Polymer gel in rat skull to assess the accuracy of a new rat stereotactic device for use with the Gamma Knife.
Acta Neurochir (Wien), 151 (6):
677--83; discussion 683-4 (June 2009)DOI: 10.1007/s00701-009-0298-1
Abstract
Accurate targeting is crucial for the irradiation of a small-volume animal brain. We propose an original method, based on a polymer gel, to determine the accuracy and reproducibility of irradiation using a new stereotactic frame.An in-house designed rat stereotactic frame, compatible with the Gamma Knife, was constructed. The rat brain was then removed through a small burr hole and the intracranial cavity was washed and filled with a polymer gel. This "gel brain" was irradiated by Gamma Knife and the irradiated volumes and coordinates were measured after the irradiation.The position of the polymerized areas revealed that the stereotactic frame was able to accurately reproduce the same position of irradiation in each animal. The small standard deviation demonstrated the high reproducibility.The polymer gel confirmed the ability of the rat stereotactic frame to accurately and reproducibly position a small animal for precise radiosurgery procedures.