Life-saving technology for patients with inoperable or surgically risky tumors.
The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System has turned countless, previously hopeless diagnoses, into successfully treatable cases. For some patients with operable tumors, it has proven to be an effective alternative to painful surgery and recovery. Despite its name, the CyberKnife is not a knife at all but a robotically guided, laser-like radiation delivery system. Used under image guidance, the CyberKnife continually adjusts as you or your tumor shifts position, targeting only the tumor and leaving surrounding healthy tissue untouched. This eliminates the need for head frames, providing a more comfortable treatment. Treatment is pain free because it is non-invasive, there is no incision, no anesthesia, no discomfort and no recovery time you can get ack to your normal routine the moment you walk out the door.
Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)
Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Body radiotherapy (SBRT) are two forms of external beam radiation therapy that are particularly effective against small, well-defined tumors in inoperable or surgically risky locations such as the brain or on the spine. SRS and SBRT are non-surgical treatments that combine 3-D imaging and targeting with multiple, highly focused x-ray beams that coverage on the tumor from different angles and cause it to shrink over time. SRS is used against tumors in the brain and spine, while SBRT is used to treat cancer in other parts of the body.
Proven capabilities. Proven results.
The CyberKnife System is now recognized as the premiere solution for safe and effective radiosurgery delivery. With a large body of academic support, the CyberKnife System has now treated more than 50,000 patients and been installed as the radiosurgery system of choice in more than 140 institutions globally – including many of the most prestigious cancer centers in the world.
CyberKnife benefits:
- The first robotically guided radiation delivery system.
- Working under image guidance, continually adjusts as the patient or tumor shifts position.
- Used to treat small, well defined tumors.
- Unprecedented targeting accuracy.
- Offers new hope to patients with inoperable or surgically risky tumors.
- Pain free treatment, performed in five days or less.
What to expect before, during and after CyberKnife treatment
- Prior to treatment, your radiation therapy treatment team will take a high resolution scan of your tumor to determine its shape and location. The data from this scan will then be digitally transferred to the CyberKnife workstation. Your team will develop a treatment plan, including the number of treatments you will need, and the shaping and dosage levels for the radiation beam.
- Once the treatment plan is complete, you can begin your therapy. You will be scheduled for an appointment or series of appointments that typically last from 30 to 90 minutes each. Treatment sessions usually take no more than five days total.
- When you come in for a treatment session, the technologist will position you comfortable on the treatment table. The robotic arm of the CyberKnife will then slowly move around you, programmed to top at various locations where it will deliver a very precise beam of radiation to the tumor.
- After the treatment is over, you are free to resume normal activity. Because there is no need for sedation, you can drive yourself to and from your appointment.
The CyberKnife System has revolutionized prostate
radiosurgery as the only system capable of Noninvasively
delivering HDR equivalent dosing to the prostate with submillimeter targeting accuracy while precisely controlling exposure to the rectal wall and urethra. Used as either monotherapy or as a boost following treatment with other modalities, a typical CyberKnife treatment is delivered in just five or fewer outpatient visits.
Because the prostate can shift more than 5 mm in just a
30-second treatment period, the safe delivery of radiosurgery necessitates continuous tracking and correction of intra-fraction motion. Where conventional technologies such as IGRT and cone-beam CT often provide image guidance for pretreatment setup, target movements during treatment delivery remain unrecognized, which may result in an increased risk of toxicity to surrounding sensitive structures or under-dosing of the prostate. Using advanced robotic technology, the CyberKnife System is the only system to utilize continual image guidance to automatically track, detect and correct for intra-fraction prostate movements.
With the CyberKnife System, radiosurgical accuracy is
maintained throughout the treatment – from the first beam to the last. These unique capabilities enhance the CyberKnife System’s ability to preserve surrounding nerves and healthy tissues with an unprecedented 0.7 mm targeting accuracy as proven in independent, peer-reviewed studies.1
The CyberKnife System has rendered implanted fiducials
and external markers unnecessary. Advanced image enhancement and image-registration technology allow spinal tumors to be targeted and tracked based entirely on information provided by the surrounding bony
anatomy. Rather than treating the spine as a rigid body,
the CyberKnife System tracks the complex motion of
individual spinal segments to ensure radiosurgical accuracy throughout the treatment. Furthermore, this completely noninvasive capability applies to nearly 100% of spine cases at all levels of the spine.
With unhindered robotic mobility, the CyberKnife System
extends spinal radiosurgery to all levels of the spine – cervical through sacral. This ability to treat anywhere along the spine truly expands clinical capabilities, significantly increasing eligible spine patient caseloads by nearly 600% when compared to the capabilities of the latest generation of cobalt-based radiosurgery systems.2
Without the need for external frames of implanted fiducials, the CyberKnife System is the only system to directly track lung tumors with radiosurgical accuracy. Using sophisticated image processing and registration, tumors can be tracked noninvasively – eliminating the risks associated with fiducial implantation while expediting the patient’s time to treatment.
Unlike the respiratory gating andbreath-holding techniques of gantry systems, the CyberKnife System delivers tightly contoured beams that move precisely with
tumor motion throughout the respiratory cycle. Integrating the Synchony© Respiratory Tracking System, margins are limited to only that which are
clinically relevant, dramatically decreasing the targeting and setup margins typical with other respiratory compensation techniques. And with the 4D treatment planning capabilities of the CyberKnife System, tumor and surrounding structure motion and deformation are accounted for throughout the entire breathing cycle. Ultimately, the combination of these capabilities, helps to ensure prescribed doses are limited to the intended target while maximizing healthy tissue preservation. Where conventional gantry-based imaging systems such as IGRT and cone-beam CT provide image guidance for pretreatment setup, target movements during the treatment remain unrecognized with these technologies.
Using advanced robotic technology, the CyberKnife System is the only system to utilize continual image guidance to automatically track, detect and correct for target movements throughout the treatment. This intra-fraction image guidance capability unique to the CyberKnife System has proven to deliver and unprecedented 0.7 mm targeting accuracy when treating targets that move with respiration.3
Similar to cobalt-based systems, the CyberKnife System
treats a wide variety of intracranial indications including the benign, primary malignant and metastatic tumors, as well as vascular and functional disorders. However, the versatility of the CyberKnife System extends its capabilities to significantly broader patient population:
- The need to deliver more than a single fraction is often
imperative, particularly when intracranial targets are
surrounded by other radiosensitive structures.5 The
CyberKnife System offered the flexibility to efficiently and
painlessly deliver both single and multiple treatments. - The completely noninvasive nature of the CyberKnife
System enables the treatment of intracranial targets for
pediatric patients – providing a safe, painless and nonclaustrophobic experience. - Unconstrained by fixed hemisphere, the CyberKnife
System delivers complete intracranial access – keeping
extreme peripheral targets always within reach. - With unhindered robotic mobility, the CyberKnife System extends its reach beyond the head to all levels of the spine – cervical through sacral.