What is CyberKnife®?
The CyberKnife® is a very accurate device (treatment is delivered with sub-millimeter precision) that delivers high doses of radiation to the tumor, with little harm to important surrounding sensitive structures. Radiosurgery is performed by a team comprised of a neurosurgeon and/or ENT surgeon, a radiation oncologist, a medical physicist, and nursing staff. The expertise of a radiologist is often required in order to accurately delineate the tumor.
Genesis CyberKnife offers a revolutionary treatment for destroying harmful tumors that does not require surgery or anesthesia and lets the patient go home immediately afterwards. Utilizing state-of-the-art technology, similar to the technology developed to guide cruise missiles to their target, CyberKnife® delivers precise, highly focused radiation to tumors in the brain, spine and elsewhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy. Pinpoint accuracy allows our physician team to treat even the most difficult to reach cancerous or benign tumors, as well as abnormal tangles of blood vessels in the brain, while avoiding damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Targeted Beams of Radiation Destroy Cancer Cells
During the CyberKnife® procedure, fifty to several hundred or more concentrated beams of radiation are administered from different targeting angles using a linear accelerator (LINAC) mounted on a robotic arm. All of the radiation beams intersect within a tumor or lesion with pinpoint accuracy. The cumulative radiation dose delivered to the tumor or lesion is high enough to destroy the cancer cells and stop the growth of active tissue.During the entire treatment the location of the tumor is continuously monitored using X-rays and image-guided cameras. These images are instantly compared to the radiography produced from the initial CT scan, allowing the robotic system to reposition the radiation source before the delivery of each beam. CyberKnife's advanced robotic system delivers radiation so precisely that it can stay on target even if a patient breathes or moves during treatment.
Unparalleled Precision and Patient Comfort
With its high precision and accuracy, the CyberKnife® system can achieve a surgical-like outcome, without surgery. It's a painless outpatient procedure without the risk and complications associated with conventional surgery. The actual CyberKnife® procedure usually takes about an hour. Depending on the condition being treated and size of the tumor or abnormality, there can be more than one treatment session. Following treatment, the patient goes home, with no need for recovery time.
