Expanding Treatment Options Worldwide
Since 1968, worldwide use of the Gamma Knife has expanded treatment options for thousands of adult and pediatric patients with brain disorders. The Gamma Knife was first introduced in the United States in 1987.
The Gamma Knife is a stereotactic radiosurgical instrument that delivers a single high dose of precisely focused radiation through the intact skull to a small and critically located intracranial volume. With pinpoint accuracy, 201 beams of Cobalt-60 radiation arrest or alter tissue growth.
The Gamma Knife, which contains no blade and makes no incision, is a sophisticated, dedicated instrument exclusively designed for the treatment of malignant and benign brain tumors, vascular malformations and trigeminal neuralgia. As a non-invasive treatment for individuals with well-defined patient profiles, Gamma Knife surgery offers a low-risk, safe and cost-effective alternative.
Precision and Safety
The Gamma Knife combines data from three-dimensional computer imaging studies with a stereotactic head frame to precisely focus radiation. It can destroy, arrest or reduce tumors, cause lesions to deteriorate, close arteriovenous malformations, and alter the conducting pain fibers in cases of trigeminal neuralgia.
At the time of treatment, the patient is fitted with a stereotactic head frame, which serves as a measuring guide and helps keep the head in a fixed position to assure maximum treatment accuracy. The frame's external axis is used to determine coordinates for targeting the abnormality.
After the frame is attached, the patient receives an MRI, CT, or angiographic scan. Data from the imaging study is transferred into the state-of-the-art treatment planning computer, which enables the treatment team (a neurosurgeon, radiation oncologist, radiation physicist and technicians) to tailor radiation dose distribution to conform specifically to the lesion volume. Completing the treatment plan takes one to two hours, depending on the complexity and location of the disease.
When the treatment plan is completed, the patient is placed on the Gamma Knife couch and precisely positioned. Next, a collimator helmet containing 201 evenly distributed portals is attached to the frame, and the patient is introduced headfirst into the Gamma Knife. Then, the patient is treated with the 201 sources of Cobalt 60 housed in the Gamma Knife. The 201 single doses of gamma rays converge at the target area and deliver a dose that is high enough to destroy the diseased tissue without damaging surrounding healthy tissue.
For further details on Gamma Knife technology and treatment, see the FAQs.
The patient is treated with 201 sources
of Cobalt 60, delivering a dose that is high
enough to destroy diseased tissue without
damaging surrounding healthy tissue.