Our Center
Austin CyberKnife combines experienced physicians and the latest medical advances to provide patients with exceptional care. The CyberKnife® program at University Medical Center Brackenridge originally launched in 2005 and focused primarily on the treatment of brain tumors. Since Austin CyberKnife was formed, the center has expanded the clinical applications of CyberKnife to treat other areas of the body, such as the lung, liver and kidney. Austin CyberKnife’s physicians treat hundreds of patients each year using advanced CyberKnife technology. Our neurosurgeon, Dr. Ronald Wilson, and physicist, Jim Hevezi, have extensive expertise in stereotactic radiosurgery treatment.
In 2011, our center upgraded to the latest CyberKnife technology under a partnership between the Seton Healthcare Family, a group of local physicians and US Radiosurgery.
We became one of the first centers in the world to install the Lung Optimization Treatment (LOT) system, which expands our ability to treat lung tumors in certain types of patients. LOT allows patients with conditions like emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to undergo CyberKnife treatment without the use of fiducials, small metal markers sometimes implanted in or near a lung tumor through a needle under CT guidance or via bronchoscopy. Since tumors in the lung move during treatment due to normal breathing patterns, fiducials assist physicians in identifying the exact location of the tumor and ensuring the CyberKnife’s radiation beam is locked on the target, avoiding surrounding healthy tissue.
Austin CyberKnife’s latest technology featuring LOT reduces the need for placing fiducials in higher-risk lung tumor patients already suffering from chronic lung disease. The LOT system is a major advancement that opens CyberKnife treatment to more lung cancer patients who may not have previously been candidates due to other health issues.
Although CyberKnife treatment does not require anesthesia, our center is one of the only facilities in the country that provides general anesthesia for patients who may need to be sedated during treatment.
Austin CyberKnife is a department of University Medical Center Brackenridge. The hospital is a member of the Seton Healthcare Family, which is a National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program site. The NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) is designed to create a community-based cancer center network to support cancer research and enhance access to and increase quality of care at community hospitals.
We are dedicated to providing our patients with the latest cancer treatment technology and are proud of the experience and expertise our physicians and caring staff bring to our patients.