- Why Choose CyberKnife?

- CyberKnife Technology

- Benefits of Choosing CyberKnife

- Patient Testimonials

Why Choose CyberKnife?

Under the leadership of the center's medical director, Dean J. Conterato, MD, patients will be cared for by some of the region's leading surgeons and radiation oncologists who provide a team approach to treatment.

The CyberKnife at our facility is brand new and includes the latest FDA approved equipment and technology on the market. It is the first CyberKnife in the area to include an Iris collimator which allows for automatic adjustments to the size of the beam delivered throughout the course of a treatment, a higher energy source (800 Monitor Units vs. 600 Monitor Units in all other installations), and beam optimization which enables us to provide greater protection for normal surrounding healthy tissue.

Synchrony Respiratory Tracking System

The Synchrony System will allow physicians, for the first time, to treat their patients with much tighter margins, no longer having to add significant margins to compensate for a moving target, thus sparing more healthy tissue.

Synchrony uses a complex system of cameras, motion tracking software, fiber optic sensing technology, infrared emitters and a special formfitting, highly elastic patient garment to do its job. In conjunction with CyberKnife, the system identifies, updates and then correlates external body surface movement with movement of the internal tumor fiducials.

Throughout the procedure, Synchrony is monitoring the target and readjusting its calibrations to assure that it is locked on the tumor. The result is that physicians know exactly where the tumor is in real time, and can use maximum radiation without fear of harming surrounding healthy tissues.

• Dynamically tracks all targets that move with respiration
• Improves accuracy of radiation delivery
• Minimizes irradiation of healthy tissue or critical structures
• Treats complex targets
• Eliminates painful breath-holding
• Eliminates complex gating techniques
• Decreases treatment times
• Simpler, more streamlined procedures

The Synchrony System simultaneously tracks both movement of the tumor and breathing patterns of the patient. The robotic arm adjusts and compensates for these movements ensuring more accurate treatment and eliminating breath-holding or gating requirements. A recent multi-center study reported targeting centroid accuracy better than 1.5mm, expanding accurate radiosurgery treatment to all tumors that move with respiration such as lung, pancreas, liver, kidney or other abdominal or thoracic tumors.

Xsight Spine and Xsight Lung Tracking Systems

Because CyberKnife Center of Chicago has the most advanced technology currently available for treatment, patients will have the benefit of the Xsight™ Spine and Xsight™ Lung Tracking Systems, which integrate with the CyberKnife® Stereotactic Radiosurgery System.

Xsight Spine is effective for treating lesions throughout the spinal region—including cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral tumors. The XSight Lung System works in concert with the Synchrony system and offers appropriate patients a completely non-invasive method of treatment. Xsight is another example of how the CyberKnife System expands the practice of Radiosurgery by offering a non-invasive cost effective alternative to surgery.