What Is CyberKnife?
A robotic radiosurgery device, CyberKnife is intended to treat cancer throughout the body. This system allows radiation beams to be used focally, and experts can treat cancerous tissues in the brain and body with high doses. Normal tissues can be protected from the effects of radiation.
The computer-controlled robot and the treatment device perform the treatment by rotating around the patient and irradiating from hundreds of angles.
There are subsystems within the CyberKnife device:
- A system that locates the tumor under imaging guidance,
- Computer-controlled robot and robotic patient positioning system.
CyberKnife is an advanced linear accelerator placed on industrial robots. It is a Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRC) device that uses radiation beams focally to treat cancerous areas in the brain and body, especially those with access problems, with high doses of rays.
Usage Areas
CyberKnife method; It is used in lung cancers, prostate cancers, brain tumors, head and neck cancers, vertebral tumors, and pancreatic cancers.
In addition, it can be used in metastases that cannot be treated with other methods, in the small number of metastases, in cases where the tumor is replaced by respiration or bowel movements, and in lung and liver tumors.
It is also effective in spinal cord diseases that are very sensitive to radiation. A second application can be made in tumors that have received radiotherapy before but have recurred in the same area.
CyberKnife in Brain Tumors
It can be used in all lesions of the brain and head and neck region without limitations of location and size.
In addition to single-session high-dose treatments called radiosurgery, it can be used as stereotactic radiotherapy in tumors that are likely to be damaged and close to or adjacent to risky organs.
CyberKnife in the brain: A device used to treat benign and malignant brain tumors, metastases, arteriovenous malformations, and some functional diseases.
In Some Tumors That Could Not Be Treated In The Past
CyberKnife radiotherapy systems can be applied to such tumors. For example, CyberKnife can be used in tumors around the eyes that require surgical removal of the eye and spinal cord diseases that are sensitive to radiation.
Cyberknife in Recurrent Tumors in Irradiated Areas
CyberKnife is also used in patients who have previously received radiotherapy but have relapsed in the same area. In such tumors, a second application can be made.
Cyberknife Treatment
CyberKnife is applied to the patient without surgical intervention by placing a plastic mask on the patient’s face. Namely, The patient lies on a robot-controlled table that can move in 6 directions during the treatment.
CyberKnife uses an image capture system that locates and tracks the tumor and, if necessary, changes the patient’s position by monitoring changes in case of tumor movement. This system allows lung and liver tumors displaced by respiration to be treated with SRC/SRT.
During treatment, the patient does not need to hold their breath or breathe regularly.
The system compares the patient’s CT and Magnetic Resonance images taken before the treatment with the snapshots taken during the treatment. The tumor coordinates obtained from here are evaluated instantly with the help of computers, and the radiation dose is adjusted. In this way, it is ensured that the treatment is not affected by the patient’s small movements.
While the treatment is limited to the tumor, the damage to the surrounding healthy tissues can be minimized.
In the CyberKnife System, which uses a computer-controlled robot, the treatment device completes the treatment by rotating around the patient and irradiating it from hundreds of angles. Accuracy in teleporting targets 0.95 mm. up to.