I wasn't sure about the difference between CyberKnife and Gamma Knife and found a helpful webpage at https://www.vaidam.com/knowledge-center/cancer/key-differences-between-gamma-knife-and-cyberknife-treatment-procedure-side that lists the following differences and advantages of each. I had CyberKnife to my chest after my lobectomy. But my head was strapped down after the brain surgery and for this most recent treatment. That means I'm having radiation-induced complications after Gamma Knife.

Principle Differences:
Possibly the biggest difference between CyberKnife and Gamma Knife is that Gamma Knife requires a large metal frame to be mounted onto the patient’s head with screws before and during treatment. On the other hand, CyberKnife is a non-invasive and pain-free procedure that allows patients to lie comfortably on a treatment couch while the robotic arm delivers high doses of radiation around the patient.

As CyberKnife is an entirely non-invasive procedure, it requires no general or local anesthesia during the procedure. This is not the case with Gamma Knife.

CyberKnife has the ability to approach a tumour in various parts of the body from over 1,300 positions with pinpoint sub-millimetre accuracy. Gamma Knife on the other hand is limited to the brain and cervical spinal and can approach from a limited of 190 positions.

Gamma Knife has the ability to target a tumor with a single treatment of high-dose radiation. On the other hand, Cyberknife can treat a tumor with up to five low doses of radiation. Clinical trials have shown that lower doses of radiation have fewer after-effects on nearby organs and healthy tissues.

Advantages of Gamma Knife
Due to the advanced nature of CyberKnife treatment, it is generally perceived to be the better of the two procedures; nonetheless, there are a significant number of benefits that Gamma Knife has over CyberKnife that are worth considering.

Without a doubt the biggest benefit for patients is the reduced possibility of radiation induced complications. Gamma Knife can boast up to 100x less radiation to the body than Cyberknife.

Another advantage of Gamma Knife is the radiologic accuracy by means of targeted beams which are lower than 0.3mm (lower is better). On the other hand, CyberKnife has a Radiologic accuracy of about 1mm, which results in doses of radiation outside the target area being almost 4-6x more than Gamma Knife.

Gamma Knife uses a rigid immobilizer to prevent head movement using a lightweight stereotactic head frame fixed to the outer skull. This frame prevents movement during the procedure and provides exact MR and CT correlation from planning to treatment delivery in 3D.

Lastly, the Gamma Knife treatment takes all but one day. Unlike Cyberknife, where patient may be called for multiple treatments, possibly over a period of days.

Advantages of CyberKnife
By contrast, the CyberKnife system is a newer technology than Gamma Knife. It employs the help of an extremely precise monitoring system which updates the position of the body in real time allowing the CyberKnife robotics to accurately compensate for normal patient movement. Let’s look at a few benefits of CyberKnife that are worth assessing.

The biggest advantage of CyberKnife is that it is very patient-friendly. It does away with awkward head frames or any other kind of body movement restrictors and employs precise monitoring systems to update the position of the body in real time allowing it to accurately compensate for normal patient movement.

CyberKnife treatment offers greater flexibility in eliminating cancerous cells. The treatment plan, along with all imaging and scans, is completed days before any actual treatment begins. After the scans, the radiation oncologist develops a customized plan of treatment. Much like Gamma Knife, CyberKnife can be administered by a single, high dose of radiation, however, it leaves more options in planning radiation therapy sessions.

CyberKnife has pinpoint precision much like Gamma Knife; however, it can treat tumours from virtually any angle, pain-free and non-invasively. Where Gamma Knife is only limited to 190 positions, CyberKnife on the other hand can approach a tumour from over 1,300 positions.