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In contrast to External Beam Radiotherapy (EBRT) in which high-energy x-rays are directed at the tumor from outside the body, Electronic Brachytherapy (braykee-thera-pea) involves the precise placement of radiation directly at the site of the tumor.   

Electronic brachytherapy treatment offers doctors the ability to protect normal tissue while delivering a targeted dose of radiation precisely to the affected area.  This type of precision, previously not possible, minimizes damage to surrounding tissue.

Scientists at prestigious medical schools recognize the clinical value of collaborative investigations that arise from the “one medicine” model supported by the New York Veterinary Foundation, and the potential benefit to their patients.  

Working in collaboration with researchers at human medical centers who are already treating breast cancer with this newly developed “precision guided low dose” radiation therapy, NYVF is funding research on models for treating brain nasal, skin and spinal tumors in pets using electronic brachytherapy.

Chiari malformation is a condition wherein the skull is misshaped or simply too small causing part of the brain, the cerebellum, to descend out of the skull through the opening at its base, crowding the spinal cord.

Sadly, this malformation affects over three hundred thousand children and thousands of puppies every year.

Patients experience a variety of symptoms including extreme pain, neurologic weakness, difficulty learning, and seizures struggle every day. Because this disease also afflicts puppies, their treatment is a natural model for the human pediatric condition.

At the New York Veterinary Foundation, we are not only making a difference in the lives of animals... we’re also making a difference in the lives of people, funding critical research into the causes and treatment of this painful disease that affects both children and dogs.