UPSC Prelims 2010 Q90: Science & Technology – Health & Diseases
- (a) It is a robotic image guided system
- (b) It delivers an extremely precise dose of radiation
- (c) It has the capability of achieving sub - millimetre accuracy
- (d) It can map the spread of tumour in the body
Answer: (d) It can map the spread of tumour in the body
Explanation
Cyberknife for cancer treatment: finding the incorrect statement
Cyberknife is an advanced radiosurgery technology for treating tumours with high precision.
| Option | Verdict | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| (a) It is a robotic image-guided system | Is correct | Cyberknife is indeed a robotic, image-guided radiation delivery system |
| (b) It delivers an extremely precise dose of radiation | Is correct | Its defining feature is high-precision radiation delivery, minimizing damage to surrounding tissue |
| (c) It has sub-millimetre accuracy capability | Is correct | Cyberknife is specifically known for achieving sub-millimetre targeting accuracy |
| (d) It can map the spread of tumour in the body | NOT correct | Cyberknife is a treatment delivery device (radiation therapy), not a diagnostic mapping/imaging tool for tracking tumour spread across the body — that's the role of imaging technologies like CT/MRI/PET scans |
Cyberknife facts:
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Function | Robotic, image-guided radiosurgery |
| Precision | Sub-millimetre accuracy |
| NOT a function | Mapping tumour spread — that's a separate diagnostic imaging role |
Answer: (d) It can map the spread of tumour in the body.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. This statement is true: Cyberknife is indeed a robotic, image-guided system, so it's not the answer to this 'not correct' question.
- (b) Incorrect. This statement is true: precise radiation dose delivery is its defining feature.
- (c) Incorrect. This statement is true: sub-millimetre accuracy is a hallmark Cyberknife capability.
- (d) CORRECT. Cyberknife is a radiation treatment delivery system, not a diagnostic tool for mapping tumour spread across the body.
Key point
Cyberknife is a robotic, image-guided radiosurgery system with sub-millimetre precision — but it does NOT 'map the spread of tumour in the body'; that diagnostic role belongs to imaging technologies like CT/MRI/PET.
Remember
Cyberknife: robotic, image-guided, sub-millimetre-precise radiation therapy device — it does NOT map tumour spread across the body.
Common mistakes
- Confusing Cyberknife's treatment-delivery role with a separate diagnostic imaging/mapping function.
- Missing the question's framing: it asks for the NOT correct statement among several true ones.
- Assuming any advanced medical-imaging-sounding technology automatically performs tumour mapping.
Exam tip
Cyberknife = precise radiation TREATMENT delivery, not tumour-spread MAPPING (that's CT/MRI/PET's job). A key functional distinction.
Sources
- John R. Adler Jr. et al. — "The Cyberknife: A Frameless Robotic System for Radiosurgery", Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, vol. 69 (1997)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — radiosurgery