Since Busan Paik Hospital was equipped with gamma knife in 1994, the 4th in the nation and the 1st south of the Han River, it recently adopted the latest model of perfection equipment to provide higher quality treatment. Gamma knife enables the projection of 192 gamma rays on the lesions in the cranial cavity from all different directions using computers without incision of the scalp or skull. It is a highly advanced radiosurgery device that concentrates forces of rays at one point to remove or necrotize the lesions without affecting normal brain tissue. Gamma knife perfection has its functions improved from the previous models; its curable areas were expanded to tumors of the cervical spine; its precision is as high as 0.1 mm; and robot surgery via a complete automation system became available so that patients can have surgery more comfortably.

For the first time in the non-capital region, Busan Paik Hospital recently adopted the linear accelerator ‘Rapid Arc’, which is highly advanced cancer treatment equipment. Along with the gamma knife and 4D CT simulator already up and running, the adoption of Rapid Arc made Busan Paik Hospital truly ‘the Mecca of top cancer treatment.’ Rapid Arc includes Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) and Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT), both of which are regarded as treatment for the 21st century, as well as having a more advanced type of treatment technology called 4D Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT). Furthermore, it is also equipped with a 40-channel 4D CT simulator (CT-Sim), the nation’s 1st simulator equipped with the CBCT function, ‘C-RAD’ which is Asia’s 1st 4D tracking system and surface contour scanning system, and Real-time Position Management called ‘RPM-Gating,’ all of which make it possible to conduct customized radiological treatment for each patient depending on their various lesions by part. The strongest point of Rapid Arc is increased safety for patients via less exposure to radiation. The duration of treatment is as short as 2 minutes, remarkably advanced compared to 10 to 40 minutes by existing radiation treatment devices. It became possible as Rapid Arc utilizes the latest image guided device and high speed rotation treatment technology while rotating 360 degrees around the patient to concentrate radiation on the lesions more quickly and in three dimensions. It can also be applied to metastatic tumors in other areas as well as primary tumors, and multiple tumors can be treated at one time.

The latest 4th generation robotic surgery ‘Da Vinci Xi’ can conduct surgery in broader regions without relocating the robot, as the angle of the robot’s four arms was widened from 149 degrees to 177 degrees. The length of its arm was extended by 5 cm and the thickness was about 6mm slimmer than the current one, which enables robotic surgery for more complicated and deeper regions of the body where minimal incision is difficult to be conducted. The duration of surgery was also shortened, and a camera installed behind the endoscopic lens can obtain ultra high resolution 3D video information that is similar to real objects. It leaves fewer scars with less blood and a faster recovery than the current laparoscopes and laparotomies, and it conducts a precise and delicate surgery without damaging blood vessels or nerves as it has no fine vibrations. It can be conducted for various sections such as surgical sections like stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, rectal cancer, gallbladder disease, thyroid cancer, head and neck cancer, urological sections like prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, ureteral cancer, adrenal cancer, and obstetrics and gynecology sections like uterine cervical cancer, myoma uteri, endometrial cancer, and ovarian tumors.

PET-CT, DISCOVERY ste introduced by American GE in 2010, is high-tech equipment that combines PET which examines the metabolic activities in the body, and CT which examines structural abnormalities. It is used in the diagnosis of various cancers, neurovascular and cardiovascular diseases by using three-dimensional imaging to determine if malignancy in any part of the body is benign or malignant. It also dramatically shortens the time of examination down to between 25 and 30 minutes.

High dose rate brachytherapy unit is equipment that intensively exposes a large amount of radiation in a short time by injecting radioisotopes into the body cavity in which the tumor is located or directly into the tumor. By minimizing the amount of unnecessary radiation exposure in normal tissue, side effects are reduced while therapeutic efficiency is improved. In particular, we can now move away from the conventional two-dimensional treatment plans to the three-dimensional brachytherapy plan using CT, MRI and PET which can minimize the damage or side effects in surrounding tissue for effective treatment.

TOSHIBA introduced the world's first dynamic volume CT, Aquilion ONE in 2007 at RSNA which can cover 160mm at once with 320 rows of detectors. In 2009, TOSHIBA introduced upgraded 640 MSCT at RSNA following extensive research. 640 MSCT, Aguillion ONE is the world's only equipment that can take 640 images of organs such as brain or heart in a single gantry rotation and provides a new diagnostic approach that could not be made using conventional equipment.

We use Avanto I-class 1.5T whole-body imaging MRI from Siemens, which can obtain high-quality images for acute brain infarction, chest, abdomen and musculoskeletal system. MRI stands for "magnetic resonance imaging", and it uses magnetic and high frequency waves to provide structural and functional information about a body tissue in imaging. During the examination, your body enters a large magnet container, and specific high frequency waves that our bodies cannot detect are transmitted and received. The information received is processed using computers to produce MRI images.

Our Cardiovascular Center is the third clinic to introduce the Siemens Hybrid Arties Zee angiography device in Korea, and is able to carry out conventional coronary angiography, stenting, ballon angioplasty and cardiac surgeries such as thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection simultaneously. This allows for quick and safe treatment for cardiac patients with complications.

380nm Excimer laser is a laser used in the treatment of vitiligo and psoriasis, and is known to be 4-6 times more effective compared to conventional laser treatment. In the case of vitiligo, it effectively induces accumulation of pigments, giving new hope for the treatment of vitiligo. Excimer Laser was approved by the FDA for the treatment of psoriasis and vitiligio in 2001. Recently, the costs for the patients have been reduced as medical insurance coverage has expanded to include vitiligo and psoriasis treatment using Excimer laser depending on the location of the lesion.