SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Accuray Incorporated announced today the release of Synchrony, a new enhancement to the CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery System. Synchrony is the first technology in the world capable of delivering dynamic radiosurgery to targets that move with respiration, such as lung, liver, kidney and pancreatic tumors. The Synchrony(TM) Respiratory Tracking System has been a much-anticipated enhancement that enables real-time dynamic tracking and delivery of a highly precise dose of radiation to targets that move with respiration.
Euan Thomson, Ph.D., President & CEO of Accuray Incorporated states, "Launching the Synchrony System represents a major advance in the technology of radiation treatments. The human body is a dynamic, moving organism, but traditional radiation treatment devices have a static approach to treatment delivery that is unable to compensate for the body's natural motion. The Synchrony System maximizes the benefits of the CyberKnife's robotic, image-guided capability to track tumors as they move, and now opens a new cancer market to radiosurgery."
The Synchrony System has been involved in vital treatment applications at the University of California, San Francisco for one year. David Larson, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Radiation Oncology at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center states, "The Synchrony System represents true dynamic radiosurgery -- the ability to irradiate targets accurately as they are moving. This is an extraordinary advance in extracranial radiosurgery because it allows physicians to use much tighter margins to treat tumors that move with breathing. More healthy tissue is spared because it is no longer necessary to use larger margins to compensate for movement of tumors. We have used the Synchrony System over the last year at our institution with promising results."
The Synchrony System has also had extensive applications at Boulder Community Hospital for two years: David Martin, M.D., Director of the Boulder Community Hospital CyberKnife Radiosurgery Program states "We have had great success using the Synchrony System to treat over 70 patients at our center with tumors in areas such as the lung, pancreas, kidney and liver. Total clinical accuracy, as measured in end-to-end tests using a motion table, is remarkably similar to end-to-end testing done with a static tumor. The use of robotic compensation for respiratory movement is an important advancement - the greater accuracy allows us to use higher doses and complete treatment in a single session, compared to multiple treatments over several weeks required by conventional radiation therapy. We are just beginning to exploit the benefits of this exciting tool to more effectively treat thoracic and abdominal tumors."
About the CyberKnife System
The CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery System is a non-invasive, 100% frameless image-guided radiosurgery system that ablates tumors and other lesions anywhere in the body without open surgery. The CyberKnife System treats in single or staged (typically 2-5) sessions, and monitors internal reference points in the anatomy (skeletal landmarks or small implanted markers) to correct for patient movement in real time during actual treatment. It delivers multiple beams of precisely directed radiation that converge upon the tumor while minimizing injury to surrounding healthy tissue. It is the only system in the world that integrates real-time image guidance and robotic delivery of radiation to deliver proven sub-millimeter "total clinical accuracy."
The unique CyberKnife technology was developed in cooperation with Stanford University and was FDA approved in August 2001. In September 2002, CyberKnife received CE approval to provide radiosurgery for lesions anywhere in the body when radiation treatment is indicated. To date, the CyberKnife System has treated over 8,000 patients worldwide.
About Accuray
Located in Sunnyvale, California, Accuray is a privately held corporation dedicated to revolutionizing the treatment of solid cancers anywhere in the body by the precise delivery of high doses of radiation using the CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery System. Through the development and marketing of its CyberKnife System, and participation in ongoing clinical research at prominent academic hospitals, Accuray helps make stereotactic radiosurgery a viable and accessible option for patients worldwide.
For more information on Accuray or the CyberKnife System please contact:
Lauren Selmeier, Vice President, Marketing, Accuray Incorporated,
1310 Chesapeake Terrace, Sunnyvale, CA 94089;
Tel: 888-522-3740; Fax: 408-716-4620; Email: info@accuray.com;
or visit our website at http://www.accuray.com/ .
NOTE: The Accuray stylized design; Accuray, CyberKnife, and Synchrony are registered trademarks of Accuray, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
Accuray Incorporated