CyberKnife Announcement
Austin Cancer Centers is partnering with the Austin CyberKnife radiosurgery program at Seton’s family of hospitals at University Medical Center Brackenridge. Austin CyberKnife has opened on UMC Brackenridge’s campus and will begin treating patients with the latest CyberKnife technology on March 7.
Austin CyberKnife partners are Austin Cancer Centers, Seton, and US Radiosurgery, a Nashville, Tenn.-based company that works with hospitals and physician groups throughout the country to develop and operate radiosurgical centers.
Austin Cancer Centers physicians have provided their patients with CyberKnife treatment options for over five years and will continue to serve as the consulting physicians for the Austin CyberKnife facility.
Austin CyberKnife has upgraded the technology offered at UMC Brackenridge to expand the clinical applications of the equipment. So far, it has been used primarily to treat brain tumors. The CyberKnife is capable, however, of reaching tumors in virtually any part of the body, including the lungs, pancreas, liver, spine, kidney and prostate.
“The new partnership is exciting, because it expands our options as clinicians,” said Dr. Douglas Rivera, Austin Cancer Centers partner and Austin CyberKnifeMedical Director. “But most importantly, this brings the most advanced cancer treatment option to our community.”
The upgraded CyberKnife includes a higher energy source, which enables enhanced calculations of radiation doses for customized treatment plans, and increased control of the radiation beam size, which can further reduce treatment time and protect more healthy tissue.
CyberKnife treats patients through a process called stereotactic radiosurgery, a noninvasive method of treating tumors and other medical conditions with high-dose radiation precisely aimed from different angles. It is the world’s only robotic radiosurgery system, comprised of a compact linear accelerator – a machine that generates a radiation beam – attached to a highly maneuverable robotic arm that moves around patients to deliver targeted radiation and minimizing damage to healthy tissue. CyberKnife reduces treatment time for patients usually to no more than five sessions. Most patients go home right after treatment and immediately resume normal activities.