Contrary to its name, there is no "knife" in the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery procedure. CyberKnife radiosurgery is a precise, painless, non-invasive radiation treatment that can be an alternative to open surgery in certain cases. Multiple beams of high-energy radiation are delivered from multiple points outside the body and converge precisely at the tumor or lesion inside the body. Each individual beam is not sufficient to cause harm, but the convergence of all the beams at the tumor results in the lesion receiving a very high dose of radiation while sparing nearby normal tissue.
CyberKnife radiosurgery is so precise; radiation beams can be sculpted to small, complex-shaped tumors near critical structures, such as hearing and vision nerves. This ability to accurately irradiate only the tumor and protect healthy tissue allows the CyberKnife machine to treat many lesions which may be considered inoperable or untreatable with other surgical or radiosurgery systems...giving many patients hope. CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery may also be used for other benign conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia and arteriovenous malformations.