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Robotic and navigational bronchoscopy

A robot-guided flexible scope that reaches small lung nodules through the airways to biopsy them without a needle through the chest wall.

Intuitive Ion and Johnson & Johnson Monarch platforms combine electromagnetic or shape-sensing navigation with cone-beam CT to sample peripheral nodules found by screening. Diagnostic yield ~80-90% with low pneumothorax rates; increasingly paired with same-session ablation trials.

Schematic · not to scale
Robotic catheter · Peripheral nodule biopsy

How it works

Robotically articulated ultrathin catheter navigated along a CT-derived airway map to the nodule; radial EBUS or cone-beam CT confirms position.

Strengths
  • Reaches peripheral nodules safely
  • Enables molecular testing on small lesions
Limitations
  • Cost
  • Yield depends on bronchus sign and operator
Since
2018

Latest papers

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Literature trend1 papers in the last 12 monthsHow this is computed
Latest papers · live from Europe PMC
Open in Europe PMC

Query for this technology: (TITLE:"Robotic and navigational bronchoscopy" OR ABSTRACT:"Robotic and navigational bronchoscopy") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Robotic and navigational bronchoscopy, not a curated reading list.

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