LINAC: Past, present, and future of radiosurgery

Abstract

Radiosurgery is truly minimally invasive treatment, delivering therapeutic energy to an accurately defined target without an incision. It has been used to treat a wide variety of pathologic conditions including benign and malignant brain tumors, vascular lesions such as arteriovenous malformations, and pain syndromes such as trigeminal neuralgia. Although initially described with use of the Gamma Knife, stereotactic radiosurgery is now most commonly delivered using linear accelerators (LINACs). This review covers the history of the development of LINACs, the modifications necessary to deliver radiosurgery, and current and future applications of LINAC radiosurgery.