Gamma Knife® is a form of stereotactic radiosurgery and is an advanced form of radiation therapy. Though the name sounds like a surgical procedure, Gamma Knife is actually a non-invasive alternative to traditional brain surgery that does not involve any scalpels or incisions. Instead, it uses up to 192 of focused beams of radiation to treat malignant and benign brain tumors, vascular normalities and functional disorders without harming surrounding healthy tissue.
The thousands of radiation beams can be generated from these sources with a level or accuracy of better than 0.15 mm. By using so many beams, this allows the optimal treatment plan to be generated to treat the target and at the same time minimize the amount of radiation to the surrounding healthy tissue.
Due to the accuracy of Gamma Knife and the ability to use either a frame or a mask for patient immobilization the full dose of radiation can be delivered during a single session, or using multiple smaller doses. Treatments are delivered in the outpatient setting and the patient can return home the same day after the treatment is completed.
