September 30, 2009 - A 17-year-old female with a complex arteriovenous malformation of the brain has become the first person in India to be treated using the fast Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform from Varian Medical Systems and BrainLAB. Doctors at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai performed the pioneering stereotactic radiosurgery treatment in a single session that took just a few minutes to complete.
"The patient's malformation, which was near the motor cortex on the right side of the brain, had been partially embolized and it was considered that no further treatment was possible," says Ram K. Narain, M.D., the hospital's chief operating officer. "Following Novalis Tx radiosurgery treatment, the patient's symptoms had alleviated considerably. She will now have an MRI scan every six months to monitor her progress. The medical team was very happy with her treatment."
Arteriovenous malformations are abnormal connections between veins and arteries and are normally congenital and frequently inoperable. Bleeding from an arteriovenous malformation can be devastating, particularly in the brain, where it can cause severe and often fatal strokes.
Dr. Narain said that Kokilaben Hospital was proud to be the first in India to introduce the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform clinically. "Image-guided, frameless and non-invasive radiosurgery is very much today's innovation and tomorrow's radiosurgery technique of choice," he said. "It offers a more patient-friendly alternative to conventional radiosurgery systems that require immobilization with a head ring that attaches to the skull."
According to Dr. Narain, the team at Kokilaben Hospital will use the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform to perform radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy for a number of indications, including lung, brain, liver, and prostate metastases, recurrent brain tumors, pituitary adenomas, acoustic neuromas and meningiomas. "In particular it will help us to manage complex skull-base tumors and arteriovenous malformations with multimodality treatments, including stereotactic radiosurgery," he said.
The Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform features very high dose delivery rates, which contributes to shorter treatment times. It also offers dynamic fine beam shaping and non-invasive, precise patient positioning for rapid and more comfortable treatments. Integrated imaging capabilities pinpoint the target before and during treatment and enable positioning of the patient with millimeter precision.
Kokilaben Hospital is a private center that treats approximately 3,000 new cancer patients each year from across India. Waiting lists are a major problem for cancer patients in India and the speed and flexibility of the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform will enable Kokilaben Hospital to treat more patients. The hospital's parent group, Reliance, plans to invest further in new technology as well as establishing satellite specialty clinics.
For more information: www.varian.com
April 29, 2024 
