Tennessee's 5th CK at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis

from the IV MB, by yyy60:

>>** Saint Francis Hospital in Memphis is also interested to acq a CK. The current status is unknown.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/feb/09/baptist-memorial-memphis-adding-75m-cyberknife-fal/

Baptist Memorial in Memphis is adding $7.5M CyberKnife this fall

By Toby Sells
Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis TN
February 9, 2011

Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. is buying a $7.5 million robotic “knife” that will allow its physicians to more accurately pinpoint and remove cancer tumors.

The Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency gave Baptist the green light to buy Accuray’s CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System earlier this month.

The CyberKnife will be installed at the Baptist Center for Cancer Care on the Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis campus on Walnut Grove.

The CyberKnife’s “blade” is a precision-guided beam of radiation that is shot into a patient’s body to remove tumors from numerous spots such as the pancreas, liver, prostate, brain and spine.

...

Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis received approval to buy a CyberKnife in 2008 but has not yet made the purchase. Saint Francis vice president Marilynn Robinson said the approval came with a three-year window to make the purchase and the hospital intends to have one installed before that window closes in September.

The hospital was looking to jointly purchase CyberKnife with a physician group, Robinson said. The delay in making the purchase came as the hospital and the group tried to work out the legalities of the partnership, though they couldn’t make it work, she said.

Baptist made the purchase on the medical guidance of Dr. Jason Weaver, a neurosurgeon with Semmes Murphey Neurologic and Spine Institute who is also on Baptist’s medical staff. The system will allow Baptist to expand its current treatment capability, which now has a wait time of a week or more.

“We felt this was a natural progression to an already robust stereotactic radiosurgery program,” Weaver said. “It’s a natural addition of technology to grow our program.”