Baylor Radiosurgery Center at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas

Baylor Radiosurgery Center houses a Gamma Knife^® and CyberKnife^®, two advanced stereotactic (3-D) radiosurgery systems for treating tumors of the brain, spine and other organs. The center is designed and staffed from the ground up to streamline access to treatment and to help us win the race with cancer. With this new center, physicians offer aggressive and appropriate therapy to cancer patients very quickly, improving their quality and length of life.

Radiosurgery has made a tremendous contribution to the non-invasive treatment of cancer. For example, a neurosurgeon now has the option to leave behind a small amount of tumor that might otherwise be very dangerous to remove, knowing that it can be controlled with radiosurgery. And cases where conventional radiotherapy has failed, patients now have the option of radiosurgical treatment to address new or progressing metastatic lesions.

Treatment with both the CyberKnife^® and Gamma Knife^® is performed on an outpatient basis. The Gamma Knife® is used for brain tumors and consists of a large metal helmet with 201 holes all aimed at a single spot. Beams of radiation are cross-fired through the holes, so only the spot where all the beams intersect receives the maximum radiation. The CyberKnife^®, on the other hand, is an industrial robot that works by moving a linear accelerator slowly around the patient to deliver anywhere from 30 to 300 targeted bursts of high-intensity radiation precisely aimed at the tumor. The CyberKnife^® system automatically takes X-rays during the treatment which the robot uses to compensate for any patient movement.

Gamma Knife and Leksell Gamma Knife are U.S. federally registered trademarks of Elekta Instruments, S.A., Geneva, Switzerland.