Medical imaging, or image-guided surgery, has proven one of the most powerful tools for surgical advancement with minimal invasiveness to the patient. Through digital signal processing, the physician is able to navigate and interpret data in real time with unprecedented speed and accuracy.
Image guided techniques may be applied to the diagnosis stage or the actual procedure with the application of small internal cameras such as endoscopes, borescopes, fiber optic guides, etc. The hand held probe captures the patient’s internal images and projects them onto a 3D screen, thus giving the physician a live time road map for exploration. One of the most common uses for medical imaging is applied to the sinuses. This minimally invasive procedure allows for delicate maneuvering around the sensitive brain area for minimal risk of neurological damage.
Patients suffering from brain tumors have benefited greatly from the technology of image guided Stereotactic Radiosurgery. The process allows the doctor to view the brain tumor on the screen and target the cancerous tumors with absolute accuracy, thus sending the corrective radiation treatment directly to the tumor, while avoiding and preserving the healthy tissue surrounding the cancer. The procedure is performed with an MRI signal to send a computerized calculation of the necessary dose of radiation; no more and no less than what is needed to kill the cancerous cells.
Although Radiosurgery has gained ground in the international medical community and has proven invaluable for smaller-sized brain tumors, the technique is not deemed appropriate to treat larger cancerous lesions. In the case where the tumor has wrapped around healthy brain tissue, a responsible and cautious physician may opt out of Radiosurgery in favor of a gamma knife procedure, which is more adept at treating larger cancer regions while preserving the healthy tissue from the radiation.
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