THE GAMMA KNIFE 

MANKIND HAS LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE FUNCTION OF HIS BRAIN DURING THE PAST DECADE THAN IN ALL PREVIOUS HISTORY.

FIRST, THE CAT SCANNER REVEALED DETAILS OF THE CRANIUM. THE MRI (MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGER) SCANNER SHOWED US THE GRAY AND WHITE SECTIONS OF THE BRAIN. THEN THE BIG JUMP: PET (POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHIC) SCANNER WHICH INDICATED THE ELECTRONIC ACTIVITY IN THE BRAIN. WE NOW CAN SEE WHERE WE THINK. ANOTHER STEP, THE QUANTIFIED SIGNAL IMAGER MOVED US INTO NEW GROUND ADAPTING AN OLDER TECHNIQUE, THE EEG (ELECTRONIC ENCEPHALOGRAM), TO PRODUCE A MAP OF OUR THINKING PROCESSES.

NOW ANOTHER MAJOR LEAP -- THE GAMMA KNIFE. IT PERFORMS NEUROLOGI- CAL SURGERY WITHOUT THE SCAPEL!

CREDIT FOR DEVELOPING THE FIRST PROTOTYPE, 12 YEARS AGO IN SWEDEN, GOES TO BORJE LARSSON OF THE GUSTAF WERNER INSTITUTE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UPPSALA AND LARS LEKSELL AT THE KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE IN STOCKHOLM. THE GAMMA KNIFE SHOWED THAT A DIRECTED ENERGY SOURCE COULD BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR BRAIN TUMORS. THE FIRST ADVANCED UNIT HAS ARRIVED IN NORTH AMERICA. THE PRESBYTERIAN-UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN PITTSBURG IS HOME FOR THIS LATEST BIT OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE NEW ARMAMENTARIUM OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. THE ONLY TWO OTHER UNITS OUTSIDE SWEDEN ARE IN BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA AND IN SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND.

THIS UNIT CONVERTS COBALT-60 IN A NEW TECHNIQUE CALLED "STEREOTACTIC RADIO SURGERY". IN EFFECT IT SENDS AN ELECTRONIC KNIFE INTO THE BRAIN TO DISSOLVE DANGEROUS TUMORS. LENGTH OF TREATMENT CAN BE AS SHORT AS 15 OR 20 MINUTES! MOST TREATMENTS DO NOT REQUIRE GENERAL ANESTHESIA AND CAUSE NO IMMEDIATE SIDE EFFECTS. EACH TREAT- MENT IS "CUSTOM DESIGNED".

THE GAMMA KNIFE, WHICH HAS MET THE EXACTING STANDARDS OF THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION, IS SAFER THAN MANY EXISTING PROCEDURES BECAUSE IT ELIMINATES RISKY, OPEN-SKULL OPERATIONS. TELEVISION MONITORING IS USED DURING THE PROCEDURES AND TWO-WAY VOICE CONTACT BETWEEN THE PHYSICIAN AND PATIENT IS AVAILABLE AT ALL TIMES.

BECAUSE MORE THAN 1,500 PATIENTS HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED TREATMENT AT SWEDEN'S PRESTIGIOUS KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE WITH NO MORTALITY, IT IS NOT CONSIDERED EXPERIMENTAL. PATIENTS USUALLY LEAVE THE HOSPITAL THE DAY AFTER 'THE OPERATION'.

EIGHTY-SEVEN PERCENT OF 500 PATIENTS AT THE KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE SUFFERING FROM AVM (ARTERIOVENOUS MALFORMATIONS) HAD THEIR AVM COMPLETELY OBLITERATED BY THIS TREATMENT. ANOTHER 11 PERCENT HAD THEIRS PARTIALLY ALTERED. TUMOR GROWTH WAS PREVENTED IN 90 PERCENT OF SOME OTHER CASES. A WIDE RANGE OF BRAIN PROBLEMS CAN BE TREATED WITH THIS PROCEDURE.

AT THE PRESBYTERIAN-UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, THE PATIENT'S HEAD IS PLACED WITHIN A LARGE HELMET-LIKE DEVICE. THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN (IN THIS CASE DR. L. DALE LUNSFORD, M.D. CHIEF OF STEREOTACTIC SURGERY AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY AT THIS HOSPITAL) ADJUSTS THE RADIATION THROUGH SMALL OPENINGS CALLED "COLLIMATOR PORTS". THIS ALLOWS THE PRECISE DIRECTION OF A GREAT DEAL OF ENERGY TO THE INTENDED TARGET INSIDE THE BRAIN. EVERY TEN YEARS OR SO A ROBOT RELOADS THE UNIT WITH THE RADIOACTIVE COBALT-60 MATERIAL. HOW'S THAT FOR A PART- TIME JOB! MORE INFORMATION: GAMMA UNIT, PRESBYTERIAN-UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, 3811 O'HARA ST., PITTSBURGH, PA 15213.

PHONE: (412) 647-3685

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