The CyberKnife was invented at Stanford by John Adler, MD , and is considered a major advance in the radiological treatment of cancer .

Stanford is the first program anywhere to have two active CyberKnife units.

On October 11, 2006, the Stanford CyberKnife team celebrated the opening of a second active CyberKnife unit. We are now the first institution anywhere in the world to have two active units.

The second CyberKnife, housed in the Stanford Cancer Center,  represents the latest version of robotic radiosurgery technology.

As with previous technology, it integrates a robotically-controlled mobile linear accelerator with a state-of-the-art image-guidance system, with a few new features: 

• The improved power of the machine shortens treatment times for body tumors.
• It allows us to treat very young children under anesthesia, a treatment that was previously unavailable to us.
• The positioning of the imaging devices increases the maneuverability of the robot.
• This will potentially allow us to expand treatment to tumor sites that are not currently treated with existing platform.

The Stanford CyberKnife program is a multidisciplinary program with more experience than anyone in the world using the CyberKnife to deliver stereotactic radiosurgery .  View a video on CyberKnife Frameless Stereotactic Radiosurgery . The Stanford CyberKnife Treatment Center is able to provide cutting-edge radiotherapy treatment for a wider variety of cancers than any other center.

As a radiosurgery tool capable of delivering highly precise, high dose radiation without cumbersome and painful stereotactic frames, the CyberKnife extends the use of radiosurgery beyond brain tumors into various regions of the body including the spine, lung, thorax, abdomen and pelvis. We now have active clinical protocols for brain and spinal tumors, lung tumors, pancreas tumors, liver tumors and prostate cancer. Learn more about features and advantages of the CyberKnife.

Stanford enjoys a rich history of technological advances in radiation medicine, having developed the first medical linear accelerator (LINAC) in the western hemisphere in the 1950's. The development of the Cyberknife joins this rich history . Recent improvements in high-speed computers, advances in real-time image-guidance systems, and the development of lightweight LINACs led to the design of the CyberKnife.