Winston-Salem, N.C. – The Gamma Knife team at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center treated a patient with a malignant brain tumor using Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery. The live internet broadcast of the procedure took place on Tuesday, January 21 at 5pm EST, and is available here in archived form.

What Is Gamma Knife®?
Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a method of delivering an ultra-precise, highly focused dose of radiation to an intracranial target. Based on nearly 40 years of clinical experience, Gamma Knife SRS has become the treatment of choice for selected benign and malignant brain tumors and vascular malformations involving the brain, as an alternative to conventional open surgery.

Precise and powerful, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center’s 22-ton Gamma Knife is the only unit of its kind in North Carolina.

The treatment plan is carefully designed by a team of neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists and radiation physicists who use high-tech computer planning to precisely conform the radiation dose to the size and shape of the lesion. The unit aims 201 narrow pencil-beams of radioactive cobalt-60 at the lesion. The beams focus precisely on the target tissue, thus minimizing radiation effects to surrounding healthy brain tissues.

The Internet Broadcast
The internet broadcast uses RealPlayer to view the surgery from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Viewers can download a free copy of the player from one of the links on this page. It is not necessary to purchase any of Real's premium players or subscription plans. The free basic player is all that is required to view the surgery.