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CyberKnife Physician Training Program

The UT Southwestern CyberKnife® Physician Training Program*, geared toward radiation oncologists, provides an overview of clinical logistics using the CyberKnife® for radiosurgery.

This course is designed for physicians with the primary role of understanding the capabilities of the CyberKnife®, how to best use these functions in different clinical settings, and how to evaluate and approve treatment plans on the CyberKnife® treatment planning system. The course curriculum blends instruction on CyberKnife® treatment planning and evaluation, as well as treatment delivery with hands-on labs, which include practicing with the treatment planning system, on the machine, and on the treatment console.

CyberKnife
CyberKnife®

Full Four-Day Course

The four-day course provides an overview of clinical logistics using the CyberKnife® for full-body radiosurgery, including: 

  • Patient selection, setup, and alignment for different clinical applications
  • Fiducial placement and evaluation on treatment console
  • Simulation with different stereotactic setups
  • Treatment plan evaluation on CyberKnife® planning software
  • Beam delivery with various tracking technologies, including skull, fiducial marker, spine, lung tumor, and respiratory-synchronized tracking
  • Disease subsite-specific instruction given by expert radiation oncologists on stereotactic techniques, clinical applications, and evidence-based clinical lectures

Two-Day CNS Course (Days one and two of the four-day course)

The CNS course is designed for physicians who treat the central nervous system with the CyberKnife® machine. The two-day curriculum is geared toward developing an understanding of treatment plan evaluation, patient setup, and alignment for intracranial and spine applications. Information covered includes:

  • Patient selection, setup, and alignment for different clinical applications and settings
  • Evaluation and approval of CyberKnife® treatment plans
  • Simulation with different stereotactic setups
  • Beam delivery with various tracking technologies
  • CNS-specific instruction given by expert radiation oncologists on stereotactic techniques, clinical applications, and evidence-based clinical lectures

Accreditation

Full Four-Day Course: The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 26.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s). Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Two-Day CNS Course: The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 13.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s). Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Program Directors and Instructors

Directors: Asal Rahimi, M.D., M.S. and Yang Park, Ph.D.

Therapists: Stella Stevenson, R.T.(T) and Jason Staley R.T.(R)(T)

Physician presenters:

Disclaimer: This symposium has been planned to be well-balanced and objective in discussion of comparative treatment regimens and the symposium format allows for the free scientific exchange of ideas. Information and opinions offered by the speakers represent their viewpoints. Conclusions drawn by the audience should be derived from careful consideration of all available scientific information.

*This course is not part of the core curriculum requirements for new system implementation. (Attending a CyberKnife physician course is not required for physicians prior to the new system implementation process.)

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