RIYADH: The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH&RC) will install an innovative, high-value medical technology called “CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System” at its newly-established cancer center in Riyadh.
The system will help cancer patients in the Kingdom as it will enable noninvasive treatment of tumors anywhere in the human body.
“The move is significant as KFSH&RC has the largest cancer treatment facility in the Gulf region,” said Dr. Muhammad Al-Shabanah, head of KFSH’s Radiation Oncology Department. He said the hospital is seeking to become a premier international institution for cancer research, especially in the areas of prevention and treatment.
Shabanah said 8,000 new cases of cancer are detected in the Kingdom each year.
The US-based Accuray Incorporated will install the system at the hospital’s King Faisal Cancer Center, Al-Shabanah said. He said CyberKnife is the only robotic radiosurgery system available at present for noninvasive treatment of tumors with submillimeter precision.
It accurately tracks movement of patients during treatment and can automatically adjust the position of the radiation beam to minimize damage to healthy tissues.
“CyberKnife radiosurgery delivers precise beams of radiation from many angles outside the body without requiring the use of a metal head frame used previously. This will eliminate a lot of pain and inconvenience to patients,” said Dr. Belal Moftah, chairman of the KFSH’s Department of Biomedical Physics, while briefing reporters about the new technology.
Eric P. Lindquist, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Accuray Incorporated, said: “We are happy that a leading tertiary hospital such as the KFSH will be able to provide state-of-the-art cancer care with the CyberKnife System.”
With the addition of the CyberKnife System, the cancer center can further expand its capabilities and offer treatments for patients who did not have other options until now, said Lindquist.
To date, the CyberKnife System has been used to treat more than 50,000 patients worldwide, he added.
The KFSH&RC-Riyadh is an 894-bed, multispecialty tertiary care hospital and one of the leading health care institutions in the region.
