What is stereotactic particulate radiosurgery?

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a non-surgical radiation therapy used to treat functional abnormalities and small tumors of the brain. It can deliver precisely-targeted radiation in fewer high-dose treatments than traditional therapy, which can help preserve healthy tissue.

What does the word stereotactic mean?

Definition of stereotactic : involving, being, utilizing, or used in a surgical technique for precisely directing the tip of a delicate instrument (such as a needle) or beam of radiation in three planes using coordinates provided by medical imaging in order to reach a specific locus in the body.

What is the difference between stereotactic radiotherapy and radiosurgery?

SRS and SRT are very similar, but SRS delivers a large dose of radiation on a single day and SRT has a fractionated treatment schedule. This means that in an SRT treatment the patient will have treatments spanning multiple days.

What type of radiation is stereotactic?

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery technology uses many small gamma rays to deliver a precise dose of radiation to a target. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) uses many precisely focused radiation beams to treat tumors and other problems in the brain, neck, lungs, liver, spine and other parts of the body.

What is the difference between SRS and SBRT?

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a noninvasive radiation therapy that uses highly focused radiation beams to destroy tumors in the brain, neck, spine, lungs and other parts of the body. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is used to treat tumors in other parts of the body besides the brain and head.

How does stereotactic work?

Like other forms of radiation, stereotactic radiosurgery works by damaging the DNA of the targeted cells. The affected cells then lose the ability to reproduce, which causes tumors to shrink. Stereotactic radiosurgery of the brain and spine is typically completed in a single session.

How effective is stereotactic radiation therapy?

SBRT has shown dramatically better outcomes than conventional radiation therapy. Whereas two-year success rates for conventional treatment range from 30 to 40 percent, the success rates for SBRT range from 80 to 90 percent — comparable to those of resection surgery but with far fewer risks.

How is stereotactic radiosurgery performed?

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery It is not surgery in the traditional sense because there’s no incision. Instead, stereotactic radiosurgery uses 3D imaging to target high doses of radiation to the affected area with minimal impact on the surrounding healthy tissue.

Is stereotactic radiosurgery the same as proton therapy?

Proton beams deposit most of their energy in a defined range known as the Bragg peak area. Stereotactic radiosurgery uses emission of high-dose gamma radiation concentrated over a small volume. Radiation energy is delivered to a well-defined area with little exposure to surrounding tissue.