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A new approach to radiosurgery
The CyberKnife® is a state-of-the-art
stereotactic radiosurgery system that offers a new approach to treating
tumors and lesions - even if they have been diagnosed as inoperable.
The CyberKnife Center at St. Joseph's Hospital was the first
in the Upper Midwest to offer this groundbreaking
technology.
CyberKnife technology delivers
radiation energy for the non-invasive treatment of benign and malignant
tumors throughout the body, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and
functional disorders. CyberKnife is the first and only robotic radiosurgery
device that uses a linear accelerator mounted on a computer-controlled
robotic arm to treat tumors and lesions that are unreachable or untreatable
with conventional surgery or other stereotactic radiosurgery methods.
Two revolutionary technologies
The CyberKnife system combines
two revolutionary technologies - advanced image guidance and robotics.
First, an image guidance system
that use cruise missile technology tracks and verifies tumor location
and enables automatic compensation for patient movement during treatment
delivery.
Second, a multi-jointed robotic
arm with six degrees of freedom provides unmatched maneuverability
in targeting tumors. A high-energy x-ray source mounted on the robotic
arm precisely locates the position of the tumor in the body and delivers
pinpoint radiation from more than 1200 angles, with sub-millimeter
accuracy.
Click here to learn about the
patient treatment process.
Click here to take a tour of the CyberKnife suite at St. Joseph's.
Customized treatment plans
CyberKnife allows for customization
of each patient's treatment plan. Its flexible arm makes a wider range
of treatment plans possible, including either forward or inverse treatment
planning.
Comfort and convenience for
your patients
CyberKnife technology provides
a number of advantages over conventional radiotherapy for your patients,
including:
- Improved comfort due
to the elimination of the invasive head frame
- Procedure is done on an outpatient basis
- Short or no recovery time
- Treatment in one to five 60 to 90 minutes sessions
- Ability to treat multiple tumors at different locations during
a single treatment
- Focused, maximum radiation to the tumor without affecting healthy
tissue
- Treatment for tumors that are inoperable by conventional surgery
and other stereotactic radiosurgery methods
- Reduction in the risk of complications such as infections,
hemorrhage and the loss of hearing/feeling sometimes associated with
conventional surgery
Proven accuracy
CyberKnife's accuracy represents
a major advance in radiosurgery. Digital radiographic images of anatomical
features or implanted fiducials (markers) are used to precisely target
the radiation. The focused radiation beams converge at the tumor to
maximize the amount of radiation that reaches the tumor and minimize
exposure to surrounding healthy tissues.
For more information
For more information on the CyberKnife Center
at St. Joseph's Hospital, choose a link on the left side of the page
or contact us at 651/232-3111.
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