Since its inauguration in 2005, the Anadolu Medical Center has been providing its patients, through the adoption of the latest technologies, with state-of-the-art medical services. It is a renowned establishment for the application of modern techniques in the treatment of cancer in particular.
The Anadolu Medical Center conducts joint studies with one of the most prestigious hospitals in the United States, Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The service of radiation oncology Anadolu Medical Center is able to provide adequate treatment to cancer patients thanks to its modern infrastructure equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, namely:
- The GE DISCOVERY RT tomography device for the planning phase;
- The Varian Edge, the Accuray CyberKnife M6 and RADIXACT (totherapy) for the treatment phase.
In this article, we are going to look at two radiosurgery devices: the CyberKnife M6 and the Gamma Knife.
The radiosurgery device: CyberKnife M6?
The CyberKnife M6 is an ultra-precise radiosurgery device that helps prevent radiation damage to healthy tissue.
It is a treatment technique that consists of stereotaxically administering high-dose radiation to the specified area while preserving healthy organs from the toxic effects of radiation.
With the CyberKnife M6 tumors can be reached easily, regardless of where they are located in the body. Cyberknife M6 treatment is mainly used for malignant and benign diseases of the brain, for tumors of the spine, head and neck, lungs, pancreas, liver, adrenal glands and prostate.
The CyberKnife is a stereotactic radiosurgery device that provides patient comfort and ease of application compared to traditional surgical techniques.
Responsive robotic structure
The Cyberknife M6 uses highly sensitive robotic technology. Depending on the shape of the tumor, it produces radiation for areas of different sizes. The robotic arm operates along six axes, which makes it possible to send precise radiation from different angles and thus reach tumors located near critical organs.
Image Guided Therapy
The identification of the lesion and its location before and during treatment are of paramount importance in radiosurgery. In the system Cyberknife M6the image is controlled using a computer and the radiation is sent to the specified regions with a high degree of precision.
During the treatment, the system detects and corrects the slightest patient activities that might reduce the accuracy and sensitivity of the treatment. Therefore, the CyberKnife makes it possible to treat the sick, especially in the case of cranial surgeries, by wearing simple plastic masks.
Breath tracking
One of the main advantages of the CyberKnife is its breath tracking capability. Tumors located in the thorax and abdomen act according to respiration. Their mobile nature makes radiography of the lesions difficult. This is why specific techniques are needed to monitor movement during treatment.
With traditional appliances, rigid fixtures are applied and large treatment areas are formed to include changes in location due to movement. In other applications, the patient is asked to stop breathing in order to immobilize the tumor.
However, none of this is necessary in the Cyberknife M6 device. Using a device placed over the chest area and an infrared camera, the medical team can monitor external chest movements to correlate them with internal tumor movements. The robot can thus follow the tumor during the treatment.
General specifications of CYBERKNIFE M6
- Reduced processing time;
- Fewer side effects, protection of surrounding tissues and organs;
- Painless procedure;
- Outpatient treatment, no hospitalization required;
- Technique non invasive ;
- Does not require screwing a metal frame to the head or body.
- Does not require anesthesia;
- Monitoring the movement of organs during treatment means that the patient does not need to stop breathing;
- Allows a quick return to a normal;
- No recovery period necessary.
The radiosurgery device: Gamma Knife
The Gamma Knife is a device used for neurosurgical treatments in stereotactic radiotherapy. It delivers a very localized high dose of ionizing radiation. It is a surgery without scalpel, it is an intervention which does not require the opening of the skull. Radiosurgery is used to treat brain tumors smaller than 3 cm that are in inoperable or high-risk areas.
The main differences between CyberKnife M6 and Gamma Knife
Gamma Knife is limited in the number of angles it can approach the tumor, while CyberKnife can deliver radiation from thousands of angles, limiting the impact of radiation on healthy tissue or organs surrounding the tumor.
While Gamma Knife and CyberKnife can treat cancerous and non-cancerous tumors with extreme precision, CyberKnife offers unique benefits, especially its ability to treat tumors throughout the body. With advanced robotics, intelligent tumor tracking and real-time imaging capabilities, CyberKnife can treat body tumors that move as a result of breathing with the same precision as brain treatments, without the need for uncomfortable motion restriction devices.
CyberKnife’s breakthrough advancements enable the treatment of tumors of the brain, head and neck, spine, lung, prostate, liver, pancreas, kidney and more. CyberKnife’s precision and lack of invasive head and body frames has opened up the field of treatments for recurrent tumors that were once thought to be incurable following radiation therapy or prior surgery.
Differences between radiotherapy and radiosurgery
Traditional radiation therapy treats cancer cells, but adjacent normal cells are also exposed to radiation. In order to prevent radiation damage to surrounding normal cells, patients often need up to 40 sessions, allowing normal cells to recover between treatments. Radiosurgery, on the other hand, delivers a much higher dose of radiation to the tumor, while relying on extreme precision to avoid radiation exposure to surrounding healthy cells.
This precision is maintained in three-dimensional space, which means that radiosurgery is “stereotactic”. Because of this requirement, stereotactic radiosurgery has traditionally been limited to the treatment of intracranial tumors. A stereotactic head frame would hold the patient’s head firmly in place, eliminating movement as a concern and ensuring treatment is delivered with the precision needed to spare normal tissues and critical structures. Capable of tracking tumors in real time and delivering treatments throughout the body, the CyberKnife M6 provides a more powerful and flexible radiosurgery platform without the need to rigidly immobilize patients.
The future of radiosurgery
The CyberKnife® System offers breakthrough treatment options for a wide range of cancers, but that’s nothing new. The CyberKnife System is backed by two decades of published clinical monitoring, providing concrete evidence that the CyberKnife provides excellent cancer control with reduced risk of side effects for types of cancer throughout the body.
