A bladeless knife that uses radiation to destroy tumours anywhere in the body and to treat many different types of cancer without any side effects, called the CyberKnife, is being deployed by Ottawa Hospital.
University of Ottawa staff neurosurgeon assistant professor Dr John Sinclair, who has been trained to use the device, will be conducting surgeries at the hospital.
The CyberKnife, which is a cross between a robot’s arm and a sensor wand, can perform surgery on moving tissue and tracks the location of tumours in real time with X-ray cameras and an onboard computer.
The technology destroys cancerous tissue by using multiple small radiation beams that are generated from a linear accelerator mounted on a 3m-long robotic arm, Canada.com reports.
A computer guidance system aims each beam with sub-millimetric precision, allowing extremely high doses of radiation to be delivered very close to normal tissue and organs.
