A gamma knife (or Leksell gamma knife) is a device used to treat brain tumors with a high dose of radiation therapy in one day. The device was invented by Lars Leksell, a Swedish neurosurgeon, in 1967 at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.
The gamma knife device contains 201 cobalt-60 sources of approximately 30 curies (1.1 TBq) each, placed in a circular array in a heavily shielded assembly. The device aims gamma radiation through a target point in the patient's brain. The patient wears a specialized helmet that is surgically fixed to their skull so that the brain tumor remains stationary at target point of the gamma rays. An ablative dose of radiation is thereby sent through the tumor in one treatment session, while surrounding brain tissues are relatively spared.
Uses
Radiosurgery uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors, delivered with surgical precision to avoid damaging healthy brain tissue. Gamma knife radiosurgery is able to accurately focus many beams of high-intensity gamma radiation to converge on one or more tumors. Each individual beam is relatively low energy, so the radiation has little effect on intervening brain tissue.Efficiency
Gamma knife radiosurgery has proved effective for patients with benign or malignant brain tumors, vascular malformations such as an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), pain or other functional problems. The procedure is less invasive than alternative surgeries such as micro-decompression. For treatment of trigeminal neuralgia the procedure may be used repeatedly on patients.Ultimately, consideration for gamma knife radiosurgery treatment is contingent upon the patient's diagnosis, medical history and the case's overall severity upon consultation. In some instances, radiation oncologists will consider treatment for patients with metastatic disease, the elderly and whose life span will not exceed fifteen years, as well as those with inoperable lesions.
The risks of gamma knife radiosurgery treatment are very small and complications are related to the condition being treated. The complication rate is increased when the method is used to treat conditions which are life threatening in the short term.
See also
Gallery
Footnotes
References
- Sheehan J, Yen CP, Steiner L (2006). "Gamma knife surgery-induced meningioma. Report of two cases and review of the literature". J. Neurosurg. 105 (2): 325–9.
- Rowe J, Grainger A, Walton L, Silcocks P, Radatz M, Kemeny A (2007). "Risk of malignancy after gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery". Neurosurgery 60 (1): 60–5; discussion 65–6.
- Pan HC, Sheehan J, Stroila M, Steiner M, Steiner L (2005). "Gamma knife surgery for brain metastases from lung cancer". J. Neurosurg. 102 Suppl 128–33.
- Mack A, Czempiel H, Kreiner HJ, Dürr G, Wowra B (2002). "Quality assurance in stereotactic space. A system test for verifying the accuracy of aim in radiosurgery". Med Phys 29 (4): 561–8.
- William Regine; Lawrence Chin (2008). Principles of Stereotactic Surgery. Berlin: Springer.
External links
- Gamma Knife History from the University of Virginia
- Cross-sectional view of Gamma Knife (Model C)
- Rancan Gamma Knife India
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday July 22, 2008 at 23:01:50 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
A gamma knife (or Leksell gamma knife) is a device used to treat brain tumors with a high dose of radiation therapy in one day. The device was invented by Lars Leksell, a Swedish neurosurgeon, in 1967 at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.
The gamma knife device contains 201 cobalt-60 sources of approximately 30 curies (1.1 TBq) each, placed in a circular array in a heavily shielded assembly. The device aims gamma radiation through a target point in the patient's brain. The patient wears a specialized helmet that is surgically fixed to their skull so that the brain tumor remains stationary at target point of the gamma rays. An ablative dose of radiation is thereby sent through the tumor in one treatment session, while surrounding brain tissues are relatively spared.
Uses
Radiosurgery uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors, delivered with surgical precision to avoid damaging healthy brain tissue. Gamma knife radiosurgery is able to accurately focus many beams of high-intensity gamma radiation to converge on one or more tumors. Each individual beam is relatively low energy, so the radiation has little effect on intervening brain tissue.Efficiency
Gamma knife radiosurgery has proved effective for patients with benign or malignant brain tumors, vascular malformations such as an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), pain or other functional problems. The procedure is less invasive than alternative surgeries such as micro-decompression. For treatment of trigeminal neuralgia the procedure may be used repeatedly on patients.Ultimately, consideration for gamma knife radiosurgery treatment is contingent upon the patient's diagnosis, medical history and the case's overall severity upon consultation. In some instances, radiation oncologists will consider treatment for patients with metastatic disease, the elderly and whose life span will not exceed fifteen years, as well as those with inoperable lesions.
The risks of gamma knife radiosurgery treatment are very small and complications are related to the condition being treated. The complication rate is increased when the method is used to treat conditions which are life threatening in the short term.
See also
Gallery
Footnotes
References
- Sheehan J, Yen CP, Steiner L (2006). "Gamma knife surgery-induced meningioma. Report of two cases and review of the literature". J. Neurosurg. 105 (2): 325–9.
- Rowe J, Grainger A, Walton L, Silcocks P, Radatz M, Kemeny A (2007). "Risk of malignancy after gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery". Neurosurgery 60 (1): 60–5; discussion 65–6.
- Pan HC, Sheehan J, Stroila M, Steiner M, Steiner L (2005). "Gamma knife surgery for brain metastases from lung cancer". J. Neurosurg. 102 Suppl 128–33.
- Mack A, Czempiel H, Kreiner HJ, Dürr G, Wowra B (2002). "Quality assurance in stereotactic space. A system test for verifying the accuracy of aim in radiosurgery". Med Phys 29 (4): 561–8.
- William Regine; Lawrence Chin (2008). Principles of Stereotactic Surgery. Berlin: Springer.
External links
- Gamma Knife History from the University of Virginia
- Cross-sectional view of Gamma Knife (Model C)
- Rancan Gamma Knife India
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday July 22, 2008 at 23:01:50 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
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