Mathematical program helps doctors perform more efficient radiosurger

Jean-Philippe Thiran and Marc Levivier © 2020 EPFL - Engineers at EPFL and local startup Intuitive Therapeutics have developed software that can produce optimized surgical plans for Gamma Knife radiosurgery. Doctors at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) began using the software in July. Radiosurgery is a kind of radiotherapy where doctors administer a high dose of radiation to diseased tissue with extreme precision, and in one go rather than over several sessions. Used mainly to treat brain damage, this method can prevent the need for conventional surgery on patients suffering from benign tumors, vascular malformation, neuralgia and Parkinson's disease. Radiosurgery can be performed using a device called the Gamma Knife, which is able to administer gamma rays from up to 192 different beams. The challenge is to make sure the radiation hits only the diseased tissue and none of the healthy tissue around it - while keeping the procedure as short as possible. The plans for this type of surgery are usually drawn up manually; neurosurgeons work with radio-oncologists and physicians to select the number, size, shape and power of the beams to be used and map out exactly where they should be directed so that the entire treatment area is covered.