Benefits to Patients and Radiosurgery Departments Drive Adoption of Elekta’s Icon

Gamma Knife® Icon™ developer, Elekta has announced that Poliambulanza Foundation Hospital is the 50th health center globally and the first in Italy to treat patients with its Leksell stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) system.

Background

Gamma Knife has been widely adopted across Italy, with eight earlier-generation systems already in use prior to the installation of Icon at Poliambulanza. Elekta tells us the growing availability of Gamma Knife throughout the country is expanding access to and use of cutting-edge SRS technology to treat intracranial lesions, including brain tumors.

The Poliambulanza Hospital has been a long term partner of Elekta, providing advanced radiation therapy to its patients, including SRS with two Elekta linear accelerators. With the implementation of Icon, the hospital can expand their SRS offerings to a greater number of patients across a wider range of indications. Icon can be used in both frameless and fractionated treatment approaches, expanding physician options for patient-specific needs.

The first patient treated with the Icon system at Poliambulanza was a 70-year old woman with a vestibular schwannoma, a benign skull base tumor that affects nerves involved with hearing and balance. Gamma Knife surgery is a standard of care treatment for this indication, and is performed with the goal of stopping tumor growth, while preserving facial nerve function and hearing.

Physician comments

“Icon gives us a complete suite of therapeutic options for patients with cranial tumors and other neurologic indications,” said Dr. Alberto Franzin, Neurosurgeon, head of the Gamma Knife and Functional Neurosurgery Unit. “The Icon system provides the precision and accuracy for which Gamma Knife has long been known while giving us the flexibility to deliver treatment in single or multiple sessions. It also enables hypofractionated treatments with the use of the thermoplastic mask in place of the stereotactic frame. Combined, these features increase the number of patients who can benefit from Gamma Knife surgery.”

“There is great demand for radiation therapy with linear accelerators, which places a heavy burden on the equipment and personnel in our department,” said Dr. Mario Bignardi, Radiation Oncologist, head of the Radiation Oncology Department. “With the addition of Icon, we now have a flexible mix of radiation delivery systems that allow us to provide optimized treatment to all patients, regardless of whether they have complex cases that require SRS or conditions that are best treated with hypofractionated stereotactic radiation therapy, such as large malignant tumors or tumors very close to the optical pathway.”

Company comments

“Icon is the only dedicated intracranial solution on the market, and health centers around the world recognize the safety, efficacy and comfort benefits that the system provides to patients,” said Francois Pointurier, Elekta’s Senior Vice President, Western and Central Europe. “Aside from improving care, the implementation of Icon enhances a center’s linear accelerator capabilities, which helps to increase the volume of intracranial SRS procedures, while minimizing treatment delays and improving operating efficiencies and health care economics for radiosurgery departments.”

Source: PR Newswire

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