Gamma Knife
From Kidney Cancer Resource
Overview
The Gamma Knife and its associated computerized treatment planning software enable physicians to locate and irradiate relatively small targets in the head (mostly inside the brain) with extremely high precision. Intense doses of radiation can be given to the targeted area(s) while largely sparing the surrounding tissues. The Gamma Knife can be used for a wide variety of problems. For example, it can be used to treat selected malignant Tumors that arise in or spread to the brain (primary brain tumors or metastatic tumors), benign brain tumors (meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, acoustic neuromas), blood vessel defects (arterio-venous malformations) and functional problems (trigeminal neuralgia). Possible future uses are being evaluated for epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.
The gamma knife loses its ability to spare surrounding normal tissues as the number of targets increases, is not suitable for large targets (larger than three to four centimeters in size) and is not used for targets outside of the head.
How does it work?
The Gamma Knife works by a process called Stereotactic Radio Surgery, which uses multiple beams of Radiation converging in three dimensions to focus precisely on a small volume, such as a Tumor, permitting intense doses of Radiation to be delivered to that volume safely. Treatment that is fractionated over several days may be referred to as Stereotactic Radio Therapy as opposed to Stereotactic Radio Surgery.
Cyberknife & Gamma Knife, Click Here
comparison of cyberknife and gamma knife Click Here
Stereotactic Treatment includes 3 other Basic types/names
- Stereotactic Radio Surgery which is covered in more detail if you Click Here
- Stereotactic Radio Therapy which is covered in more detail if you Click Here
- Stereotactic Cyber Knife which is covered in more detail if you Click Here
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