Elekta publ : Doctors in Japan begin treating patients with Elekta’s Leksell Gamma Knife Icon

Furukawa Seiryo Hospital is country's first to introduce frameless Gamma Knife radiosurgery

Physicians at Furukawa Seiryo Hospital launched their frameless Gamma Knife radiosurgery program on October 31, treating a 59-year-old male patient with a brain metastasis. The treatment was performed with the center's new Leksell Gamma Knife Icon™, the latest technological advance in Elekta's Gamma Knife radiosurgery platform.

'We upgraded our existing Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion™ to Icon to provide patients with a non-invasive frameless alternative to traditional Gamma Knife surgery, and to enable us to treat larger tumors over multiple sessions,' says Hidefumi Jokura, MD, Vice President of Furukawa Seiryo Hospital and director of the hospital's Gamma Knife Center. 'Having this new technology also increases our competitiveness in Japan, where 54 sites currently operate a Gamma Knife system.'

During its first week of Icon use, the hospital treated 10 patients, two of whom had frameless treatment. While all of these first patients completed their treatment in a single session, Icon will allow doctors to deliver therapy over multiple sessions by virtue of the system's cone beam CT (CBCT) and advanced motion management systems.

'We can confirm that the accuracy of frameless Gamma Knife radiosurgery is as high as the frame-based therapy,' Dr. Jokura notes. 'Patient preparation for a frameless treatment takes longer than a frame-based treatment, but the medical staff have found the process very easy and the workflow is fairly streamlined. While one patient is being fixed with the Leksell frame, other staff members can fit the mask over the next patient in parallel to reduce the wait time for the doctor.'

Doctors at Furukawa Seiryo Hospital are looking forward to using Icon for multisession treatments, which was practically difficult with their previous Gamma Knife system.

'Now, we will be able to effectively treat patients with larger tumors, which require the radiation dose to be spread out over multiple sessions,' he says. 'Taking a CBCT scan before each session ensures that we are on target. In addition, the infrared motion management system increases safety by monitoring any motion of the patient's head. The hospital that refers patients with bigger tumors will no longer hesitate to refer these patients to Furukawa Seiryo Hospital thanks to this Icon technology.'

Since 1991, the center has treated about 7,500 patients with three generations of Gamma Knife systems.

To learn more about Leksell Gamma Knife Icon, visit www.careforthebrain.com.

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About Elekta

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 6,000 hospitals worldwide. Elekta employs around 3,600 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm. Website: www.elekta.com Twitter: @Elekta.