Techniques and equipment for delivery of stereotactic radiotherapy

Over recent years, the use of stereotactic equipment to assist in the provision of localised intracranial radiotherapy has grown rapidly in its application. Use of techniques originally developed for neurosurgery, in radiotherapy departments, has now become a speciality in its own right. This presentation examines the development of stereotactic radiotherapy from the initial development of stereotactic frames through to the current, sophisticated linear accelerator based approaches. The presence of neurosurgical equipment in radiotherapy departments has lead to change in radiotherapy practice for intracranial treatments. Radiotherapy treatments are designed to be delivered as accurately as possible. Using stereotactic equipment, however, the degree of accuracy attainable has improved. This in turn has resulted in an increased level of confidence in the clinical prescription of radiation dose and a subsequent trend to miniaturise treated volumes. Current practice now extends to linear accelerator treatments of volumes as small as 5 mm in diameter, a concept not dreamt of 10 years ago