Stealth Health

NASA gave us Tang, and it looks like GPS navigation and missle-tracking technology might give Kyrie and the doctors a better chance at fighting this tumor. During her crainiotomy, the neurosurgeon used "stealth" techonology, which works by generating a 3-D image of a patient's brain (or spine) with the placement of adhesive fiducials around the head. A computer program used her CT scans and MRI scans to align those results with the 3-D image of her brain. The neurosurgeon virtually sees through tissue to place instruments at the precise location of the surgical site. Kyrie's doctor said that he could see her tiny brain nerves! The computer can also show surgeons what part of the brain lies just in front of them—before they get there. This prevents accidental contact with blood vessels, nerves and other important parts; contact could cause brain damage.

And when Kyrie needs radiation, maybe the doctors will be able to use this: "Called computer-mediated stereotaxic radiosurgery (CMSR), the new technique combines software adapted from Cruise missile guidance systems with robotic manipulators and a high-powered X-ray machine. Before surgery, a CAT scan generates a detailed three-dimensional map of the target. The robotic arm then compares its own X-ray images with the mapped target, tracks and locks onto a tumor, and delivers a dose of radiation without harming surrounding tissues, says Stanford physicist Richard Cox. As a result, physicians may be able to kill off some types of cancers without opening a patient's skull or spine, Adler says."

Go God & science!