On the edge of medical technology -- St. Ann's first in area with 'revolutionary' cancer treatment

from snponline.com:

>>On the edge of medical technology -- St. Ann's first in area with 'revolutionary' cancer treatment

Cancer surgery without the surgery is coming soon to Mount Carmel St. Ann's.

CyberKnife, a $6.3 million robotic radiosurgery system, has been in use at the hospital since Monday, June 21. The system is one of only two in the state and the first in Central Ohio.

"In my (opinion), it meets the qualifications of revolutionary," said Doug Widman, medical director of Columbus CyberKnife and radiation oncologist at Mount Carmel.

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CyberKnife, which is made in Germany and described by Widman as looking like a robot used in automotive manufacturing, also has tighter treatment margins.

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Widman said St. Ann's expects to treat 200 patients in the first year of the machine, and most insurance carriers cover the treatment. Because of the high cost of the procedure, all patients most be preapproved.