The Palo Alto Medical Foundation's (PAMF) neurosurgeons use the CyberKnife® System that is available at the Stanford University Medical Center. Cyberknife is an intelligent robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body.

• Advantages of CyberKnife
• About CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery
• Treatment Overview

Advantages of CyberKnife

• Treats tumors anywhere in the body
  
• Continuously tracks, detects and corrects for tumor and patient movement throughout the treatment
  
• Delivers treatments with sub-millimeter accuracy, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue
  
• Utilizes the skeletal structure of the body as a reference, eliminating the need for invasive equipment typically used with traditional radiosurgery systems
  
• An option for inoperable or surgically complex tumors
  
• Successfully treats patients in single or multiple fractions
  
• Provides linear accelerator maneuverability and access and coverage for any tumor volume
  
• Boasts a patient-centric design providing a relaxed treatment experience
  
• Enables superior flexibility in treatment planning, including simultaneous treatment of multiple tumors
  
• Allows for the flexible scheduling of treatments
  
• Complements existing radiation therapy

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About CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery

Traditional radiosurgery -- or stereotactic radiosurgery -- has been used to treat tumors in the head for more than 30 years. It utilizes high doses of radiation precisely targeted at the site of the tumor and typically delivered in one treatment session. The treatment relies on a rigid metal frame that is fixed to a patient's skull, immobilizing the head so that damage to the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor is minimized when the radiation is delivered.

In contrast to traditional radiosurgery, robotic radiosurgery combines image-guidance technology and computer-controlled robotics, which enable the system to deliver high doses of radiation without a metal head frame while maintaining sub-millimeter accuracy. Because of this accuracy, other areas of the body become treatable with robotic radiosurgery, such as the spine, lung, prostate, liver and pancreas. Because it is non-invasive, treatments can be delivered in single or multiple fractions, at the patient's convenience.
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Treatment Overview

The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System functions differently than conventional radiosurgery systems at every stage of the clinical process.

Treatment Planning
The CyberKnife System offers advanced planning tools designed to support the medical team in determining the optimal plan for each patient.

Tumor Tracking
The CyberKnife System uses a combination of image guidance and computer-controlled robotics to continuously track, detect and correct for tumor and patient movement throughout the treatment. Unlike conventional radiosurgery systems, an invasive head or body frame is not required.

Treatment Delivery
By delivering multiple beams of radiation at the tumor from many angles, the CyberKnife System treats tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy.
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