Yale Medicine physicians are using robotic bronchoscopy instead of traditional bronchoscopy for lung cancer diagnosis. Robotic bronchoscopy allows them to better reach smaller parts of the lungs. During a robotic bronchoscopy, the doctor uses a controller at a console to operate a robotic arm, which then guides the bronchoscope’s thin, flexible tube through the airways.
Twenty years ago, the discovery of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations as drivers of tumorigenesis and viable targets for therapeutic intervention marked the beginning of a new era in lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. Since then, the field has made remarkable progress towards developing more effective targeted treatments and immunotherapies that have significantly improved patient outcomes and survival.
