32 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JULY 2018
NORTHWELL HEALTH INTRODUCES GAMMA
KNIFE ICON TO CANCER INSTITUTE
Northwell Health will cause fewer
headaches while treating brain tumors
now that Long Island’s largest
hospital system installed the latest
stereotactic radiosurgery system.
The nonprofit hospital’s Cancer
Institute’s Center for Advanced Medicine
uses the Gamma Knife (GK) Icon
to precisely targets brain tumors and
other brain conditions while sparing
healthy tissue, making it the first
and only facility on LI to offer the
advanced treatment.
“The GK Icon system focuses powerful
doses of concentrated radiation
that attack tumors and other abnormalities,
shrinking them over time
or stopping their growth altogether,”
says Dr. Michael Schulder, vice chairman
of neurosurgery at Northwell
Health, director of the Brain Tumor
Center of the Neuroscience Institute,
and co-director of the Northwell
Center for Stereotactic Radiosurgery.
“This technology offers the precision
of surgery without a scalpel and
without the usual risks of surgery
or an incision.”
GK Icon makes cranial stereotactic
radiosurgery available conditions
such as meningiomas, acoustic
neuromas, metastatic tumors, arteriovenous
malformations, pituitary
tumors, trigeminal neuralgia and
more.
It integrates 3D imaging and
software, allowing for continuous
monitoring during treatment. This
provides doctors with real-time information
and control. In addition,
the advanced motion management
and imaging enables frameless (maskbased)
treatments for many patients,
which not only improves precision
but provides more comfort during
the procedure.
This technology also allows for the
precision of the Gamma Knife to be
brought to bear on patients with large
and complex tumors, which has not been
possible with older versions of the GK.
And for the first time, it is now
possible to perform GK treatment in
one day without placing a stereotactic
headframe on a patient, Dr. Schulder
adds.
The Gamma Knife Icon was purchased
with a donation from Irwin
Davis, a Bayside, Queens, resident
who died in 2007 and donated his
estate to North Shore University Hospital
in Manhasset for brain tumor
research.
The GK Perfexion, the previous
version GK technology, was installed
in the Department of Radiation
Medicine at the CFAM in 2014,
adding to a longstanding program
in stereotactic radiosurgery at
Northwell Health. The GK Icon replaces
the Perfexion and is a major
technological upgrade.
“With the new gamma knife technology,
the shape and dose of the
radiation is optimized to focus on
the exact point desired with little
to virtually no damage to healthy
brain tissue,” says Dr. Anuj Goenka,
co-director of Northwell’s brain
tumor program, co-director of the
Northwell Center for Stereotactic
Radiosurgery.
NEW APP HELPS DOCTORS SCREEN
FOR SUBSTANCE USE
Substance use disorder, including
opioid dependency and addiction,
is one of the gravest public health
threats facing the United States, yet
many physicians and other providers
lack the training to confidently
screen their patients and help get
them treatment.
To fill that gap, Northwell Health
and Center on Addiction released a
new app for health care providers
that seamlessly guides them through
this process.
“On average, doctors in the US have
had less than two hours of dedicated
training on the topic of substance use,
and less than that on substance use
disorder,” said Dr. Sandeep Kapoor,
director of Screening, Brief Intervention,
and Referral to Treatment
(SBIRT) at Northwell Health. “So how
do we handle the 40 million people
who are dealing with this issue? Clinical
team members have to be able to
comfortably start the conversation
with their patients, and this app will
empower them to do that.”
The SBIRT for Health Professionals
app is designed to be used by
providers in a health care setting.
It is available for tablets, and offers
a standardized, streamlined set of
questions to use with patients to
help identify potentially problematic
patterns of drug or alcohol use. If the
answers identify a moderate to high
level of risk for health or social problems
due to substance use, the app
guides health care professionals in
how to speak to patients about their
readiness to change their lifestyles
and set new goals. The app also supports
the provider in discussions
with patients regarding referrals to
substance use disorder treatment,
when appropriate.
SBIRT is an evidence-based approach
that health care professionals
can use as part of their clinical
toolbox to effectively address risky
substance use among their patients.
However, many providers are
unfamiliar with the approach or
have faced difficulty in adopting it
within their own practices—and the
app can help with that, said Megan
O’Grady, PhD, associate director of
health services research at Center on
Addiction.
“A discussion with a patient can
prevent substance misuse from escalating
to addiction,” said O’Grady.
“Hundreds of people die every day
because of misuse of opioids, alcohol
or other substances. Wider use of
SBIRT will save lives.”
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