Celebrating 30 Years of Innovation:
The Evolution of the CyberKnife® System
A 30-year History
As we mark the 30th anniversary of the first patient treated on the CyberKnife® System at Stanford University, USA, it’s a moment to reflect on the remarkable journey of technological innovation and patient care that has defined this groundbreaking technology.
The inception of the CyberKnife System marked a new era in radiation medicine, introducing a disruptive technology that not only addressed existing limitations but also unlocked new possibilities in radiation treatments. “Dr. John Adler’s vision, rooted in a commitment to patient-centered care, led to the development of a system that revolutionized the landscape of radiosurgery.”
In collaboration with experts across various disciplines, the CyberKnife System was meticulously designed, leveraging robotics, computer science, medical physics, and imaging. The result was a platform that combined exquisite precision and accuracy with image-guidance, offering a non-invasive, versatile approach to radiation therapy.
Since its first implementation in the early 1990s, the CyberKnife System has continually evolved, pioneering advancements that have expanded its clinical applications and efficacy. In 2002, early innovations such as Synchrony® real-time motion synchronization, and image-guidance with implanted fiducials paved the way for treatments beyond the intracranial region, including spine, lung, liver, pancreas or prostate tumors. The CyberKnife System excels in motion adaptation, ensuring precise treatment even in the face of anatomic movement. Synchrony® capabilities allow for precise and accurate motion synchronization, which improves the accuracy of radiation therapy treatments. This technology is designed to reduce motion-related errors and improve accuracy by tracking and adjusting treatment in real time, without the need for gating or other uncomfortable methods for the patients. As a result, Synchrony can help to minimize radiation side effects, improve outcomes, and often reduce the overall treatment time.
Over the past three decades, the CyberKnife System has amassed over 5,000 contributions in the literature, covering a diverse range of anatomical regions and therapeutic applications.
Other innovations have further propelled the CyberKnife® System into the forefront of modern radiotherapy and radiosurgery. Enhancements such as VOLO™ have optimized treatment efficiency.
Today, as a result of these advancements, the CyberKnife System brings intelligent clinical workflows with coplanar and non-coplanar treatments anywhere in the body. Key to its precision is the robotic arm and the intra-fraction imaging, allowing the accurate and dynamic delivery of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), powered by Synchrony® AI-driven real-time target tracking when required.
As we celebrate this milestone, we are reminded of the transformative power of innovation and collaboration in healthcare. The journey of the CyberKnife System exemplifies the relentless pursuit of excellence and the unwavering dedication to advancing the standard of care. Looking ahead, we remain steadfast in our mission to continue pushing the boundaries of possibility and creating new opportunities for patients worldwide.
Brunie L, L. S. (1993). Pre- and intra-irradiation multimodal image registration: principles and first experiments. Radiotherapy and Oncology 29 (1993) 244-252 , 29, 244-252.
Schweikard A, B. M. (1994). Planning, Calibration and Collision-Avoidance for Image-Guided Radiosurgery. Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ/GI International Conference , 2, 721-733.
Iris C. Gibbs, MD, FACR. History of Cyberknife ™ Radiosurgery: How 2 Decades of Image-guided Precision have shaped radiosurgery
