CyberKnife® Technology Offers
"Knifeless" Surgery Anywhere in the Body
Baptist Cancer Services includes the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System in its arsenal of highly advanced treatment options for cancer patients. The CyberKnife allows physicians at Baptist to treat both cancerous and noncancerous tumors anywhere in the body where radiation therapy is needed, including the pancreas, lungs, brain and other areas that in many cases are inoperable.
The CyberKnife is the only FDA-approved completely robotic stereotactic radiosurgery system available that targets and destroys tumors and lesions anywhere in the body.
What Cancers Can It Treat?
The system may be used to treat the following cancers:
Malignant tumors: Astrocytomas, Gliomas, Skull base tumors, Metastases (brain and bony), Nasopharyngeal carcinomas
Benign tumors: Meningiomas, Acoustic neuromas, Schwannomas, Pituitary adenomas, Hemangioblastomas, Craniopharngiomas, Other benign tumors
Extracranial Tumors and Lesions: Base of skull, Neck, Cervical Spine, Thoracic Spine, Lumbar Spine, Pancreas, Liver, Lungs, Other lesions, tumors, and conditions anywhere in the body
How Does It Work?
The CyberKnife is a highly advanced system that delivers super-concentrated radiation with precision so great it could split the point of a pin. The CyberKnife can be used to treat tumors anywhere in the body without damaging surrounding tissue.
The CyberKnife combines two systems: a compact, lightweight linear accelerator mounted on a robotic arm that sends the radiation to the patient; and an image guidance system that tracks the tumor's location in real time to direct the radiation to the precise location where it is needed.
The guidance system uses the patient's skeletal structure as a point of reference. During treatment, a patient's tumor is usually given several doses of radiation. The CyberKnife's guidance system takes new images of the tumor's location before each dose is delivered. In fact, it is the only system that monitors and tracks tumor position continually during treatment.
The robotic arm that delivers the radiation is so maneuverable that physicians can position it in multiple angles. This means they can use it to treat tumors and other lesions anywhere in the body without open surgery, including some that were previously untreatable. Following treatment, the patient goes home, with no need for recovery time.
Advantages for the Patient
Other available radiosurgery systems for "knifeless" surgery have limitations the CyberKnife has overcome:
| Other radiosurgery systems: |
The CyberKnife: |
| To accurately deliver radiation to the tumor, a patient is required to wear an invasive stereotactic head frame that is fixed to the patient's skull with screws. |
The CyberKnife uses a patient's own skeletal structures to "plot" the location of the tumor. No head frame is needed. |
| Other systems confirm the location of the tumor only once, prior to treatment. |
The CyberKnife's highly advanced guidance system verifies the location of the tumor several times during treatment. Before each new dose of radiation, the system scans the body and reports any necessary corrections for targeting the tumor. |
| To completely treat the tumor, the patient must be re-positioned several times during treatment. Then, the location of the tumor must once again be verified after the patient has been moved. This further complicates and prolongs treatment. |
The CyberKnife constantly tracks patient movement during treatment. Because of the system's flexibility, the patient's position need never be changed. This greatly reduces the time needed for treatment. |
| Other systems can be positioned in a limited number of ways. Because of this, they can be used to treat tumors only in certain locations. |
Because of the CyberKnife's maneuverability, it can be used to treat tumors and lesions anywhere in the body. |
Read our press releases about the CyberKnife:
:: Baptist Acquires the CyberKnife
:: Baptist Now Treating Lung Tumors With CyberKnife
Learn more—and see video—about the CyberKnife at the following websites:
Manufacturer of the CyberKnife: www.accuray.com
CyberKnife Patient Support Group: www.cyberknife.com
:: Patients, click here to learn how you can become a patient at Baptist Cancer Services.
:: Physicians, click here to refer a patient to Baptist Cancer Services.
