Radiotherapy
and Radiosurgery
Radiotherapy,
together with conventional surgery, is one of the most common cancer
treatment options available. Radiation can shrink a tumor by killing
tumor cells or interfering with the tumor's ability to grow. With conventional
radiotherapy the entire radiation dose that is needed to destroy the
tumor is applied in many sessions with low doses (often over 4-7 weeks).
With Radiosurgery
the tumor is targeted with extremely precise high-energy radiation beams.
Even though the procedure is called radiosurgery, no surgery in the
conventional sense is performed. Instead, the entire dose needed to
destroy the tumor is typically applied in one sessions. However, the
treatment is only beneficial if - after determining the exact location,
size and shape of a tumor - the maximum dose can be applied exclusively
to the tumor itself and not to surrounding healthy tissue or critical
structures. To achieve the necessary razor-sharp precision, modern computer
technology is needed to plan and carry out the procedure. The method
of targeting an object by taking all three dimensions into account is
called stereotactic. Stereotactic radiosurgery is mostly used for brain
tumors.
Treatment
with Novalis Shaped Beam Surgery from BrainLAB
BrainLAB
has developed computer-assisted or image-guided systems that meet the
requirements of radiotherapy by providing much greater precision than
traditional solutions and thus making treatments more effective while
at the same time more comfortable for the patient. The goal of radiosurgery
is to apply a high dose of radiation to the tumor while sparing healthy
tissue as much as possible. To meet these demands, BrainLAB has developed
Novalis® Shaped Beam Surgery™.
The system integrates all planning
and treatment steps needed for high precision irradiation:
- Precise
localization of the tumor within the patient's body and exact definition
of its shape and size
- Accurate
positioning of the patient's tumor during irradiation
- Exact
mirroring of the tumor's shape through a high-resolution beam shaper
during treatment
- Application
of the treatment beams from many different directions to keep exposure
of healthy tissue to a minimum
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Novalis targets the tumor with unprecedented precision, thereby allowing
the application of a considerably higher dose to destroy the tumor,
while healthy tissue and vital structures can be spared significantly
better for optimal treatment outcome
For example, treatment of the following indications is possible:
- Primary tumors (gliomas, menigiomas)
- Brain metastases
- Spinal tumors
- Acoustic neuroma
- Brain tumors in children
- Skull base tumors
- Tumors outside the head, e.g. of prostate, lung or liver
Benefits
for the Patient
- A non-invasive, pain-free, out-patient treatment
- Patients can usually return home the same day (no hospital stay required, in most cases)
- Higher precision of dose application during treatment
- Healthy surrounding tissue is spared
- Risks and side-effects associated with open brain surgery such as post-operative complications don't apply
- Overall length of treatment is reduced considerably, one treatment session is often sufficient
- High doses show good results in small primary tumors
Benefits for the Physician
- Unprecedented
precision
- Improved
treatment outcomes
- Error
reduction
- Relevant
three-dimensional information in real time
- Higher
treatment efficiency
- Increased
safety
Doctor's
Opinions
Dr. Antonio
A. F. DeSalles, Professor in Residence, Division of Neurosurgery and
Department of Radiation Oncology: "Novalis is a very well developed
radiosurgery system, not only for the brain, but also for the spine.
It's probably the best system available at this point in terms of precision
and quality of treatment."
Dr. Samuel
Ryu, Head of the Radiosurgery Program at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit,
USA about the treatment of spinal tumors with Novalis (Britain: The
BrainLAB System) "The results are encouraging. All of the patients
we followed experienced a rapid and significant degree of pain relief.
Half of those experienced complete pain relief within two days of the
radiosurgery treatment. To date, we have
treated more than 100 patients with spinal metastases with single dose
radiosurgery. All the patients experienced a reduction in pain and an
improved quality of life following treatment'
Dr. Guy
Storme, Director of the University Clinic for Radiotherapy (AZUVB) in
Brussels, Belgium: "With BrainLAB's new x-ray-based positioning
system we can position our patients with an unprecedented precision
of 2mm or better for radiotherapy treatment. Clinical validation shows
high levels of set-up accuracy on a day-to-day basis and that positioning
can be accomplished within the same time frame as conventional patient
set-up. In the first nine months with the system, we have applied the
BrainLAB technology to more than 50 patients with prostate cancer, 35
patients with liver metastasis, as well as patients with pancreatic
and lung tumors."
Where
is this technology being used?
