Providing a forum for Gamma Knife centers to interact and collaborate, the annual Gamma Knife Administrators Meeting welcomed more than 65 professionals from centers across the country this year. In additional to operational best practices, attendees also discussed how sharing clinical information can help future Gamma Knife patients.
“Elekta, the Gamma Knife’s manufacturer, is working to create a registry database that will help define tumor criteria and encourage facilities to share data to help compare outcomes, the types of disease treated and more,” says Deb Panetta, Director of Radiation Oncology at The Valley Hospital, who represented The Gamma Knife Center. “Having more data will help lead future treatment and highlight where more research is needed.”
Attendees also shared ideas about how to enhance their programs and offer patients the most comfortable experience and best care possible, such as offering a nurse navigator to help coordinate patients’ care and integrative therapies like guided imagery.
