A groundbreaking robotic-assisted procedure, trialled for the first time in the UK, promises to revolutionise lung cancer diagnosis by enabling doctors to make microscopic movements within the lungs.
This innovative technology grants medics access to previously unreachable areas, allowing for biopsies of smaller, suspicious lesions that would typically require prolonged monitoring.
Experts have hailed the method as a “paradigm shift” in lung cancer treatment.
Researchers suggest it could significantly reduce the anxious waiting period for patients suspected of having cancer, eliminating the need for months-long repeat scans, while simultaneously boosting crucial survival rates.
The trial included 200 NHS patients at Royal Brompton Hospital and St Bartholomew’s Hospital, whose lung scans had shown suspicious spots, known as nodules.
Doctors uploaded these scan images on to the Ion endoluminal system (Ion) – developed by technology company Intuitive – to create a “route map” of the lung, which researchers likened to the GPS system in a car.
It allows medics to navigate a robotic catheter – a thin tube inserted into the patient via the throat – directly to the nodule to take a biopsy.
Professor Pallav Shah, consultant respiratory physician at Royal Brompton Hospital, told the Press Association: “We can go with quite microscopic movements directly into the little spot and then take samples from there.
“It allows us to be a lot more precise and accurate than conventionally we could.”
The study, published in the journal Thorax, found that diagnosis using the robotic-assisted platform was accurate in 92% of patients.
Elsewhere, doctors were able to precisely place the biopsy tool within the suspicious nodule in 99% of patients.
Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK, with more than 49,000 new diagnoses and around 33,000 deaths every year.
Targeted lung cancer screening was rolled out in 2023 in a bid to catch the disease earlier.
According to Prof Shah, if patients have smaller lung nodules that are 8mm in size, the standard approach would be to repeat the scan in a year’s time.
He said using robotics helps “cut out that wait and watch phase”, adding: “The big problem with lung cancer is that by the time you have symptoms, it’s usually more advanced.
“What we really have to do is to try and diagnose this earlier, and this is where lung cancer screening comes in.”
Prof Shah told PA that using robotic systems in this way “allows lung cancer screening to be a lot more meaningful”.
He added: “It kind of enables lung cancer screening to be much more effective. Because what’s the point of lung cancer screening if you find a spot and then don’t really do much about it, and just say, ‘I’m going to follow this nodule up with another scan in three months or one year, or whatever?
“One, it’s not satisfactory. Two, you can imagine the amount of anxiety it induces in patients.”
Kelvin Lau, clinical director and consultant thoracic surgeon at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, said using the Ion system represented a “paradigm shift” in the approach to lung cancer.
He added: “While lung cancer screening has made a huge impact in detecting nodules, this is only half the story – we need to know which of these nodules are cancerous so we can act on them quickly and efficiently, before the disease progresses.
“At St Bartholemew’s Hospital, my patients no longer need to wait months for a repeat scan. Instead, they have a biopsy, go home on the same day, and return to normal activities almost immediately, avoiding unnecessary operations, and accessing the right treatment sooner.”
Prof Shah told PA his “big hope” is that this technology can be rolled out across the NHS, adding: “We know from other health systems it is scalable and it is implementable, and it’s really a question of going forward with it.”
He added that since the trial there have been more than 900 procedures carried out using Ion at the Royal Brompton.
Reacting to the findings of the trial, Paula Chadwick, chief executive of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: “Early and accurate diagnosis is one of the most important factors in improving lung cancer survival, yet too many people still face anxious months of uncertainty while waiting to find out if a small nodule is cancer.
“These findings show the real potential of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy to change that experience for patients.
“By enabling clinicians to safely reach and biopsy small, hard-to-access nodules, this technology could help people get the answers they need much sooner – and, crucially, access curative treatment at the earliest possible opportunity. Innovation like this is vital as we work to diagnose lung cancer earlier and save more lives.”
