New Orleans -- At the 81st American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Annual Scientific Meeting April 27-May 1 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Elekta (booth #2239) will spotlight the continuing preeminence of Gamma Knife® stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) as the gold standard for treating benign and malignant brain tumors, plus other functional and vascular brain disorders.

"As the only radiosurgery device designed and dedicated to the brain, Leksell Gamma Knife has set the standard of safe and effective treatment of brain conditions," says Jay Hoey, Executive Vice President, Elekta North America. "Today, it remains the standard by which all other radiosurgery treatments are measured, treating more than 70,000 people a year with more than 800 scientific papers [studies with more than 30 patients] backing the technology.

"Gamma Knife surgery is an exceptional treatment choice for cases in which adjacent critical structures are at high risk of radiotoxicity, such as in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, residual meningiomas and acoustic neuroma," he adds. "For other intracranial targets such as multiple brain metastases, Leksell Gamma Knife provides less dose to normal brain tissues than other techniques."
Spotlight on patient safety and provider efficiency

Dedicated to intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery, Leksell Gamma Knife supports enhanced patient safety via the system's single focused SRS design and simplicity-of-operation, which decrease the risk of mechanical and human error. Typically capable of completing therapy in a single outpatient procedure, Gamma Knife surgery has also demonstrated significant efficiency advantages for providers as well. In comparison, Center for Medicare Services (CMS) 2011 claims data indicate that most patients receiving SRS delivered with a linear-accelerator require up to four outpatient procedures to complete their course of therapy.

Gamma Knife also will be featured in the Scientific Program of the AANS with results from two multicenter trials detailing the results of Gamma Knife in the treatment of benign tumors and hemangioblastomas, and two single center, large series reports on the use of Gamma Knife in vascular malformations. In addition, Gamma Knife is featured in several breakfast seminars and practical clinics, which will further clarify the role of the technology as an important adjunct to neurosurgery.

Additional Elekta solutions to be showcased at AANS include: Leksell GammaPlan® 10, for optimal treatment planning for Gamma Knife radiosurgery Elekta Neuromag® TRIUX, the most sophisticated magnetoencephalography (MEG) system available Leksell Stereotactic System®, the preferred system for functional neurosurgery and biopsies Leksell SurgiPlan® 10, for advanced, image-based neurosurgical planning

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