CyberKnife is a robotic system for the non-invasive (non-surgical) treatment of various tumors in any area of the body in adults and children. In this type of radiation therapy, a high dose of ionizing radiation is applied to the tumor with surgical precision. Therefore, the name of the apparatus includes the word “knife”.
Oncologists use CyberKnife to treat tumors that are inaccessible for surgical removal or neoplasms located close to vital organs and structures and also in patients who, for various reasons, cannot be operated on.
Radiologists use two radiation technologies:
• stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) – single irradiation with the maximum dose;
• stereotactic fractional radiotherapy (SBRT) – 2-5 times irradiation with lower doses.
These types of radiotherapy with stereotaxis, with three-dimensional tumor localization, are also carried out using other linear accelerators, such as, for example, TrueBeam. The previously developed Gamma Knife radiosurgical system is also widely used.
Cyberknife has, in comparison with them, a number of important advantages. In addition, the system is constantly being improved. Now the fourth generation Cyber-knives already exist in clinics. The effectiveness of this treatment has been proven by many clinical studies and, according to the Accuray CyberKnife manufacturer, is 95%. Despite the fact that CyberKnife has been used in oncology for more than 20 years, it remains the most innovative device for the non-surgical treatment of cancer, benign tumors, and a number of other pathologies.