RapidArc

Novalis

Cyberknife

Tomotherapy

GammaKnife

Indication (Treatment field)

Whole Body (<40cm)

Whole Body (<10cm)

Whole Body

Whole Body (no specific limit)

Head only (<3cm)

Fixation

Good

Good to very good

Good

Good

Excellent

Machine accuracy

Good

Good

Good

Good

Very good

Dose distribution

Good

Good

Slight inhomogeneity

Good

Slight inhomogeneity

Fractionation

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Low dose bath area

Moderate

Moderate

Moderate

More

Moderate

Treatment time

<5 minutes

<30 minutes

20 minutes-2 hours

<30 minutes

20 minutes-
1 hour

Non-coplanar treatment

Yes

Yes

Must

No

Must

Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Pros

Rapidly deliver 360 degree volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) and reduce the discomfort of long treatment time.

Use micro-multi-leaf collimator and is especially suitable for small tumor

Use x-ray images to correct setup or positioning errors during the treatment

Use tomography (CT) for setup localization before treatment

High fixation and treatment accuracy

Cons

Due to the complexity of the plan, it takes more time for treatment planning.

Only treat tumors smaller than 10 cm

Repeated x-ray imaging further increases the treatment time and radiation dose

Not able to instantly correct the treatment error caused by displacement of localization

Only can treat small head lesions. Treatment time will be increased as radioactive sources decay.

Capability for Setup error correction

Good

Good

Good

Fair

Not applicable

Price

Self-pay 30,000-60,000 NTD

National Insurance or Self-pay 20,000-80,000 NTD

Self-pay above 200,000 NTD (depends on number of treatments)

Self-pay 150,000-350,000 NTD

National Insurance or Self-pay 140,000 NTD