Advanced Robotics:

The Cyberknife uses both robotics and artificial intelligence in its delivery of radiosurgery. Prior to the actual delivery of the therapy, the Neurosurgeon, Radiation Oncologist and Radiation Physicist work together on the Cyberknife planning computer to identify and enhance the lesion or targets in the brain or spinal cord. This sometimes takes hours and is done in advance of the actual therapy sessions. All of this work is merged into the therapy plan of the computer. Cyberknife now “knows” where the patient’s anatomic landmarks are, where the target is, and where the critical structures are that it must avoid.

The Cyberknife is guided by its therapy plan. One example of such a plan shows the red target (labeled 1). This is a tumor involving the bone near the eye. The critical structures that the Cyberknife is to avoid during this treatment include the eyes, optic nerves and optic chiasm (labeled 2) and the brain stem (labeled 3). During this planning, the Radiation Oncologist and the Radiation Physicist also created a computerized “shield” over the skin (labeled 4 in yellow) in order to further protect the skin from radiation.