Pittsburgh, January 14, 2003 -- The CyberKnife® team at UPMC Shadyside Hospital recently treated its 100th spinal tumor patient establishing itself as the most active CyberKnife spinal radiosurgery center in the United States.

The CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery System is a non-invasive robotic radiosurgery device that can ablate tumors and other lesions without open surgery. It delivers multiple beams of precisely directed radiation that converge upon the tumor while minimizing injury to surrounding healthy tissue. The technology uses internal reference points in the anatomy (skeletal landmarks or small implanted markers) to enable frameless treatment of the lesion. The CyberKnife treats in single session or staged (typically 3-5) sessions and incorporates logic that precisely corrects for patient movement during actual treatment delivery.

"Spinal stereotactic radiosurgery using the CyberKnife can now be performed safely, accurately, and effectively," said Peter Gerszten, MD, MPH, assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery and leader of the CyberKnife team. "This technique offers a successful alternative therapeutic modality for the treatment of a variety of spinal lesions not amenable to open surgical techniques, in medically inoperable patients, lesions located in previously irradiated sites, or as an adjunct to surgery. The major potential benefits of radiosurgical ablation of spinal lesions are short treatment time in an outpatient setting with no recovery time and good treatment effect."

Dr. Gerstzen has pioneered spinal treatments with the CyberKnife at UPMC. Earlier this year, he was awarded a research grant by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves to evaluate the outcomes of patients undergoing CyberKnife treatment for neurosurgical lesions.

The CyberKnife technology was developed by Accuray, Inc. of Sunnyvale, CA, in cooperation with Stanford University. It was cleared by the FDA in August 2001 to provide radiosurgery for lesions anywhere in the body when radiation treatment is indicated. To date, the CyberKnife has been used to treat more than 3,000 patients worldwide.

Potential candidates for CyberKnife radiosurgery can be referred to Dr. Gerszten at (412) 802-8010 or (412) 623-6720.