| | | | | | Accuray
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Accuray Incorporated (ARAY) is the developer and
manufacturer of the CyberKnife, the world’s first and only robotic
radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body with
sub-millimeter accuracy.
The
CyberKnife system integrates
proprietary software, computed tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance
(MRI) scans, two X-ray imaging machines, a computer-controlled robotic arm
and a compact X-band linear accelerator to deliver lethal doses of radiation
to lesions with minimal damage to healthy tissue.
Collimated beams of high-energy radiation are precisely measured, timed, aimed and discharged from a three-dimensional variety of directions. Comparing real-time X-ray images with previously input CT/MRI data, the system is able to accurately converge 100 to 200 radiation beams onto a computer-sculpted area; hence, the tumor receives a lethal radiation exposure while the surrounding healthy tissue receives only a non-injurious dose.
Accuracy of radiation delivery is also enhanced by CyberKnife's unique
ability to automatically track, detect and correct for intra-fraction tumor
movement.
Conventional radiation
treatments are delivered by gantry-mounted linear accelerators which can
move in only two-dimensions and hence fire from a only single plane.
CyberKnife employs a robotically-controlled compact linear accelerator
which can generate therapeutic beams of X-band radiation from any angle as well as any plane.
This six degrees of freedom is essential not only for the creation of
complex treatment patterns but also to correct for tumor movement which -
unlike gantry-mounted devices - is obviously not limited to only two
dimensions.
The CyberKnife precision radiosurgery system promises to revolutionize the treatment of many forms of cancer due to its several and significant advantages over conventional therapies in terms of costs, risks, side effects, patient comfort and efficacy.
Conventional surgical resection entails the high cost of hospital stays, long recovery periods, hazard to nearby critical tissues, significant pain and risk of infection. CyberKnife treatment is performed as an outpatient procedure and requires minimal support staff; hence, the cost is about one-fourth that of conventional surgery. Additionally, the CyberKnife is non-invasive; there is no pain, no discomfort, no damage to critical tissues, no risk of infection. Finally, since a human surgeon can operate only on what can be visually recognized during surgery, the computer-controlled CyberKnife is potentially more accurate and, hence, more reliable and effective at eliminating malignant tissues.
The CyberKnife is FDA-approved for the treatment of tumors anywhere in the
body where radiation is indicated. CyberKnife protocols have been developed
for treating tumors in the brain, spine, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidney and
prostate as well as
trigeminal neuralgia and arteriovenous malformations.
Protocols are also under development for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial
fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia
To date,
the CyberKnife system has been used to treat over
70,000 patients worldwide and is currently in operation in over 150 leading hospitals in the United States, Europe and Asia with approximately
100 additional systems under contract or in various stages of installation.
For more information, visit the Accuray Incorporated web site at...
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