adapted to deliver therapeutic radiation doses to a patient lying on a treatment platform according to a specific patient treatment plan. 7. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the subsets of parameters include treatment data, configuration parameters, operational parameters, and control settings for the selected treatment devices. 8. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 7, wherein the selected treatment devices are software controlled instruments that require at least one of the subsets of parameters for operation and treatment. 9. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the database component comprises a centralized database server, which stores configuration and operational information, such as data, parameters, and control settings, for the selected treatment devices in a manner so as to provide easy access to the stored configuration and operational information, wherein parameter retrieval and modification are easily performed by the centralized database server via requests from the interface component. 10. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 9, wherein the centralized database server provides configuration management activities, which includes record keeping and version/revision control. 11. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the management component reduces the occurrence of single point failures by generating appropriate data storage elements and distributing the data storage elements to the selected treatment devices. 12. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 11, wherein the distribution of data storage elements by the management component affords the selected treatment devices operational independence from the database component due to the associated reliance on the data storage elem ents for parameter retrieval and operational configuration. 13. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the radiation beam therapy system comprises at least one communication link between the management component and the selected treatment devices so as to distribute the generated data storage elements to the selected treatment devices. 14. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the subsets of parameters are stored in the database component in at least one of database table structures, records, and values. 15. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the data storage elements are arranged in a consolidated information set that is recognizable by the selected treatment devices. 16. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 15, wherein the consolidated information set exploits the native functionality of the selected treatment devices in a manner such that an additional numerical or supplemental program or application is unnecessary for the selected treatment devices to recognize the configuration parameter values from the data storage elements. 17. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the data storage elements comprise a data type that is stored and accessed in a file-oriented manner as is suitable for each selected treatment devices. 18. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the data storage elements comprise a data type that is stored and accessed in an address-oriented manner as is suitable for each selected treatment devices. 19. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the data storage elements comprise one or more volatile or non-volatile system control files. 20. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the data storage elements comprise one or more system control files. 21. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 20, wherein the one or more system control files include one or more flat files. 22. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the management component sends configurable parameters to each treatment device, and wherein a selected treatment device retrieves usable parameters from the configurable parameters. 23. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 1, wherein the management component selectively sends configurable parameters to each treatment device representing usable parameters by each treatment device. 24. A radiation beam therapy system comprising a plurality of distributed functional components whose operation is coordinated to elicit a selected operational mode, the system comprising:a database component that stores a plurality of parameters associated with the distributed functional components,an interface component that allows a user to select an operational mode for which the database component identifies appropriate subsets of parameters that are associated with the distributed functional components and generates at least one system control file containing an appropriate subset of parameters used to configure a selected distributed functional component to operate in such a manner to elicit the selected operational mode; anda control file distribution component that provides each of the distributed functional components with the appropriate system control file such that the functional components are able to operate substantially independently of the database component while eliciting the selected operational mode. 25. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the operational mode includes a treatment mode of operation. 26. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the plurality of distributed functional components includes at least one of a charged particle source, an accelerator, and a beam transport system. 27. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 26, wherein the source or accelerator includes a proton synchrotron and the beam transport system includes a plurality of steering and focussing magnets with beam sensors distributed along an evacuated be am transport tube. 28. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 27, wherein the beam transport system connects to a series of switchyards that include an array of dipole bending magnets which deflect the beam to any one of a plurality of beam focussing and deflection optics leading to respective treatment locations having rotatable gantries. 29. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 28, wherein a beam delivery system is located within each rotatable gantry, which is adapted to deliver therapeutic radiation doses to a patient lying on a treatment platform according to a specific patient treatment plan. 30. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the plurality of parameters include treatment data, configuration parameters, operational parameters, and control settings for the distributed functional components. 31. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 30, wherein the distributed functional components are software controlled instruments that require at least one of the plurality of parameters for operation and treatment delivery. 32. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the database component comprises a centralized database server, which stores configuration and operational information, such as data, parameters, and control settings, for the distributed functional components in a manner so as to provide easy access to the stored configuration and operational information, wherein parameter retrieval and modification are easily performed by the centralized database server via requests from the interface component. 33. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 32, wherein the centralized database server provides configuration management activities, which includes record keeping and version/revision control. 34. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the control file distribution component reduces the occurrence of single point failures by generating appropriate system control files and distributing the system control files to the distributed functional components. 35. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 34, wherein the distribution of system control files by the control file distribution component affords the distributed functional components operational independence from the database component due to the associated reliance on the system control files for parameter retrieval and operational configuration. 36. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the radiation beam therapy system comprises at least one communication link between the control file distribution component and the distributed functional components so as to distribute the generated system control files to the distributed functional components. 37. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the plurality of parameters are stored in the database component in at least one of database table structures, records, and values. 38. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the system control files are arranged in a consolidated information set that is recognizable by the distributed functional components. 39. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 38, wherein the consolidated information set exploits the native functionality of the distributed functional components in a manner such that an additional numerical or supplemental program or application is unnecessary for the treatment delivery devices to recognize the configuration parameter values from the system control files. 40. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the system control file comprises a data type that is stored and accessed in a file-oriented manner as is suitable for each distributed functional component. 41. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the system control file comprises a data type that is stored and accessed in an address-oriented manner as is suitable for each distributed functional component. 42. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the system control file comprises one or more volatile or non-volatile data storage elements. 43. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the system control file comprises one or more flat files. 44. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the control file distribution component sends configurable parameters to each functional component, and wherein a selected functional component retrieves usable parameters from the configurable parameters. 45. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 24, wherein the control file distribution component selectively sends configurable parameters to each functional component representing usable parameters by each functional component. 46. A radiation beam therapy system comprising:a plurality of treatment devices including a radiation beam source and a beam transport device;a database that stores subsets of specific parameters associated with selected treatment devices, wherein the specific parameters comprise a logical collection of instructional information that can be used to configure the selected treatment devices for operation;an interface that allows a user to modify the subsets of specific parameters associated with selected treatment devices stored in the database; anda management component that extracts selected subsets of specific parameters from the database and generates system control files comprising the extracted subsets of specific parameters in a format recognizable by the selected treatment devices, wherein the system control files permit configuration of the selected treatment devices based, at least in part, on the instructional information comprised therein, the management component further distributes the system control files to the selected treatment devices to thereby permit the selected treatment devices to operate independently of the database. 47. The radiation beam therapy system of claim 46, wherein the subsets of specific parameters comprise subsets of instrument specific parameters. 48. A radiation beam therapy system having a plurality of functional components including a radiation beam source and a beam transport device, the system comprising:a database that stores subsets of configurable parameters associated with the operation of the functional components, the database further comprising an interface component that allows a user to modify the stored subsets of configurable parameters; anda management component that retrieves subsets of configurable parameters associated with selected functional components from the database, the management component further generating control files from the stored configurable parameters, and subsequently distributing the generated control files to the identified functional components such that the identified functional components can operate independently. 49. A radiation beam therapy system comprising:at least one functional component that can be configured for treatment delivery via a subset of configurable parameters;a database component that stores the subset of configurable parameters as a logical collection of information, the database component having a user interface that allows a user to modify the logical collection of information; anda management component that communicates with the database component and the at least one functional component, wherein the management component identifies the subset of configurable parameters associated with the at least one functional component, generates a first file from the identified subset of configurable parameters, and distributes the first file to the at least one functional component so that, upon reception of the first file, the at least one functional component can extract the subset of configurable parameters from the first file and configure itself for treatment delivery. 50. A method for managing a plurality of distributed instruments used in treatment delivery for a radiation beam therapy system, the method comprising:storing operational ins tructions for each instrument within a centralized configuration management system having a database component in which the operational instructions are maintained;selecting an operational mode for the radiation beam therapy system and identifying a subset of operational instructions stored in the database component for each of the distributed instruments to be used in configuring the radiation beam therapy system to function in the selected operational mode;generating a data storage element for each of the distributed instruments containing the required operational instructions necessary to configure each distributed instrument to function in such a manner so as to result in the radiation beam therapy system functioning in the selected operational mode; andtransferring the data storage element to the distributed instruments thereby providing the necessary operational instructions for a selected distributed instrument to operate without requiring further access to the centralized configuration management system to elicit functioning of the radiation beam therapy system in the desired operational mode. 51. The method of claim 50, wherein generating a data storage element includes generating a plurality of data storage elements. 52. The method of claim 50, wherein generating a data storage element includes generating at least one flash memory element. 53. The method of claim 50, wherein generating a data storage element includes generating at least one system control file. 54. The method of claim 50, wherein transferring the data storage element to the distributed instruments includes transmitting the data storage element to the distributed instruments. 55. The method of claim 50, wherein selecting an operational mode includes selecting a treatment mode of operation. 56. The method of claim 50, wherein managing a plurality of distributed instruments includes managing a plurality of treatment components. 57. The method of claim 50, wherein managing the plurality of distributed instruments includes managing at least one of a charged particle source, an accelerator, and a beam transport system. 58. The method of claim 57, wherein managing the source or accelerator includes managing a proton synchrotron, and wherein managing the beam transport system includes managing a plurality of steering and focussing magnets with beam sensors distributed along an evacuated beam transport tube. 59. The method of claim 58, wherein the beam transport system connects to a series of switchyards that include an array of dipole bending magnets which deflect the beam to any one of a plurality of beam focussing and deflection optics leading to respective treatment locations having rotatable gantries. 60. The method of claim 59, wherein a beam delivery system is located within each rotatable gantry, which is adapted to deliver therapeutic radiation doses to a patient lying on a treatment platform according to a specific patient treatment plan. 61. The method of claim 50, wherein storing operational instructions includes storing treatment data, configuration parameters, operational parameters, and control settings for each of the distributed instruments. 62. The method of claim 61, wherein the distributed instruments are software controlled treatment devices that require at least one of the operational instructions for operation and treatment. 63. The method of claim 50, wherein storing the operational instructions includes storing the operational instructions in a database component that comprises a centralized database server, which stores configuration and operational information, such as data, parameters, and control settings, for the distributed instruments in a manner so as to provide easy access to the stored configuration and operational information, wherein parameter retrieval and modification are easily performed by the centralized database server via requests from an interface component. 64. The method of claim 63, wherein maintaining the opera tional instructions includes accessing the centralized database server so as to provide configuration management activities, which include record keeping and version/revision control. 65. The method of claim 50, wherein generating a data storage element reduces the occurrence of single point failures by generating appropriate data storage elements and distributing the data storage elements to the selected treatment devices. 66. The method of claim 65, wherein transferring the data storage elements affords the distributed instruments operational independence due to the associated reliance on the data storage elements for parameter retrieval and operational configuration. 67. The method of claim 50, wherein transferring the data storage elements includes transferring the data storage elements via a communication link between the centralized configuration management system and the distributed instruments so as to distribute the generated data storage elements to the distributed instruments. 68. The method of claim 50, wherein storing the operational instructions includes storing the operational instructions in the database component in at least one of database table structures, records, and values. 69. The method of claim 50, wherein generating the data storage elements include arranging the data storage elements in a consolidated information set that is recognizable by the distributed elements. 70. The method of claim 69, wherein the consolidated information set exploits the native functionality of the distributed instruments in a manner such that an additional numerical or supplemental program or application is unnecessary for the distributed instruments to recognize the operational instruction values from the data storage elements. 71. The method of claim 50, wherein generating the data storage elements includes generating a data type that is stored and accessed in a file-oriented manner as is suitable for each selected treatment devices. 72. The method of claim 50, wherein generating the data storage elements includes generating a data type that is stored and accessed in an address-oriented manner as is suitable for each selected treatment devices. 73. The method of claim 50, wherein generating the data storage elements includes generating one or more volatile or non-volatile system control files. 74. The method of claim 50, wherein generating the data storage elements includes generating one or more system control files. 75. The method of claim 73, wherein generating the one or more system control files includes generating one or more flat files. 76. The method of claim 50, wherein transferring the data storage elements includes transferring configurable parameters to each distributed instrument, and wherein each distributed instrument retrieves usable parameters from the configurable parameters. 77. The method of claim 50, wherein transferring the data storage elements includes selectively sending configurable parameters to each distributed instrument representing usable parameters by each distributed instrument. 78. A method of configuring a radiation beam therapy system having a plurality of functional components for directing a beam to at least one of a plurality of treatment locations, the method comprising:maintaining a plurality of configurable parameters in a database, the configurable parameters used to coordinate the function of the plurality of functional components thereby eliciting operational control of the radiation beam therapy system;selecting an operational mode in which the beam is to be directed to a particular treatment location with a desired set of operational parameters;identifying subsets of parameters from the plurality of configurable parameters maintained in the database that are used to configure and control the functional components in such a manner so as to direct the beam to the selected treatment location with the desired set of operational parameters generating at least one system control fi le which reflects the subsets of parameters used to configure and control the functional components; anddistributing the at least one system control file to at least one of the plurality of functional components thereby directing the operation of the functional components.