CyberKnife – Whole-body Stereotactic Robotic Radiosurgery System
CyberKnife is a fully robotic radiation therapy platform that precisely targets and destroys tumours with high doses of radiation in less time.
Body movements like breathing, coughing, etc., can cause the tumour to slightly change its position. When this happens, there are high chances of linear accelerators missing a part of the tumour or causing damage to nearby organs.
CyberKnife, on the other hand, uses real-time imaging and auto-adjustment features to realign the radiation beams in these cases and precisely target the tumour. This advantage translates to lesser damage to the surrounding healthy tissues.
CyberKnife’s precision technology allows radiologists to deliver high dose radiation to the target area in less duration.
CyberKnife can treat a wide range of cancers, namely brain tumours, lung cancers, liver cancers, pancreatic cancers and prostate cancers. Along with cancers, CyberKnife can also treat non-cancerous conditions like AV malformations, trigeminal neuralgia and a few more functional disorders.
How Does CyberKnife Work?
Before the radiation, 3D images of the target area are created using a CT scan or the CyberKnife treatment planning computer. Along with the imaging, radiographic markers are implanted intravenously to target the tumour accurately during the treatment.
These pre-treatment images will help specialists plan the radiation dose and the number of fractions or sessions. During the treatment, the patient is asked to lie comfortably on the couch.
Once the patient is in the position, his/her movements are monitored by the system’s low-dose X-ray cameras. These new images are compared with the pre-treatment images. Based on the data from the comparison, the radiation delivery is realigned.
The computer-controlled robotic arm moves around delivering the radiation from multiple angles to the target area according to the treatment plan.
By reducing the margins and accounting for body movements, CyberKnife lessens the damage to the healthy tissues and helps the patients recover at a faster rate.
Advantages of CyberKnife Treatment
CyberKnife has numerous advantages:
- CyberKnife carefully tracks the movement of the tumour caused due to breathing, coughing, swallowing etc., and adjusts radiation beams accordingly.
- CyberKnife helps specialists to reach out to the inoperable tumours and treat them with positive outcomes.
- CyberKnife approaches the tumour from several unique angles and thereby reduces the damage to the surrounding tissues.
- CyberKnife treatment sessions are brief in number and time as this platform largely targets the affected areas while sparing the healthy tissues.
- CyberKnife treatment is a pain-free procedure and offers superior comfort to the patients.
- Recovery is almost immediate with fewer treatment-related complications.
Frequently Asked Questions
This will be decided by your doctor or the expert team. After understanding your disease, assessing your treatment prognosis, the doctors come up with the treatment plan. If you are the right candidate for CyberKnife, your expert team will be recommending it for you.
This procedure is non-invasive and painless. You can receive CyberKnife as an outpatient. You will not experience any major discomfort.
If you are feeling anxious, please inform your doctor who will administer mild sedatives that will help you relax. You can also try listening to music during the session.
Each CyberKnife session (fraction) may take anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes, and the entire treatment comprises not more than five sessions of this kind.
CyberKnife targets the tumours with pinpoint accuracy, and therefore, the chances of you losing your hair are unlikely. However, if you are being treated for cancers close to the scalp, you may lose hair in the adjacent region.
Yes, you can eat and drink before CyberKnife procedure.
This again depends on the type and stage of your cancer. Some cancers can be treated with CyberKnife, whereas for some, surgery is the best option. That said, your doctor is the best person to decide on which is the best treatment option for your case.
To know more about CyberKnife treatment, please visit www.cyberknifeindia.com