Hospital to use new high-tech knife

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. -- Doctors at The Methodist Hospitals will begin using a new high-tech tool next week to treat people with cancerous tumors and other diseases of the brain.\nThe $3.1 million gamma knife, the second in the state and one of only 66 across the country, uses an advanced form of precision radiation therapy that treats malformities of the brain, blasting away at diseased tissue but sparing healthy tissue.\nPart of the hospital's Center for Advanced Clinical Studies, the Gamma Knife Center already has 10 people scheduled for treatment next week, according to Dr. Hytham Rifai, medical director of neurosurgery and the Gamma Knife Center.\nRifai said patients with brain tumors often traveled to the Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic or University of Chicago Hospitals for treatment.\n"The hospital decided to bring the treatment to residents," Rifai said of the Merrillville-based hospital.\nMethodist Hospitals officials showcased the new Gamma Knife Center on Wednesday.\nThe gamma knife can be used to treat brain tumors, both cancerous and non-cancerous, as well as blood vessels that aren't properly formed, facial pain caused by nerve problems, and deep brain functional disorders including Parkinson's disease.