• Radiation Therapy
      • Treatment Delivery
        • Elekta Unity Elekta Unity
        • Versa HD Versa HD
        • Elekta Harmony Elekta Harmony
        • Elekta Infinity Elekta Infinity
        • Elekta Synergy Elekta Synergy
      • Treatment Management
        • Monaco
        • ProKnow
      • Quality Assurance
        • Machine QA
        • Patient QA
    • Stereotactic Radiosurgery
      • Delivery
        • Elekta Esprit Elekta Esprit
        • Leksell Gamma Knife Icon Leksell Gamma Knife Icon
        • Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion
        • Versa HD Versa HD
      • Treatment Planning
        • Leksell Gamma Knife Lightning
        • Leksell GammaPlan
    • Oncology Informatics
      • MOSAIQ Plaza
        • Subscribe to Better
        • Professional Services
        • Interoperability
      • Elekta Axis Cloud
    • Brachytherapy
      • Delivery
        • Elekta Studio Elekta Studio
        • ImagingRing ImagingRing
        • Oncentra Brachy Oncentra Brachy
        • Venezia Venezia
        • Flexitron Flexitron
        • Geneva Geneva
      • Body Sites
        • Head and Neck
        • Bronchus and Oesophagus
        • Breast
        • Skin
        • Prostate
        • Rectum
        • Bladder
        • Gynecology
    • Neurosurgery
      • Delivery
        • Leksell Vantage Stereotactic System Leksell Vantage Stereotactic System
        • Leksell Stereotactic System Leksell Stereotactic System
    • Veterinary Radiation Therapy
    • Elekta Care Customer Services
    • Elekta Care 360
    • Elekta Care Learning
    • Elekta Care Community
    • Elekta Partner Community
    • MR-Linac Treatment
    • Brachytherapy Treatment
    • Gamma Knife Treatment
    • Radiation Therapy Treatment
    • Treatment Centers
    • Company
    • Partnering with Elekta
    • About us
      • About us
        • Board of Directors
        • Code of Conduct
        • Corporate Citizenship
        • Executive Management
        • Integrity Line
        • Programs
        • Sponsorship and Donation
        • Story
    • Sustainability
    • Corporate Governance
      • Corporate Governance
        • Shareholders’ meetings
          • Board of Directors
            • Executive Management
              • Auditors
              • Reports
          • Investors
            • Investors
              • Investment case
                • Outlook
                • The share
                  • Financials
                    • Funding
                      • Reports & presentations
                      • Press releases
                      • IR calendar
                      • IR contacts
                  • Newsroom
                    • Newsroom
                      • Press Releases
                      • FOCUS Magazine
                      • Events
                      • Image bank
                  • Careers at Elekta
                    • Jobs
                  • Reimbursement Support & Policy
                ENSV
                Login
                • Products
                  • Radiation Therapy
                    • Treatment Delivery
                      • Elekta Unity
                      • Versa HD
                      • Elekta Harmony
                      • Elekta Infinity
                      • Elekta Synergy
                    • Treatment Management
                      • Monaco
                      • ProKnow
                    • Quality Assurance
                      • Machine QA
                      • Patient QA
                  • Stereotactic Radiosurgery
                    • Delivery
                      • Elekta Esprit
                      • Leksell Gamma Knife Icon
                      • Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion
                    • Treatment Planning
                      • Leksell Gamma Knife Lightning
                      • Leksell GammaPlan
                    • Versa HD
                  • Oncology Informatics
                    • MOSAIQ Plaza
                      • Subscribe to Better
                      • Professional Services
                      • Interoperability
                    • Elekta Axis Cloud
                  • Brachytherapy
                    • Elekta Studio
                    • ImagingRing
                    • Venezia
                    • Flexitron
                    • Geneva
                    • Head and Neck
                    • Bronchus and Oesophagus
                    • Breast
                    • Skin
                    • Prostate
                    • Rectum
                    • Bladder
                    • Gynecology
                    • Oncentra Brachy
                  • Neurosurgery
                    • Leksell Vantage Stereotactic System
                    • Leksell Stereotactic System
                  • Veterinary Radiation Therapy
                • Services
                  • Elekta Care Customer Services
                  • Elekta Care 360
                  • Elekta Care Learning
                  • Elekta Care Community
                  • Elekta Partner Community
                • Patients
                  • MR-Linac Treatment
                  • Brachytherapy Treatment
                  • Gamma Knife Treatment
                  • Radiation Therapy Treatment
                  • Treatment Centers
                • Company
                  • Partnering with Elekta
                  • About us
                    • Board of Directors
                    • Code of Conduct
                    • Corporate Citizenship
                    • Executive Management
                    • Integrity Line
                    • Programs
                    • Sponsorship and Donation
                    • Story
                  • Sustainability
                  • Corporate Governance
                    • Shareholders’ meetings
                      • Board of Directors
                        • Executive Management
                          • Auditors
                          • Reports
                        • Investors
                          • Investment case
                            • Outlook
                            • The share
                              • Financials
                                • Funding
                                  • Reports & presentations
                                  • Press releases
                                  • IR calendar
                                  • IR contacts
                                • Newsroom
                                  • Press Releases
                                  • FOCUS Magazine
                                  • Events
                                  • Image bank
                                • Careers at Elekta
                                  • Jobs
                                • Reimbursement Support & Policy
                              • Contact
                              • Medical Affairs
                              • Regulatory Affairs
                              • Suppliers
                                • About Elekta Procurement
                                • Sustainable Sourcing
                                • Performance Management
                                  • Production Part Approval Process
                                  • Supplier Escalation Form
                                  • Non Conformance Management
                                  • Supplier Performance Management
                                  • Obsolescence Management
                                • Compliance Management
                                • Invoicing Process
                                • Elekta T&C
                                • Documents & Training
                                • Our Global Presence
                              • Facebook
                              • LinkedIn
                              • Twitter
                              • Instagram
                              • Youtube

                              Gamma Knife radiosurgery hits half-century mark with over a million patients treated

                              January 26, 2018
                              Elekta’s constantly evolving Leksell Gamma Knife a seemingly permanent – often best – option for treating wide range of intracranial disorders

                              STOCKHOLM, January 26, 2018 –The first patient to have Leksell Gamma Knife® stereotactic radiosurgery in a clinical setting had his procedure to treat a pituitary adenoma at Sophiahemmet Hospital in Stockholm on January 27, 1968. By 2018 – Gamma Knife® radiosurgery’s 50th year – a staggering 1.1 million people around the world have received the therapy. Today, 330 clinical Leksell Gamma Knife units, distributed among 54 different countries, combine to treat 80,000 new patients each year. 

                              “Prof. Lars Leksell would be enormously gratified that his invention has endured for so many decades, which is a testament not only to the power of his original Leksell Gamma Knife unit, but also to his commitment to continue building on, refining and innovating the Leksell Gamma Knife platform to improve patient care and outcomes,” remarks Elekta President and CEO, Richard Hausmann, speaking of the late Prof. Leksell, pioneering neurosurgeon and Gamma Knife creator.

                              “It was Prof. Leksell’s lifelong passion for applying stereotaxy – the use of three-dimensional coordinates to precisely map anatomical structures that cannot be visualized directly – and the overwhelmingly good results he could achieve by making a lesion in the brain with a radiofrequency generator and electrodes that sparked the creation of Leksell Gamma Knife,” Hausmann continues. “Combining stereotactic methods with radiation therapy allowed precise and non-invasive targeting of brain tissue, which fundamentally transformed the treatment of a spectrum of brain disorders.”

                              In 2015, the platform’s sixth generation, Leksell Gamma Knife® Icon™, was released, reflecting the most impactful upgrade to Leksell Gamma Knife technology. Icon provides new clinical and operational capabilities, further expanding the use of Gamma Knife radiosurgery, the most clinically proven radiosurgery method for treating malignant and benign tumors, vascular disorders and functional indications.

                              Combining gentleness with gold standard precision
                              The undisputed gold standard for the treatment of intracranial indications, Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a gentler alternative to traditional brain surgery and whole brain radiation therapy for illnesses such as metastatic disease, which is cancer that has travelled to the brain from elsewhere in the body. With pinpoint accuracy, Leksell Gamma Knife delivers up to thousands of low-intensity radiation beams to one or more targets in a single or multiple sessions.

                              The traditional indications for Gamma Knife radiosurgery are:

                              • Benign lesions, such as meningiomas, acoustic neuromas and pituitary adenomas
                              • Malignant tumors such as gliomas and metastases
                              • Vascular disorders, most commonly arteriovenous malformations
                              • Functional disorders, most often trigeminal neuralgia

                              “Leksell Gamma Knife is a perfect example of a disruptive technology that through continuous upgrades over the years is now considered a sustaining innovation,” says L. Dade Lunsford, MD, Lars Leksell Professor and Distinguished Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, and co-director, Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). In 1987, Dr. Lunsford brought Gamma Knife to UPMC, the site of the United States’ first system. “When we installed the first unit 30 years ago it was kind of a gamble because no one knew its actual potential and its ultimate role. Now, UPMC has treated its 15,000th patient this year and the technology is well established.”

                              Iconic brain care
                              “The introduction of Icon was really a quantum leap for Gamma Knife technology,” says Hausmann. “Building on Gamma Knife precision and adding new technology such as integrated imaging and frameless alternative, Icon gives clinicians the option to perform single or fractionated frame-based or frameless treatments, allowing for more individualized delivery – without sacrificing precision and accuracy.

                              “As remarkable as Gamma Knife’s first 50 years has been,” Hausmann adds, “the next half-century has the potential to transcend anything we can presently conceive of for this modality, allowing far greater numbers of patients to have access to this gentle and clinically-proven treatment method.”

                              To learn more about Gamma Knife, visit elekta.com/GammaKnife50.

                              # # #

                              For further information, please contact:
                              Gert van Santen, Group Vice President Corporate Communications, Elekta AB
                              Tel: +31 653 561 242, e-mail: gert.vansanten@elekta.com
                              Time zone: CET: Central European Time

                              Raven Canzeri, Global Public Relations Manager, Elekta
                              Tel: +1 770-670-2524, e-mail: raven.canzeri@elekta.com
                              Time zone: ET: Eastern Time

                              About Elekta
                              Elekta is proud to be the leading innovator of equipment and software used to improve, prolong and save the lives of people with cancer and brain disorders. Our advanced, effective solutions are created in collaboration with customers, and more than 6,000 hospitals worldwide rely on Elekta technology. Our treatment solutions and oncology informatics portfolios are designed to enhance the delivery of radiation therapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, and to drive cost efficiency in clinical workflows. Elekta employs 3,600 people around the world. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Elekta is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm. www.elekta.com

                              Downloads

                              • Release

                              Images

                              • Elekta_Icon_pnt_dctr_nb_40-3x20-47cm_300dpi_f.jpg
                              • Products
                                • Radiation Therapy
                                • Stereotactic Radiosurgery
                                • Oncology Informatics
                                • Brachytherapy
                                • Neurosurgery
                                • Veterinary Radiation Therapy
                              • Services
                                • Elekta Care Customer Services
                                • Elekta Care 360
                                • Elekta Care Learning
                                • Elekta Care Community
                                • Elekta Partner Community
                              • Patients
                                • MR-Linac Treatment
                                • Brachytherapy Treatment
                                • Gamma Knife Treatment
                                • Radiation Therapy Treatment
                                • Treatment Centers
                              • Company
                                • Partnering with Elekta
                                • About us
                                • Sustainability
                                • Corporate Governance
                                • Investors
                                • Newsroom
                                • Careers at Elekta
                                • Country and regional pages
                                • Digital Product Security
                                • Offices
                              • Facebook
                              • LinkedIn
                              • Twitter
                              • Instagram
                              • Youtube
                              • ©2023 Elekta
                              • Legal notices
                              • Privacy policy
                              • Cookies
                              • Subscription center

                              Important Safety Information: Radiation therapy is not appropriate for all patients. Radiation treatments may cause side effects that can vary depending on the part of the body being treated. In some patients, they can be severe. Treatment sessions may vary in complexity and time. Refer to individual product labeling (instructions for use) for more complete information on product safety and effectiveness for its intended use.

                              © 2023 Elekta

                              • Legal notices
                              • Privacy policy
                              • Cookies
                              • Subscription center

                              Important Safety Information: Radiation therapy is not appropriate for all patients. Radiation treatments may cause side effects that can vary depending on the part of the body being treated. In some patients, they can be severe. Treatment sessions may vary in complexity and time. Refer to individual product labeling (instructions for use) for more complete information on product safety and effectiveness for its intended use.