A lightweight linear accelerator installed on a robotic arm makes up the cyberknife. Patient movement tracking is possible using near-real-time photos with a spatial accuracy of 1mm. Instead of using a frame, the CyberKnife refers the position of the treatment target to internal radiography features such as the skull, bone landmarks, or implanted fiducials.
The CyberKnife establishes the position of the lesion during therapy in real-time-rays, and then dynamically aligns the radiation beam with the observed position of the treatment target. Each beam is autonomously aimed by the cyberknife. The procedure detects and accommodates the movement of the target.
This treatment system has been effectively employed to treat lesions in patients who are otherwise not surgical candidates or lesions that are not susceptible to open surgical techniques. The Cyberknife is still the only FDA-approved robotic radiosurgery technology for treating any area of the body using radiosurgery. The Cyberknife is still the only technology that can follow moving tumors while the patient is breathing, thanks to Synchrony.
