RESOURCES
A Brief History of Cyberknife Radiosurgery
The first CyberKnife prototype was installed for clinical use at Stanford University Medical Center in 1994, under the direction of neurosurgeon Dr. John Adler.
In 2001, the FDA approved radiosurgery treatments with the CyberKnife for lesions anywhere in the body.
To date, over 100,000 patients have been treated with the CyberKnife. Research is ongoing at major medical centers as more indications for treatment are explored.
RESOURCES
Is Cyberknife Right for You?
The CyberKnife® System is ideally suited for patients who:
-
Want or need an alternative to traditional open surgery
-
Have a condition diagnosed as untreatable by open surgery (inoperable)
-
Are elderly, frail or otherwise in compromised health
-
Have received the maximum allowable dose of standard radiation
-
Unable or unwilling to undergo frame-based radiosurgery
-
Do not want an additional operation to remove a recurrent or residual tumor
-
Can benefit from newly evolving applications for conditions previously not considered for radiosurgery
-
Can receive radiosurgery treatment as adjunct therapy to traditional oncology care
RESOURCES
Benefits
Benefits of CyberKnife
No pain—Because the procedure is a nonsurgical approach, there is no anesthesia, incision, or blood loss.
Less damage to healthy tissue—Tumors receive radiation from many angles, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
No head or body frame—Unlike other stereotactic radiosurgical techniques, the CyberKnife system uses the body’s bony structures or implanted markers to find its target. No metal head frame or skull pins are required.
No overnight hospitalization—An outpatient treatment, CyberKnife usually allows you to return home the same day.
No breath holding—CyberKnife with Synchrony remains locked on its target regardless of tumor movement, so even patients undergoing treatment for lung cancer can relax and breathe normally during the procedure.
No complications—CyberKnife usually allows for fewer complications than open surgery and higher quality of life after treatment. Faster and more accurate—Approaching its target from as many as 1,400 angles, CyberKnife can deliver high doses of radiation to tumors while avoiding surrounding, healthy tissue. Treats Inoperable Tumors—As a result of these benefits, CyberKnife is able to target tumors that were previously considered unreachable or inoperable.