The CyberKnife radiosurgery program at Erlanger

from the Chattanooga Times:

A few weeks ago, the hospital agreed to buy the CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery equipment, a noninvasive treatment that can be used for cancers of the body and brain and treat complex tumors previously considered inoperable, cancer specialists said.

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The CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery equipment will cost $7.3 million, an expense shared between Erlanger and its project partner Community Care Inc., an ambulatory surgical center development company.

Last month Dr. Kimsey told hospital budget committee members considering the resolution to buy the equipment.

"I think it's going to launch Erlanger into the No. 1 cancer (center) position here in the community," he said.

The equipment features a robotic arm that administers a targeted, high-dose radiation beam to a tumor, while compensating for almost indiscernible motions such as the patient's breathing to stay on target.

In a CyberKnife treatment session, radiation beams are directed at the tumor from various angles to avoid any extended exposure to the tissue surrounding the tumor.

Conventional radiation therapy delivers low-dose radiation over a more generalized area in 30 to 45 treatments over a period of weeks or months.

The CyberKnife's high-dose radiation treatments can be effective in just one to five treatments, Dr. Kimsey said. That means patients usually will be done with radiation treatments within a week and have minimal side effects, he said.

"From a quality-of-life standpoint, anything we're able to do avoid toxicity in cancer treatment is critically important," he said.

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UNIQUE IN THE REGION

The CyberKnife radiosurgery program at Erlanger will be the only one of its kind within a 100-mile radius of Chattanooga, officials said. Other medical centers in Tennessee with this technology are in Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis and Bristol. That means growth in Erlanger's patient volume from these treatments likely will come either from outside the region or from patients who previously weren't getting treated, said Joe Winick, senior vice president of strategic planning.