Novel approaches utilizing robotic navigational bronchoscopy: a single institution experience

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Medical Technology
• Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

• Pulmonary nodule biopsy is critical for early lung disease diagnosis and treatment.
• Robotic navigational bronchoscopy is an emerging technique with limited effectiveness studies.
• Accurate biopsy of small, hard-to-reach nodules remains a clinical challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic validity of Monarch-guided robotic navigational bronchoscopy for pulmonary disease.
• To assess the effectiveness of dye localization with robotic bronchoscopy for improving biopsy accuracy in subcentimeter nodules.

Main Methods:

• Observational cohort study of patients undergoing robotic navigational bronchoscopy (July 2020 - October 2021).
• Inclusion of patients who underwent robotic bronchoscopy with or without dye localization.
• Analysis of diagnostic accuracy using specificity, sensitivity, and likelihood ratios from institutional data.

Main Results:

• Robotic navigational bronchoscopy demonstrated 100% specificity and 91.3% sensitivity in 69 patients.
• The combined robotic bronchoscopy and dye localization procedure achieved 100% specificity and 100% sensitivity in 28 patients.
• The technique successfully enabled biopsy of challenging pulmonary nodules.

Conclusions:

• Robotic Navigational Bronchoscopy is a valid and accurate method for diagnosing pulmonary disease.
• Integrating dye localization with robotic bronchoscopy significantly enhances diagnostic accuracy for suspicious nodules.
• This combined approach facilitates earlier diagnosis, staging, and treatment of early-stage lung cancers.