BRG launches robotic-assisted tech for early-stage lung cancer diagnosis

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Baton Rouge General is working to save lives by using innovative robotic technology for lung cancer diagnosis.

The first of its kind, the Ion by Intuitive, allows surgeons to look inside the lungs and collect potentially cancerous tissue.

”It is going to allow us to diagnose cancer potentially in the earlier stages before it’s more aggressive,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Keith Kellum.

Dr. Kellum says, with previous technology, patients may have required multiple biopsies before getting a lung cancer diagnosis, possibly adding months to their care journey.

This robot aims to shorten that journey by making it possible to access and biopsy “hard-to-reach” lung nodules. The Ion system features a thin catheter that allows precise navigation.

During a bronchoscopy, a physician uses the controller to navigate to the lung cancer mass along a digitally planned path.

”It allows us to treat patients with shorter courses of chemotherapy, less surgical intervention and hopefully reach a cure,” explained Dr. Kellum.

He says the idea to bring technology like this to the hospital doesn’t happen overnight.

”It is months of preparation and planning, to get medical staff on board with training,” Dr. Kellum added.

The Ion joins a full family of robots used by surgeons at BRG.

The hospital has seen its surgery cases using robots grow by 70% over the last year.”Following technology trends is important because minimally invasive surgery allows for faster recovery times, patients get out of the hospital and back to their loved ones and undergo shorter treatment courses,” said Dr. Kellum.

Training for the robot and first use on patients is scheduled for November.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2023 WAFB. All rights reserved.