Robotic-Assisted Bronchoscopy

When lung cancer is diagnosed early, outcomes are much better. However, early-stage lung cancer can be challenging to diagnose because tissue samples are often difficult to obtain. That’s why Doylestown Hospital offers Ion Endoluminal System, a minimally invasive, robotic-assisted bronchoscopy procedure. 

The system features a thin, moveable catheter so physicians can navigate far into the peripheral lung to reach smaller nodules, or masses, and allow for more precise biopsies. Because of its precision, Ion may also help patients avoid subsequent biopsies.

During a bronchoscopy with Ion, physicians use a controller to navigate a camera-equipped catheter along a computer-generated path. The catheter can move 180° in any direction to pass through small, difficult-to-navigate airways and around tight bends to reach all 18 segments of the lung.

The technology allows our physicians to locate, biopsy, and mark nodules for surgical resection in one procedure with greater accuracy.

Robotic-assisted bronchoscopy is an outpatient procedure that typically takes about two hours. Patients generally receive results within a few days.