Minimizing movement and assuring perfect alignment during treatment, the patient is fitted with a large collimator helmet which contains 201 portals through which the radiation beams are focused. From an adjacent room, the Gamma Knife team remotely administers the radiation directly on the treatment area as the patient moves in and out of a shielded dome that houses the gamma source. Typical treatments last anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours. When treatment is completed, the stereotactic frame is removed and the patient is observed for a brief period of time. Following observation, the patient is free to go home.
Most patients resume normal activities the day following treatment.
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