Abstract

Radiosurgery is a non-invasive alternative to brain surgery that uses a single focused application of high radiation to destroy intracerebral target tissues. A Gamma Knife delivers such treatments by using 201 cylindrically collimated cobalt-60 sources that are arranged in a hemi-spherical pattern and aimed to a common focal point. The accumulation of radiation at the focal point, called a “shot” due to the spherical nature of the dose distribution, is used to ablate (or destroy) target tissue in the brain. If the target is small and spherical, it is easily treated by choosing one of four available collimators (4, 8, 14, or 18 mm). For large, irregular targets multiple shots are typically required to treat the entire lesion, and the process of determining the optimal arrangement and number of shots is complex.

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