1、What is the Head Gamma Knife?

Gamma knife actually takes the "gamma rays" from the natural decay of the radioactive element "cobalt-60" and concentrates them in a focal point through a collination system, which is like focusing sunlight with a magnifying glass, so as to produce a very high radiation dose area. By placing the tumor (we call the "target area") in this high-energy area, the tumor is irradiated with a large dose and a lethal dose, so that the DNA double strand of the tumor is broken to kill the tumor and stop the tumor DNA replication (cell reproduction), thus reflecting the purpose of tumor treatment.

In the whole treatment process, we can completely wrap the irregularly shaped tumor within our treatment range through the TPS three-dimensional treatment planning system, which also intuitively judges the dose of radiation received by the surrounding normal nerve tissue. Through planned physician regulation, it is ideal to avoid vital nerve tissue and keep normal nerve tissue within a safe and tolerable dose of radiation, thus playing a decisive role in protecting surrounding normal tissue. So gamma knife treatment of intracranial tumors rarely involves damage to normal tissue.

The premise of TPS three-dimensional treatment planning is to have an accurate nuclear magnetic positioning image, and only high-precision positioning can make high-quality treatment plan. We use high-field NMR to perform thin-layer (3mm) axis and crown scanning on patients equipped with stereoscopic head frame, and adjust the position of the patient's head by measuring the white bright spots on the stereoscopic frame on the scanned image. In this way, human errors in the positioning process will be reduced as much as possible. Errors cannot be avoided, but can be reduced. We will reduce the positioning error to less than 0.5 mm.

2、 the advantages of the head gamma knife

Gamma knife is an advanced radiotherapy technology, and it is suitable for the treatment of various benign and malignant tumors in the head, then the advantages of using gamma knife to treat head surgery? Gamma knife treatment of the head, belongs to the stereotactic radiation (surgery) treatment category, compared with craniotomy, compared with general radiation therapy, its advantages also include the following aspects:

1. Accurate positioning, good repeatability; The curative effect is definitely less pain and higher patient satisfaction;

2. The dose distribution is highly conformal, which is conducive to complete tumor coverage and effective tumor control;

3. The dose distribution within the treatment range is uniform and reasonable, which is conducive to the treatment of key sites;

4. The dose gradient outside the treatment range is very large, which is conducive to the protection of normal tissues;

5. After treatment, brain tissue damage is light, good spirit, less hair loss, no skin damage;

6. The treatment will not affect the systemic condition, will not cause gastrointestinal reactions and blood image changes;

7. Short treatment cycle, large dose segmentation, the number of treatment is generally not more than ten times;

8. Because the surrounding tissue damage is light, if the tumor recurs in the short term, the treatment can be repeated.

3、Indications of gamma knife

1. Benign tumors: meningioma, pituitary tumor, neurofibroma, etc.;

2. Malignant tumors: glioma, brain metastases, melanoma, etc.

3. Congenital tumors: craniopharyngioma, germ cell tumor, teratoma, chordoma, etc.

4. Functional diseases: epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia, etc.

5. Vascular diseases: arteriovenous malformation (AVM), cavernous hemangioma;