Gamma Knife® radiosurgery is a combined neurosurgical/radiation oncology procedure that utilizes a focused beam of 201 independent Co-60 gamma radiation sources to destroy brain cancers and abnormalities with sub-millimeter accuracy. In addition to the treatment of malignant lesions and arteriovenous malformations, the Gamma Knife has also been successfully applied in the treatment of small, benign tumors such as acoustic neuromas and meningiomas, as well as tumors in areas of the brain that are inaccessible to the surgeon’s knife or so close to vital structures that the risk of conventional surgery would out-weigh its potential benefits. The tissue being treated receives the highest dose of radiation, while surrounding tissue is left minimally affected. Depending on the size of the volume being treated, the procedure can take from 15 minutes to several hours. As indicated, the beams can be redirected and the irradiation procedure repeated until the entire disease site is treated.
Treatment with the Gamma Knife is carried out through the cooperative effects of a team of specialist who bring a broad range of expertise to each patient’s treatment. At University Hospitals, the Gamma Knife team includes the neurological surgeon, radiation oncologist, physicist, radiation technologist, gamma knife certified nursing staff and other essential support personnel.
The Gamma Knife program at University Hospitals, which began in 1999, has treated well over 500 patients for approximately twenty different disease indications. In 2004, the Gamma Knife Model C unit was upgraded with a complete source exchange and the latest versions of treatment planning software and hardware were installed.
On the research and development front, new inverse treatment planning and “expert” friendly software has been created. This software accelerates the planning process and allows the computer to arrive at the optimum plan configuration within minutes. These results were published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics (2002) and Medical Physics (2003).
Please review the GAMMA brochure for more information about Gamma knife.