New radio technology - known as Gamma Knife eXtend - will make it easier to treat large brain tumors and tumors near sensitive brain components.
The technology has a re-locatable frame without pins that can be used directly on the patient, meaning it does not require a rigid frame fixation, said Jason Sheehan, associate professor of neurological surgery and radio oncology at the University. In addition, the new treatment is safer because it reduces the risk of damage to other important structures in the brain, Sheehan said.\n"It is truly non-invasive, allows us to treat patients with bigger tumors and treat [them] more safely," he said.
The new treatment also has an advantage in terms of cost, which it would substantially reduce in the long term because it does not require a long rehabilitation recovery, Sheehan said. It may even come out ahead in terms of comfort, where custom-fit pillows are available for patients during the treatment, he said.
Researchers are concerned about certain disadvantages of the technology, though. Its main drawback, Sheehan said, is that it consists of two to five procedures and thus is more inconvenient for the patients.
In addition, the treatment can't be applied to all kinds of tumors, neurosurgery prof. Ladislau Steiner said.
"Each of the neurosurgical methods are good for one or the other disease," Steiner said. "The neurosurgeon, based on his experience, has to decide from case to case which instrument to use."
Furthermore, people seem inclined to believe that there are not as many risks involved in the new treatment, since Gamma Knife eXtend does not include a surgical opening of the skull, he said.\n"What is happening in the brain, that is important; each thing can make damage," he said.
The new innovation continues the University's heavy involvement in the field of radio surgery treatment, which it has used on about 7,000 patients during the last 20 years.
"We have been pioneers in radio surgery for more than 20 years, leading the field for quite some time, so it's natural for us to get this technology easily and work to try to refine it," Sheehan said.
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