3,000 People Have Received Laser Interstitial Therapy for Epilepsy, Brain Tumors, or Other Intracranial Pathology

The 3,000th person has been treated by neurosurgeons using minimally invasive laser image-guided interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) (NeuroBlate System; Monteris Medical, Plymouth, MN). Nearly all individuals had epilepsy, gliomas, brain metastases, or radiation necrosis.

The tool provides robotically controlled therapy that uses MRI-guided laser light to ablate pathologic tissue in the brain where a lesion or abnormal tissue originates. The precise nature of the procedure helps to lessen the likelihood of harm to nearby healthy brain tissue.

The recent LAANTERN study (NCT02392078) showed that when the system is used, postsurgical ICU utilization is comparable or shorter than ICU and hospital stays associated with open cranial surgery.
 
“We use image-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy to treat tumors in sensitive areas of the brain that otherwise would be extremely difficult to reach,” said Albert Kim, MD, PhD, neurosurgeon, Washington University School of Medicine. “The minimally invasive nature of this approach helps stabilize or improve quality of life in many patients, which is so important.”

“Patients appreciate the minimally invasive nature of NeuroBlate,” said Stephan Schuele, MD, chief of epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. “They usually return home with a minimal hospital stay. It’s become an important tool in our kit for helping people with epilepsy and can make a real difference in people’s lives.”