Gamma Knife
The gamma knife is the most advanced technology available in radiosurgery. It is a safe, non-invasive, high-precision device that treats many types of tumors and lesions. In addition to providing extremely accurate and safe treatment, the gamma knife reduces complications and shortens the length of a patient's hospital stay.
This technology is one of many advanced therapies currently available at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Our skilled team of medical professionals includes neurosurgeons who also perform radiosurgery. Patients can therefore keep the same surgeon throughout their treatment, regardless of whether a surgical or non-surgical technique is used. The Gamma Knife unit has a long history of more than three decades of well-documented accuracy and success in delivering focused radiation.
Using computer emulation and stereotactic localization, the Gamma Knife precisely focuses 201 beams of Cobalt60-based (proton) radiation on a target. These machines are located only at dedicated neuroscience centers in the United States and throughout the world and provide extremely accurate targeting and precise treatment for brain cancers. They are dedicated to treating only brain tumors and dysfunctions in a one-day treatment, and are ideal for smaller tumors and lesions and for functional disorders of the brain.
How the Gamma Knife Works
The Gamma Knife is not a knife, but rather a highly developed treatment system, capable of directing up to 201 beams of gamma radiation to converge, with pinpoint accuracy, on a targeted abnormality within the brain. When concentrated, the rays provide enough radiation to treat the diseased area effectively, while the low intensity of each individual beam ensures the safety of the surrounding healthy brain tissue.
The Gamma Knife does not move during treatment, thus providing a high degree of precision within the brain. It has been available for 30 years with substantial research and follow-up backing its treatments and outcomes. The unit today is much the same as when it was developed. The machines utilize multiple sources of radiation, which allows for less damage to healthy tissue and better targeting. Over 100,000 people have received treatment with the Gamma Knife at this time.
Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a procedure useful in treating a number of neurosurgical conditions such as certain brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations, and selected functional problems such as facial pain, movement disorder, or epilepsy. Radiosurgery is a term coined by Dr. Lars Leksell, the pioneer developer of the Gamma Knife. The procedure involves the precise delivery of a high dose of radiation contoured in a customized fashion to be delivered to a distinct target in the brain. A custom-devised treatment plan can be developed for each individual patient to allow the delivery of precise 3-dimensional radiation in a highly accurate fashion.
The Procedure
On the day of treatment, the patient is fitted into a stereotactic head frame, which allows for precise localization of the abnormality throughout the day's procedures. The patient then undergoes the appropriate imaging method (CT scan, MRI, angiogram), which determines the size and position of the tumor or AVM. With imaging studies completed, the patient has an opportunity to relax; meanwhile, the Gamma Knife team, comprising many specialists, uses the systems computer program to help plan the course of treatment.
The target area of the brain and the appropriate radiation dosage are established in a short period of time. Now ready for the Gamma Knife, the patient lies down with his or her head still secured in the stereotactic frame, which is positioned inside a large metal helmet, called a collimator. The collimator will direct the system's radiation to the predetermined points in the patient's brain. Next, the patient slides into the Gamma Knife's sphere, which contains the source or radiation.
Treatment usually consists of a series of exposures, each lasting approximately 10 minutes. Patients experience little or no discomfort; most are able to go home within a day.
Benefits
With the Gamma Knife, post-treatment complications are greatly reduced, patients' hospital stays are shortened, and areas of the brain for which other therapies or conventional surgery are ineffective can be successfully treated. The Gamma Knife's precision and safety make it a highly appropriate choice for both pediatric and adult patients.
Gamma Knife radiosurgery is routinely performed on an outpatient procedure. The entire procedure typically lasts four to five hours. Because it avoids lengthy hospital stays, expensive medications, and occasional long-term rehabilitation, it has the added advantage of being cost-efficient.
Conditions Successfully Treated
The range of diseases effectively treated by the Gamma Knife includes:
- Vascular lesions such as arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)
- Acoustic neuroma
- Meningioma
- Pituitary tumors
- Pineal tumors
- Metastases
- Glial and astrocytic tumors
- Skull base tumors
- Other benign and malignant tumors
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Parkinson's disease
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