Robotic-Assisted Bronchoscopy
New ways to detect lung cancer early are Right Here at Singing River. Learn about the technology we use to perform minimally invasive lung biopsies.
Lung cancer is the number one cause of all cancer deaths, so Singing River invests in technology that allows us to catch the disease in earlier stages.
Reaching Further Into the Lungs
More than 70% of lung nodules that need to be biopsied are located in hard-to-reach spots past the central lung and into the peripheral lung. In order to reach these nodules, surgeons used to perform invasive surgery to even collect a sample of the nodule. Now, pulmonologists can use ultrathin catheters and robotic technology to reach nodules in the peripheral lung and biopsy them.
Our Robot-Assisted Bronchoscopy Systems
Ion and Monarch are both advanced technological systems for performing minimally invasive lung biopsies.
Ion
Shape Sensing Technology
Ion’s software uses shape-sensing technology as opposed to electromagnetic technology.
Embedded within Ion’s ultra-thin catheter, the shape sensor measures the full shape of the catheter hundreds of times per second, providing precise location, shape, and orientation information throughout the entire navigation and biopsy process.
Small Bronchoscope
The Ion bronchoscope’s outer diameter is 3.3mm, allowing it to travel further within the peripheral lungs and reach further nodules.
Monarch
Used to view the inside of the lungs and obtain a tissue sample for biopsy, the goal of Auris Health’s Monarch™ Platform is to enable earlier and more-accurate diagnosis of small and hard-to-reach nodules in the periphery of the lung.
The technology integrates the latest advancements in robotics, software, data science, and endoscopy (the use of small cameras and tools to enter the body through its natural openings). Singing River Health System is among the first organizations in the United States to utilize the platform, which was recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, in part because it has no symptoms in its early stages. Because the Monarch Platform provides improved reach, vision and control for bronchoscopic procedures, it holds potential to help physicians to make a diagnosis earlier.
More than 90 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer do not survive the disease, in part because it is often found at an advanced stage. There are a variety of diagnostic options currently available for lung cancer, but all have limitations in accuracy, safety, or invasiveness. These limitations can lead to false positives, false negatives, or side effects such as pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and hemorrhage, which may increase health care costs and extend hospital stays.
The Monarch Platform utilizes a familiar controller-like interface that physicians use to navigate the flexible robotic endoscope to the periphery of the lung with improved reach, vision, and control. Combining traditional endoscopic views into the lung with computer-assisted navigation based on 3-D models of the patient’s own lung anatomy, the Monarch Platform provides physicians with continuous bronchoscope vision throughout the entire procedure.
To book an appointment with a Singing River Pulmonologist, please call (228) 872-1951.
