New technology helping detect lung cancer earlier at Blessing

QUINCY — Blessing Health is among the first providers in the country to use a new device to detect lung cancer.

Monarch, by Auris Health, allows doctors to conduct robotic bronchoscopy. This advanced lung examination can lead to earlier and more-accurate diagnoses of small and hard-to-reach tumors near the edges of the lungs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently cleared the technology for use.

During robotic bronchoscopy, doctors use a hand-held controller to direct an endoscope — a flexible tube with a light and camera attached to it — throughout the lungs, guided by computer-assisted navigation based on 3-D models of the patient’s own lung anatomy. Robotic bronchoscopy delivers improved reach, vision, and control when compared to the non-robotic method.

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.

“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, in part because it has no symptoms in its early stages,” Dr. Umama Adil, Blessing Health pulmonologist, said in a press release. “Because robotic bronchoscopy provides improved reach, vision and control, it holds potential to help us to make a diagnosis earlier.”

Adil added other diagnostic options currently available for lung cancer have limitations in accuracy, safety or invasiveness that can lead to false positives, false negatives or side effects such as a collapsed lung and hemorrhage, which may increase health care costs and extend hospital stays.

“We are excited about the promise of robotic bronchoscopy to offer a more hopeful future for our patients with lung cancer,” she concluded.