[Examination of Whole Treatment Time Required for Multiple Metastatic Brain Tumors in Cobalt-60 Stereotactic...

A study was conducted to clarify the time required for each treatment procedure and whole treatment time from treatment records of 124 patients with metastatic brain tumors treated by Gamma Knife (GK) Perfexion during the period from June 2013 to November 2014. GK treatment procedure is as follows: a skull frame is attached to the patient's head, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is acquired for treatment planning, the skull shape is provided by manual measurement, appropriate dose and dose distribution are determined for the target, irradiation is executed according to completed treatment plan, and the frame is removed after irradiation. As the results, it took 15.1±12.4 min for frame fixation, 30.1±11.5 min for MR scan, 5.0±1.0 min for skull measurement, 72.5±42.4 min for treatment planning, 91.3±56.1 min for irradiation, 99.2±60.6 min as treatment time, and 5.6±5.1 min for frame removal. In conclusion, it was shown that GK Perfexion stereotactic radiosurgery has high treatment efficiency and less burden on patients.