by LARRY GREENEMEIER
CyberKnife and other noninvasive radiosurgery systems are producing ever more accurate energy beams, raising the possibility of extending the use of potentially lethal radiation to fight Parkinson’s, epilepsy and other afflictions
Targeted beams of high-intensity radiation can shrink early-stage tumors with limited collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The addition of robotics and image guidance systems in recent years has made these stereotactic, or directed beam, radiosurgery systems an even more versatile weapon against cancer, attacking not only brain tumors (for which they were originally designed) but also other diseases virtually anywhere in the body.
Scientific American for more