News & Events

2.1.2012

We have made a video about CyberKnife, indications for treatment and the way a teraphy is provided. Please see the VIDEO section.

On 29th November 2011, our centre was visited by the four member team of the 'Medical and Research Department' of Accuray Company, which is the producer of CyberKnife technology. The aim of this visit was to gain experience from the operation of this unique technology, as well as to support the new therapeutic attitudes and indications in the close future. The actual number of treated patients shows that the University Hospital of Ostrava is the largest centre for the stereotactic therapy of prostatic and pancreatic tumours in Europe. While at the same time belonging among the five largest centres focusing on this diagnosis on a worldwide scale! The Department of Oncology is preparing a research project for so called virtual bachytheraphy - a method that is not yet applied anywhere in the world. It aims to substitute the bachytherapy with the help of CyberKnife at patients, who have not previously been able, due to various related complications, to undergo a CyberKnife treatment. The project, supported by Accuray Company, should commence in the second half of 2012.

Number of patients

The world wide number of patients so far treated with the CyberKnife has already reached over 100,000, with the ratio between brain and another indication at 50/50. An average number of patients treated annually on a single machine are:

USA: 150
Europe: 254
Asia: 196 
University Hospital in Ostrava: 380

The first year of clinical operation

Cyber Knife has now been in full clinical operation for a year at the University Hospital in Ostrava. We have treated in total 380 patients, 12% of which have been treated in the brain area (intracranial stereotactic surgery) and 88% out of the brain area (extracranial stereotactic ablative radiotherapy). The total cost of treatment turned out to be only CZK 35 million, which,compared to a standard radiotherapy and systematic treatment, is an insignificant amount. The department staff have communicated their first year of experiences under clinical operation with CyberKnife in sixteen papers, twelve of them were of local and four of international impact.