Radiosurgery System Tracks and Treats Lung Tumors

A new radiosurgery treatment option continually tracks lung tumors during respiration, detecting and correcting for tumor movement in real-time throughout the treatment.

The Xsight lung tracking system works in unison with the CyberKnife system to precisely track and treat peripherally located lung tumors that are at least 15 mm in diameter. These tumors can then be treated non-invasively while minimizing the dose to adjacent healthy tissue. The tracking system uses the actual image intensity of the lung tumor for targeting the beam, eliminating the need for invasive placement of radiographic markers such as fiducials, or the need for external frames. The system is fully integrated with the Synchrony respiratory tracking system, allowing patients to breathe normally while delivering an accuracy of less than 1.5mm. The Xsight and the CyberKnife system are products of Accuray (Sunnyvale, CA, USA).

"The CyberKnife system is unique in its ability to accurately treat lung tumors that move with respiration,” said Mark Brenner, M.D., chief of the department of radiation oncology at Sinai Hospital (Baltimore, MD, USA). "When lung tumor procedures require the implantation of fiducials almost one-third of patients experience pneumothorax. The CyberKnife System's Xsight Lung Tracking System enables us to reduce this risk and other painful complications inherent to these treatments.

Robotic radiosurgery, in contrast to traditional radiosurgery, combines image-guidance technology and computer-controlled robotics, which enable the system to deliver high doses of radiation while maintaining sub-millimeter accuracy. Because of this accuracy, other areas of the body become treatable with robotic radiosurgery, such as the spine, lung, prostate, liver, and pancreas. Because it is non-invasive, treatments can be delivered in single or multiple fractions.


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