KAROLINSKA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL ACQUIRES LEKSELL GAMMA KNIFE PERFEXION TO EXPAND RADIOSURGERY VERSATILITY, EFFICIENCY IN BRAIN CANCER THERAPY

KAROLINSKA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL ACQUIRES LEKSELL GAMMA KNIFE PERFEXION TO EXPAND
RADIOSURGERY VERSATILITY, EFFICIENCY IN BRAIN CANCER THERAPY

Prof. Lars Leksell (1907-1986), inventor of the radiosurgical instrument that
bears his name and a faculty member of Karolinska University Hospital (Solna,
Sweden), performed the world's first Gamma Knife® surgery at nearby Sophiahemmet
Hospital, the location of the first Leksell Gamma Knife. Karolinska University
Hospital recently acquired Elekta's fifth generation radiosurgery system,
Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™. Since January, Karolinska clinicians have been
using the system to treat more patients per day and tumors that used to be hard
to reach. Physicians also are much more easily treating multiple metastases in a
single session. 

While Karolinska clinicians are currently treating traditional Gamma Knife
indications (metastases, meningiomas, arteriovenous malformations, dural
fistulas, acoustic neuromas), the immediate impact Perfexion has made is the
ease with which physicians can treat two or more metastases in one session. 

“We treat five to ten metastases on a regular basis, because the automated
collimator makes it possible to rapidly plan and treat multiple tumor
isocenters,” Karolinska neurosurgeon Dr. Ernest Dodoo explains. “Suddenly, it is
feasible to treat everything we see. Now, the question is not ‘Is it technically
possible?' but rather ‘Does it make sense clinically from a therapy
standpoint?'” 

Perfexion improves radiosurgery workflow 
Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion replaced two earlier generation Leksell Gamma
Knife® 4C systems, one at Sophiahemmet Hospital and the other at Karolinska
University Hospital. Each had been treating about 250 patients per year for the
last three years. Since the late 1960s, Karolinska has used Gamma Knife surgery
for approximately 10,000 patients, according Dr. Dodoo. 

On January 11, Karolinska used Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion to treat its first
case, a patient with a glioblastoma. Since then, Karolinska has treated 120
patients with Perfexion and this single system already rivals the daily patient
volume of the previous systems by virtue of its unique features. “We treated
five patients in one day last week, including two quite complex cases,” he
recalls. “With either of our previous systems that would have been logistically
difficult. With Perfexion, up to five patients per day is absolutely realistic.”

In addition to the system's automated collimator, the enhanced planning system
for Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion also is boosting the efficiency of
Karolinska's radiosurgery practice.

“Planning is a lot easier, more intuitive and very user friendly,” Dr. Dodoo
notes. “We can visualize the isodose lines simultaneously as we trace them and
the dynamic shaping makes dose planning much simpler. It really has changed our
approach.”
The sophisticated automation that Perfexion brings to the clinic has transformed
radiosurgery from a hands-on, technical procedure to one in which enhancing dose
plans is the key objective, he adds. “Perfexion has allowed us to shift the
focus from the technical, time-consuming part of treatment—changing collimators
and adjusting table positions in half-millimeter steps—to creating the best dose
plan for the patient.” 

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Editor's note: Images and streaming video of Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ are
available in Elekta's Media Resources Center.

For further information, please contact:
Stina Thorman, Vice President Corporate Communications, Elekta AB
Tel: +46 8 587 254 37, email: stina.thorman@elekta.com
Time zone: CET: Central European

Michelle Lee, Director, Global Public Relations and Brand Management, Elekta
Tel: +1 770-670-2447, email: michelle.lee@elekta.com
Time zone: EDT: Eastern Daylight

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About Elekta 
Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical
solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops
sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for
radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing software
systems across the spectrum of cancer care.

Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and
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and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives,
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Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 5,000
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