One-day treatment: What can I expect as a patient receiving treatment using Novalis Shaped Beam Surgery™?

Step 1

During the preparation before the treatment, the neurosurgeon or the radiologist-oncologist will place a stereotactic frame or a mask (depending on each case) over the head of the patient. The stereotactic frame is a metallic ring with tight bars forming a circle around your head. The stereotactic frame is an essential part of Shaped Beam Surgery™ as it is used to hold your head in a certain position to keep the referrance points in a fixed position during image-taking and treatment.

Step 2: Diagnostic Imaging

Ten, a localizing device ,is placed over the stereotactic frame. The localizer locates referrance points, which permit definition of the exact position of the lesion and the normal structures during the procedure. At this point, the team of doctors and physicists will accurately plan treatment for your tumour or AVM. The use of CT scan, MRI, SPECT or PET, obtains images that will be used to accurately define the size and the shape of the lesion and the connection thereof with other brain structures. This step takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 3: Planning the treatment

After the diagnostic imaging, the localizing device is removed. The patient rests while the treatment is being planned. The images taken are transfered to a computer designed for planning, calculating the dose to be administered and obtaining coordinates for the treatment.

Step 4: Position and treatment

When everything is ready, the patient is brought to the treatment room and lies on an examining couch for the treatment with Novalis Shaped Beam Surgery™. The stereotactic frame has to be fastened to the examining couch, so that you will not be able to move during the treatment. The team of technicians, physicists and doctors will supervise the alignment between your head and the luminous projection of the beam of radiation. When the treatment is started, the head of the Novalis device will move around you in order to administer the desired dose of radiation, but you will feel no pain. The team of specialists will explain this procedure to you during the treatment, which takes about 30 minutes.

Step 5: Removal of the stereotactic frame and...

Once the treatment with Novalis Shaped Beam Surgery™ ends, the stereotactic frame is removed. The patient can go home and resume his/her normal routines again, including face and hair-washing.