This is the final product of an investigation regarding the radiosurgery method known as Gamma Knife. We explain briefly where gamma rays come from as well as how they are harnessed to perform this non invasive surgery. A special thanks to Barrow Neurological Institute and St. Joseph's Hospital for giving us an in depth look at the workings of the Gamma Knife. We thank all those there for making our tour instructive and comfortable.
Below is a list of certain points made in the video with a list of sources that lead to their inclusion in the video:
treatment process
headgear
brain mapping
surgery
What is the Gamma knife?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8MO7r...
The gamma knife is a surgery or treatment which uses roughly 200 focused beams of gamma radiation to remove tumors in the brain.
A patients head is securely fastened into place so the highly accurate beams can converge onto a point inside the patient's cranium, known as the focal point.
What are gamma rays?
Gamma rays have the smallest wavelengths
and the most energy
of any wave in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Their wavelength is less than a tenth of a nanometer, meaning the wavelength is smaller than a tenth of a billionth of a meter.
They are produced by the hottest and most energetic objects in the universe, such as neutron stars-and-pulsars,
supernova explosions,
and regions around black holes.
On Earth, gamma waves are generated by nuclear explosions,
lightning,
and the less dramatic activity of radioactive decay.
Gamma radiation is the product of radioactive atoms. Depending upon the ratio of neutrons to protons within its nucleus, an isotope of a particular element may be stable or unstable. When the binding energy is not strong enough to hold the nucleus of an atom together, the atom is said to be unstable. Atoms with unstable nuclei are constantly changing as a result of the imbalance of energy within the nucleus. Over time, the nuclei of unstable isotopes spontaneously disintegrate, or transform, in a process known as radioactive decay.
The Gamma knife uses Cobalt-60 as its source of gamma radiation which is a synthetic radioactive isotope of Cobalt.
Cobalt-60 decays by Beta decay into Nickel-60. As nickel-60's energy deteriorates it emits gamma radiation. The radiation is then focused like a laser that our eye can't see into the focal point inside the patient's skull.
NASA GAMMA EXPLAINED
http://missionscience.nasa.gov/ems/12...
AWESEOM SOURCE FOR GAMMA RAY INFO/ ALPHA BETA GAMMA DECAY http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResour...
VIDEO EXPLAINING THE PENETRATING CAPABILITY OF GAMMA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7NMOV...
20 SECOND 3D ANIMATION OF GAMMA SURGERY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8MO7r...
SKIP TO 0:19 LASER ENGRAVING DEMO. SHOWS HOW ACCURATE THE LASER HEATING CAN BE.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuaZPA...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV3w71...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU3ihdEqSFQā
