A Gamma Knife is a high-precision irradiation machine used for the radiosurgical treatment of various diseases occurring within the skull. These include tumours of the brain and the eye, along with lesions of blood vessels and nerves. The device contains 201 individual cobalt radiation sources, all emitting low doses of radiation that are focused together on a single target point. This is the only point to receive a therapeutically effective dose of radiation, so that the diseased area is destroyed while the surrounding healthy tissue remains almost completely unaffected.

This unique method of treatment was developed in 1968 by Professor Lars Leksell, a Swedish neurosurgeon. Since that time it has been continually improved and today it is still becoming more efficient, thanks to modern computer technology.

Maximum therapeutic effect with minimum stress

As the surrounding tissue remains largely unaffected, and with the low total dose of radiation owing to the highly accurate calculation of the radiation field, Gamma Knife treatment ensures extremely low levels of stress for the patient. A large number of clinical studies from over 40 years clearly show that this treatment is very safe and effective. Around the world over 500,000 patients have already been treated successfully using the Gamma Knife.

One single treatment

One great advantage of radiosurgical treatment using a Gamma Knife is that the great majority of patients can be treated in a single out-patient procedure. It is very well tolerated and has only minor side-effects, which means the patients experience minimal physical effects. After a short recovery period patients can go home directly after the treatment. This avoids the need for long-term rehabilitation measures and the associated lost working time following treatment.