Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine has modernised its Gamma Knife tool. This radio therapeutic brain surgery system is used to treat benign and malignant tumors as well as vascular malformations in the cranial cavity.
The new updated version of the installation makes it possible for radiosurgery specialists to widen the range of the brain conditions that can be treated by noninvasive methods.
One of the modernised Gamma Knife’s main advantages is the possibility of its frameless operation with no loss in accuracy. The process is controlled through computer tomography and infrared monitoring.
A fully radiolucent system of framework holding allows for a more accurate view of abnormal foci in the brain and patients feel more comfortable during the process.
The update concerned not only the Gamma Knife hardware, but its software too. The Radiosurgery Unit specialists can now promptly monitor and adjust the treatment plan, improving its efficiency in a timely manner, which will be favourable for the outcome of operations.
The treatment will take less time thanks to the new sources of high-activity radiation. This will give a greater number of patients in need of radiosurgery the chance to receive high-technology care.
The Gamma Knife makes it possible to operate without incisions and craniotomy. To this end surgeons use radiation from 192 Cobalt-60 sources. The beams of radiation are gathered and operate like a noninvasive surgical knife. They destroy the DNA of tumour cells, while affecting the surrounding healthy tissue only to a minimal extent. The treatment does not require a long stay in hospital and takes, as a rule, from four to 12 hours. The patients are given a local anaesthetic.
The Radiosurgery Unit at Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine of the Moscow Department of Healthcare is an innovative department for the advanced high-tech treatment of various central nervous system disorders.
