CyberKnife : A True Precision!
Advancement in technology is the only way to reach precision in the healthcare system. Treatment of cancer revolves around a combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and conventional surgery. The impact of the treatment is not measurable, it includes side effects as well as cure of cancer. Imagine popping up an antibiotic for flu while ending up with a headache. Cancer often leads to side effects that impacts the life of a person with a fear of coming back again.
CyberKnife is one innovation that works on principle of precision! Developed in the 1980s and 1990s by Stanford University surgeon John R. Adler and others. The first CyberKnife system was installed at Stanford in 1991. The evolution and impact took time to land up in the market and revolutionise cancer treatment. It took two decades to enter the Indian Healthcare System. The first machine was installed by Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. Understanding recent technology can be crucial to make better choices for your loved ones. Read ahead and understand how cyberknife can help you!
How Does CyberKnife Work?
The CyberKnife System is unique in that it’s the only radiation delivery system with a linear accelerator (linac) mounted directly on a robotic arm. This allows it to deliver high-energy x-rays or photons for radiation therapy with incredible precision. The robot moves and bends around the patient, targeting the tumour from countless angles. This flexibility means radiation can be concentrated on the brain tumour from many different directions, reducing the exposure to healthy surrounding tissue and making the treatment more focused and effective.
Imaging and Planning: The first step involves taking high-quality images of the tumour using MRI, CT, or PET scans. These images allow doctors to create a precise 3D model of the tumour and the surrounding anatomy.
Treatment Planning: Based on the imaging results, a customised treatment plan is developed. The CyberKnife software calculates the exact dose of radiation needed and the best angles from which to deliver it.
Delivery: During the treatment, the patient lies comfortably on a table while the CyberKnife robot moves around them. The robot delivers highly focused radiation beams to the tumour from different angles, ensuring precision. The system constantly adjusts for any patient movement, including breathing, to ensure that the radiation hits only the tumour and not nearby healthy tissue.
Post-Treatment Monitoring: Since CyberKnife is non-invasive, patients can go home after treatment. Follow-up appointments are scheduled to monitor progress and ensure the tumour is responding to the treatment.
Ultimate Synchronisation and Precision
Will synchronisation and precision make a difference? Definitely a yes!
Patients naturally move during treatment—they breathe, shift their position, or even cough. Muscles can tense and relax, and even small movements like turning the head can occur. The CyberKnife System is the only device specifically designed to adjust for all types of patient and tumour motion, even while delivering treatment. Its motion-adaptive technology allows for smaller margins around the tumour, ensuring that healthy tissue is exposed to as little high-dose radiation as possible. By tracking the tumour’s movement and synchronising radiation delivery with it, the CyberKnife System ensures that treatment is highly effective while minimising exposure to surrounding healthy tissues. This approach helps reduce the risk of side effects.
Radiation therapy is a widely used treatment for many types of tumours throughout the body, but its effectiveness depends heavily on precision. Accurate delivery of radiation directly to the tumour is crucial for destroying cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. This high level of precision reduces unnecessary radiation to surrounding areas, which not only lowers the risk of side effects but also improves the patient’s quality of life during and after treatment. The more precise the radiation delivery, the better the chances of effective treatment with fewer complications.
Who is a right fit for CyberKnife?
The CyberKnife System offers a non-invasive treatment option for both cancerous and non-cancerous tumours, as well as other conditions where radiation therapy is recommended. It can be used to treat various areas of the body, including the prostate, lungs, brain, spine, head and neck, liver, pancreas, and kidneys. CyberKnife is a valuable alternative to surgery, especially for patients with inoperable or surgically complex tumours. Most treatments are completed in just 1 to 5 sessions. With over two decades of clinical success, the CyberKnife System has provided life-changing treatment to thousands of people suffering from brain tumors.
The CyberKnife system is a versatile and highly effective treatment option for various cancer types, including those in the prostate, lungs, brain, spine, liver, pancreas, and kidneys. Beyond malignant tumours, it is also capable of treating benign tumours, making it a flexible and valuable tool for healthcare providers.
CyberKnife is particularly beneficial for patients who:
- Have inoperable or hard-to-reach tumours, especially brain tissues.
- Cannot undergo surgery due to other health conditions.
- Wish to avoid the risks and recovery time associated with traditional surgery.
- Need retreatment in areas that have already received radiation.
It’s also an excellent option for treating small to medium-sized brain tumours or tumours located near critical structures, such as the brainstem or spinal cord. One of the key benefits of the CyberKnife system is its adaptability. It can be used as a primary treatment for certain cancers or combined with other treatments, such as chemotherapy or surgery. This flexibility allows healthcare professionals to tailor treatment plans to each patient’s needs, optimising the chances for successful outcomes.
It’s a Differentiator : CyberKnife
CyberKnife is also used to treat brain and spinal tumours, offering a non-invasive alternative to surgery or more aggressive radiation treatments, such as Gamma Knife.
Non-Invasive: Unlike traditional surgery, CyberKnife does not involve cuts, incisions, or anaesthesia. This greatly reduces recovery time and the risk of complications like infections.
Precision: The system’s ability to target tumours with sub-millimeter accuracy minimises damage to surrounding tissues, making it especially useful for treating tumours near sensitive structures such as the brain, spine, and lungs.
Fewer Sessions: Traditional radiation therapy can require daily treatments over several weeks, but CyberKnife often reduces the number of sessions needed to just one to five treatments.
No Hospital Stay: CyberKnife is an outpatient procedure, allowing patients to return to their normal activities quickly, often the same day.
Wide Range of Applications: CyberKnife is effective for treating tumours in various parts of the body, including the brain, spine, lungs, prostate, liver, and pancreas. It can also treat both primary tumours and metastatic cancer.
What makes CyberKnife unique?
The CyberKnife System is the only fully robotic radiation delivery system. Its robotic design, combined with real-time imaging, allows it to precisely deliver high-dose radiation to the tumour from thousands of different angles.
Synchronisation in the motion is unbeatable. The system provides personalised, real-time adaptive radiation treatment by synchronising the beam with the movement of targets that shift due to respiration. This ensures precise and accurate radiation delivery throughout the entire treatment session.
The CyberKnife System is the first to feature a robotic arm-mounted multi-leaf collimator (MLC). This technology uses multiple “leaves” to quickly shape the radiation beam, allowing for more efficient treatment of larger targets with fewer beams.
The ultimate precision and accuracy puts this as the first treatment in front of clinicians. Talk to your healthcare provider and get to know better about Cyberknife.
What is the cost of CyberKnife in India?
On average, the cost of CyberKnife treatment in India ranges from INR 5,00,000 to INR 15,00,000 or more, making it a highly affordable option compared to the significantly higher costs in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, where expenses can range from $50,000 to $100,000. Additionally, when compared to other advanced radiation therapies, the cost of CyberKnife in India remains considerably lower, offering a cost-effective solution for patients seeking high-precision, non-invasive treatment without the prohibitive price tag of alternative treatment options.
Faq
How does the CyberKnife System adjust for patient and tumour movement during treatment?
The CyberKnife System uses advanced real-time imaging and robotic technology to adjust for patient and tumor movement during treatment. By continuously tracking the tumor’s position with imaging techniques, it accounts for even the smallest movements, such as those caused by breathing. The robotic arm delivering radiation can automatically adjust its angles and positioning to ensure that radiation beams remain precisely targeted at the tumour. This enables accurate treatment while minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissue, and it eliminates the need for invasive immobilisation devices, allowing patients to breathe and move naturally during the procedure.
What is the CyberKnife System, and how does it differ from Gamma or other technology radiation therapy?
The CyberKnife System is a non-invasive, robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors with high precision using targeted radiation. It differs from other radiation therapies like Gamma Knife in several ways. While the Gamma Knife is primarily used for brain tumours and requires a rigid frame to immobilise the patient’s head, the CyberKnife can treat tumours anywhere in the body and does not require invasive immobilisation. It uses real-time imaging to track tumour movement and adjusts the radiation beams accordingly, allowing for more flexibility and accuracy, especially for tumours that shift during treatment, such as those in the lungs or abdomen.
How many treatment sessions are typically required with the CyberKnife System?
The number of treatment sessions required with the CyberKnife System typically ranges from 1 to 5 sessions, depending on the size, location, and type of tumor being treated. Unlike traditional radiation therapy, which may require numerous sessions over several weeks, CyberKnife delivers highly focused radiation in fewer, shorter sessions. Each session usually lasts between 30 to 90 minutes, and the non-invasive nature of the procedure allows patients to resume normal activities shortly after treatment. The precise targeting of the CyberKnife reduces the need for prolonged treatment while minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Is CyberKnife suitable for patients with inoperable or surgically complex tumours ?
Yes, the CyberKnife System is particularly suitable for patients with inoperable or surgically complex tumors. Its non-invasive approach and precise delivery of high-dose radiation make it an effective option for treating tumors that are difficult to reach or pose high surgical risks. CyberKnife can target tumors in critical areas, such as the brain, spine, lungs, liver, and pancreas, where traditional surgery may not be feasible. By continuously tracking and adjusting for tumor movement, it provides a safer alternative for patients who are not candidates for surgery due to medical conditions, tumor location, or other complexities.
What are the potential side effects of CyberKnife treatment, and how does the system help minimise them?
Potential side effects of CyberKnife treatment are generally mild and vary depending on the tumor’s location. Common side effects include fatigue, nausea, or localized discomfort, which usually resolve within a few days. For brain or spine treatments, patients may experience headaches or swelling. However, severe side effects are rare because the CyberKnife System is designed to minimize damage to surrounding healthy tissues. It uses real-time imaging and precise radiation targeting to deliver high-dose radiation directly to the tumor, sparing nearby organs and tissues. This precision reduces the risk of collateral damage and minimizes the overall side effects of treatment.
