SYDNEY /PRNewswire/ -- An estimated 300 participants from 12 countries, including neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists and other healthcare providers will gather March 26-29, in Sydney, Australia for Elekta's 16th International Leksell Gamma Knife Society Meeting. A dominant subject among the 275 oral and poster presentations in the scientific program will be Gamma Knife® radiosurgery of brain metastases and movement disorders, in addition to the latest results from multi-center trials.

"The theme is 'Boundless Horizons,' which challenges our limits and makes us look forward to possibilities, reflecting the expanding use of Gamma Knife and the yet to be imagined potential of this form of surgery," says Prof. Michael K. Morgan, M.D., Dean, at Sydney's Macquarie University Hospital (MUH), which is hosting the event at the city's Hilton Hotel. "The focus on cancer at the meeting reflects the importance of Gamma Knife in the treatment of this disease, however, the program comprehensively covers all aspects of innovation in Gamma Knife surgery for brain disorders."

MUH acquired the continent's first Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™, in 2010, and is the first and only center in Australia to provide dedicated intracranial radiosurgery. The technological capabilities of Gamma Knife are in high demand in Australia, as an estimated 1,400 new cases of malignant brain tumors - and many more benign tumors - are diagnosed annually. More than 1,200 Australians die each year from malignant and benign brain tumors.*
"As a relatively new user of Gamma Knife technology, Macquarie was chosen to host the 16th Society meeting for the intensity and professionalism that the Gamma Knife program faculty has demonstrated in getting their program started and the progress they've made since 2010," says Dan Leksell, M.D., Senior Advisor at Elekta. "With its thriving, world-class medical community and facilities, we couldn't have asked for a better venue than Sydney, Australia's oldest city, and one that is beautiful, vibrant and diverse. Now, Sydney is developing into the focus of radiosurgical excellence in a continent whose citizens have needed a gentler option to treat intracranial disease for some time."

About the Leksell Gamma Knife Society
The Leksell Gamma Knife Society was established in 1989 to provide a forum for Gamma Knife users to share information, experiences, clinical techniques and advanced scientific research in their quest to non-invasively treat an expanding number of brain disorders. The biennial meeting results in a large number of clinical publications, in recent years published as a supplement to Journal of Neurosurgery. The Society plays an important role in increasing the visibility and acceptance of Gamma Knife surgery in the worldwide medical community, among healthcare providers and among patients. The open sharing of results and experiences allows all Gamma Knife users to maintain leadership in the field of intracranial radiosurgery, based on the most recent clinical advancements.

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