Baptist enhances cancer treatment with CyberKnife

Medical feature story for The Memphis Daily News

Aug. 3, 2011

Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. is on the cutting edge of cancer treatment, especially where that treatment may not involve any cutting at all.

The radiation oncology department at Baptist is in the final stages of installing the nonsurgical CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System to increase the effectiveness of treatment and decrease the time needed for tumor radiation. The new technology and hardware, costing more than $5 million including construction, is expected to be up and running by September.

CyberKnife is the newest weapon in the fight against cancer, and it’s the first of its kind in Memphis and the surrounding area, delivering high doses of radiation with sub-millimeter accuracy.

It is a massive piece of equipment at more than eight feet tall, yet moves with the nimbleness and agility of a surgeon. The sleek, white body is adapted from the robots used to build cars, and the technology is seen in commercials and film. Those machines, however, are incredibly fast while the CyberKnife has been scaled back to move at only 3 percent of its possible speed. The administration of radiation need not be rushed … (read more)