CyberKnife

The AtlantiCare Cancer Care Institute, a Fox Chase Cancer Center Partner, is proud to offer CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery — a non-invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors anywhere in the body.

The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is the world’s only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body noninvasively.

Click on a link below to learn more about CyberKnife.

What is CyberKnife?
What are the benefits of CyberKnife?
What is the CyberKnife Treatment Process Like?
What makes the CyberKnife system unique?
Meet AtlantiCare's CyberKnife Team
Frequently Asked Questions about CyberKnife

What is CyberKnife?

The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is a non-invasive alternative to surgery for treatment of tumors anywhere in the body. The treatment - which delivers high doses of radiation to tumors with extreme accuracy - offers new hope to patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumors, or who may be looking for an alternative to surgery.

The CyberKnife System uses image guidance and computer-controlled robotics to deliver multiple beams of high-energy radiation to the tumor from virtually any direction. Designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy, the CyberKnife System tracks the tumor’s position, detects any tumor or patient movement and automatically corrects the treatment delivery. This outpatient procedure does not require anesthesia or invasive stabilizing frames. Most patients experience minimal recovery times and can return to normal activities almost immediately.

CyberKnife Patient Benefits:

Pain-free
Non-invasive
No anesthesia required
Outpatient procedure
No recovery time
Immediate return to normal activity
No breath holding during treatment
Fiducial-free* - no implanted markers

*for most procedures

The CyberKnife Treatment Process

Scanning

Prior to treatment with the CyberKnife System, the patient undergoes imaging procedures to determine the size, shape and location of the tumor. The process begins with a standard high-resolution CT scan, or for certain tumors other imaging techniques such as MRI, angiography or PET may also be used.

Planning

Following the scanning, the image data is digitally transferred to the CyberKnife System’s treatment planning work station, where the treating physician identifies the exact size, shape and location of the tumor. A physicist or medical dosimetrist then uses the CyberKnife software to generate a treatment plan to provide the desired radiation dose to the identified tumor location while avoiding damage to the surrounding healthy tissue. The patient does not need to be present during this step in the process.

Treatment

During a CyberKnife procedure, a patient lies comfortably on the treatment table. Anesthesia is not required, as the procedure is painless and non-invasive. The treatment generally lasts between 30 and 90 minutes and is typically completed in one to five visits. Throughout the CyberKnife procedure, real-time images are taken to confirm the position of the patient and tumor site, allowing the system to correct for subtle movements.

Follow-up

Follow-up imaging, generally performed with a combination of CT, MRI and/or PET scanning, is usually performed in the months following treatment to assess the tumor’s response to the delivered radiation.

What makes the CyberKnife® System unique?

Accuray Incorporated has given cancer patients another treatment option with the development of the world’s first and only radiosurgery device: the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System. With the CyberKnife System, radiosurgery is no longer limited to treating intracranial tumors. The CyberKnife System is a viable, non-invasive alternative to surgery and is capable of treating tumors anywhere in the body with pinpoint accuracy, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue and nearby critical structures, such as the spinal cord or the optic nerve.

Accurate - Enables clinicians to confidently treat tumors with minimal harm to surrounding healthy tissue by delivering high doses of radiation with sub-millimeter accuracy. The CyberKnife real-time imaging allows for continual confirmation of the tumor and patient position throughout treatment.

Flexible - Offers maneuverability and versatility that is unsurpassed by traditional radiation systems. By delivering radiation beams from virtually unlimited positions, the CyberKnife System can treat tumors anywhere in the body from any angle.

Robotic - Continually tracks tumor position, detects any tumor or patient movement and automatically corrects the treatment delivery - without the need to manually reposition the patient or interrupt the treatment, thereby slowing down the treatment process.

Beneficial - Provides a pain-free, non-invasive alternative for patients, including those diagnosed with previously inoperable or surgically complex tumors, or for patients who are looking for an alternative to surgery.