The Cyberknife stereotactic surgery, developed in 1997 by John R. Adler, a professor of Neurosurgery and Radiation Oncology from Stanford University, and manufactured by Accuracy, Inc., involves a frameless robotic system focusing high concentrations of radiation to target small, critically located tumors without invasive surgery of the skull. This image guided robotic radiosurgery has helped replace external beam radiotherapy and have proved to be a safe and effective for patients with pituitary adenomas (Cho et al., 2009).
This procedure utilizes a robot, which manipulates an X-band linear accelerator that is coupled to a radiographic tracking system to monitor potential target movement during radiation beam delivery (Chang, Main, Martin, Gibbs, Heilbrun, 2003). The robotic arm carries a 130 kg compact 6-MV x-ray linear accelerator called the LINAC and maneuvers to direct the LINAC to target location (Cho et al., 2009, Adler, Murphy, Chang, & Hancock, 1999). Two diagnostic X-ray tubes are firmly secured to the ceiling of the operating room, positioned on either side of patient’s head, and are to establish two right angle images of the target (Chang et al., 2003, Adler et al., 1999). The real time radiographs are acquired at repeated intervals during treatment with the help of two silicon x-ray screens capable of generating high-resolution digital images. They are automatically registered to digitally reconstruct radiographs originating from the treatment planning computed tomographic (CT) scan. This process allows cranium position and the treatment site, obtained from the CT scan, to be translated to the coordinate frame of the LINAC. The communication between the imaging system and the robotic arm of the Cyberknife adjusts t...
... middle of paper ...
...fe SRS in tumor volume, visual disorders, and hypopituitarism. In addition, it successfully treated large tumors that are not normally treated with Gamma Knife SRS or tumors close to optical pathways, with the use of multi-session hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy. In another study by Cho et al. (2009), tumor control rate were 92.3%, comparable to other forms of fractionated radiotherapy and were similar to that of Gamma Knife. Endocrinopathies showed improvement rates of 100%, similar to that of the Gamma Knife and superior to other fractionated radiation. Vision loss, a common complication of radiation therapy, produced complication rates of 7.6%, similar to that of Gamma Knife and superior to other fractionated radiation. Also, there were no incidences of pituitary dysfunction in the study, which may have been a result of the multi-session radiosurgery.
Fitzgerald, M., et al. “Red/near-infrared irradiation therapy for treatment of central nervous system injuries and disorders.” Rev. Neurosci. 24.2: (2013): 205-26.
The vision system integrated into the console provides viewing of the surgical field via a 3D image. It features a tiny telescope, which is placed inside an incision in the patient’s body. The telescope takes images from two points, which are relayed back to a console so the surgeon has a 3D image on-screen while he operates (Fig. 3).
According to the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS), the incidence rate of all primary malignant and non-malignant brain and central nervous system tumors (CNS) for 2005 to 2009 was 20.6 cases per 100,00 (7.3 per 100,000 for malignant tumors and 13.3 per 100,000 for non-malignant tumors) (Fig. 1) [1].
We hear and read doublespeak every day, but what, exactly is doublespeak? William Lutz in “The World of Doublespeak” argues that “doublespeak is a language that makes the bad seem good, the negative appear positive, the unpleasant appear attractive” (389). Instead of making something sound miserable doublespeak insists on making it tolerable. Therefore doublespeak is a danger to the world and can interpret many ideas in different ways that can backwash and hide the truth. Doublespeak could also sound so real that someone will not recognize it as doublespeak it is used in many aspects such as commercials, advertisements, and even campaigns to mislead people. Also it is a technique everyone falls victim to but not everyone is aware of it. We
Recently, new advances have been made in PET technology. A pair of American scientists working in Switzerland came up with a combination PET/CT scanner, which effectively pairs the two techniques. This new combination will be very useful in cancer diagnosis. With the PET/CT, both anatomical and functional imaging can be done and reproduced on the same image. This will be helpful in pinpointing the location of tumors, and also for the early identification of tumors too small to be of concern in CT scanning.
At this day in age we are constantly trying to improve the field of medicine in any way that we possibly can. We cherish every birthday and continually try to prolong life. Not only through every field of medicine, especially in terms of cancer. The American Cancer Society is “the official sponsor of birthdays” and is making leaps and bounds in the types of care that cancer patients receive. One of these many breakthroughs is the practice of Stereotactic (Body) Radiotherapy or S(B)RT. SBRT and other radiation therapies have the ability to greatly improve the way that we treat the issue of cancer and the variation of treatment options; however, they have raised the concerns of long term effects from radiation and cost-effectiveness. As research has begun to show, radiation therapies are having great success in curing cancer.
Whether doctors solely use radiation therapy or use a combination of treatments, radiotherapy has been notoriously helpful in increasing the lifespan of many individuals worldwide.
In the last decade, surgery has seen a tremendous change, going from very invasive and painful procedures to minimally invasive procedures that require less time to recover, and the technology that has made this possible is the robotic surgical systems. Furthermore, while robotics have a wide range of uses and benefits, clinical rehabilitation has made good use of it, thanks to the creation of robotic devices, “robotic devices enable repetitive task practice in the gravity-assisted and gravity-eliminated planes through external support (exoskeleton or support sling), potentially addressing the needs of individuals with severe motor impairment” (Livengood et al., 2011). According to Fisher and Feigenbaum (2015), therapists and administrators that had the chance to apply robotic devices during clinical rehabilitation, found that these devices pose many opportunities in therapy programs, particularly for individuals with severe upper limb neurological
Original screening for lung cancer was done with the use of standard radiographs, but recently computed tomography (CT) is being used because it offers greater sensitivity in detecting pulmonary nodules. “The capability of low-dose spiral CT to visualize lung structure using low doses of radiation has greatly improved in the past two decades because of refinements in detector resolution, microprocessor ...
Treatment methods include enucleation, external beam radiation, and chemo reduction. Enucleation, the most common process, is simply the removal of the eye.
Another treatment that is used to help a cancer patients overcome the disease is radiation therapy. Although very affective and used commonly, thi...
Radiation therapists work closely with patients to fight cancer. According to Health Care Careers, Oncologists, Dosimetrists and nurses are some of the professionals that a radiation therapist works with while caring for a cancer patient. This group of professionals will determine a specialized treatment plan. The first step usually includes a CT scan performed by a radiologist to find the exact area that needs to be targeted with x-rays. Next, the therapist uses a special machine that emits radiation called a Linear Accelerator. They use this machine during a treatment called external beam therapy. During this process, the Linear Accelerator will project x-rays at targeted cancer cells or tumors. Another therapist will be in a different room monitoring the patient’s viral signs until the procedure is over. The external therapy l...
...urgery, and radiation therapy. Due to the fact that acoustic neuromas grow slowly, immediate treatment may not be necessary so Doctors will monitor the tumor with periodic MRIs and suggest other treatment if the tumor enlarges. Surgery may involve all or part of the tumor. There are three main surgical approaches translabyrinthine, retrosigmoid/sub-occipital, and Middle fossa. There is also a new technique called endoscopic resection which enables surgeons to remove acoustic neuromas using a small camera inserted through a hole in the skull. There are two types of radiation therapy: the first is Single fraction stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and Multi-session fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FRS), Selecting the right treatment depends on the size of the tumor, whether the tumor is growing. age. other medical conditions you may have and severity of symptoms.
The defining characteristics of the cyberpunk genre have been debated since the beginnings of the literary movement. Some authors, classified as cyberpunk, question the very existence of this label, while others are in constant disagreement about the traits that make up the literature. Authors such as Bruce Sterling believe that cyberpunk is the integration of technology and literature in a world where the gap between science fiction and reality is rapidly closing; however, others such as Lewis Shiner have formed the opinion that this literature is merely a product of pop culture, hence it should not have any true literary importance. Furthermore, cyberpunk is said to be the voice of the underground in modern society, and the vision of a new technological world. These theories represent the different views of the major authors in this genre, thus it becomes difficult to define a literary style from such opposing views. A more constructive method is to analyze the major characteristics and styles used in the stories considered as cyberpunk. The negative portrayal of the integration of technology and society is a fundamental tenet of the literature, because it presents a pessimistic vision of scientific advancement. The genre's dark tones, seen in the styles of it's major authors, emphasize the bleak images throughout the futuristic fiction. The constant conflict between the individual and a technologically advanced society is a major theme of the genre, for it stresses man's insignificance. These characteristics are interwoven into the fabric of cyberpunk and form a bleak image of science fiction and the future.
The image-intensifying tube is extremely intricate and allows for the conversion of the x-ray beam to be converted