Patients in Sheffield are first to be treated on Elekta’s latest Gamma Knife system

Patients at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have become the first in the world to receive treatment on the latest version of the Gamma Knife, used for treating intracranial pathologies, including brain tumours.

The Royal Hallamshire Hospital has installed the Elekta Esprit and the first patients were treated on February 7. The hospital is home to the National Centre for Stereotactic Radiosurgery. As well as patients from the Sheffield area, patients travel nationally and internationally for specialist treatment at the centre.

One of the patients to be treated on the first day of operation was Derry Crighton of Forfar, Scotland, who had suffered two brain haemorrhages due to an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). It was his second round of gamma knife radiosurgery, his initial treatment having been the final treatment to take place on a previous machine. The treatment aims to eradicate the AVM and he was able to return to work within days of his surgery.

He said: “I could not have had regular brain surgery due to the location of AVM. It would have been too complex and, at a minimum, would have left me blind in one eye. It is fantastic to be able to have the gamma knife treatment. It is amazing because it is invisible and painless and you are awake through the whole thing. It was exciting to be one of the first but of course there is always a little bit of apprehension as well. The team has been so helpful and friendly and explained everything really well and I have felt informed at every stage.”

Consultant neurosurgeon and clinical lead for the National Centre for Stereotactic Radiosurgery Julian Cahill added: “Sheffield Teaching Hospitals is a world leader in pioneering gamma knife radiosurgery, and we are proud to be leading the way with the latest gamma knife technology which we are confident will enable a greater range of patients to receive treatment here in Sheffield.”

Picture: The first patients have been treated on the Elekta Esprit installed at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Published on page 32 of the March 2023 issue of RAD Magazine.