Cyberknife is a frameless robotic radio surgery system. It is a non-invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumours anywhere in the body, including the prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas and kidney. The treatment which delivers beams of high dose radiation to tumours with extreme accuracy will now offers new hope to patients, stated Dr B S Ajai Kumar, chairman, HCG.
The two main elements of the Cyber Knife are the radiation produced from the small linear particle accelerator and robotic arm which allows the energy to be directed at any part of the body from any direction. The system is used to treat benign and malignant tumours.
A visible trend according to Dr Kumar is that increasing number of early stage breast cancer patients flocking to its facility which is a clear indication of the high level of awareness on diagnosis and treatment. Other challenging cancers handled by the facility include oseophagus small cell carcinoma among others.
HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd, (HCG) a leading comprehensive cancer care centre in South Asia, has invested about Rs 40 crore (about USD 9m) for advanced equipment at Bangalore.
To begin with, it has made a Rs 30 crore investment for a Cyberknife which is already commissioned. This makes it the first facility in the country to install the advanced radio guided surgery system. The second is a Rs 10 crore investment in 'Artise' which is an advanced Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) system.