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GPS for Your Lungs
Temple Lung Center has adopted a new tool for the diagnosis and treatment of early-stage lung cancer with a device that helps physicians navigate distant regions of the lungs using technology similar to the GPS in your car.
Temple is the first academic medical center in Philadelphia to use the inReachTM System by superDimension, which enables pulmonologists to build a 3-D "roadmap" of a patient's lungs from a CT scan, and then navigate that map in real time using a flexible, steerable catheter and bronchoscope to take samples of hard-to-reach lesions.
"The new system is helping us extend our reach to biopsy lung abnormalities, and offer a greater opportunity to treat patients soon," said John M. Travaline, MD, Director of the Invasive Pulmonary Procedures Laboratory.
In the past, patients experiencing symptoms of lung disease or those who have suspected lesions could be examined and treated with standard bronchoscopic techniques, needle aspiration, or surgery. Using electromagnetic navigation coupled with flexible bronchoscopy, the inReach system offers patients a less invasive alternative.
This outpatient procedure, which takes from 30 minutes to about one hour, presents no additional risks beyond those associated with traditional bronchoscopy.
And, because of the accuracy of the new technology, the inReach system can also aid doctors in the treatment of cancerous lesions with greater precision by enabling cancer staging in the lymph nodes.
"Lung cancer is the most common cancer-related death in men and women, claiming more lives than breast cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer combined," Dr. Travaline said.
In 2007, more than 200,000 Americans were diagnosed with lung cancer, and the present five-year survival rate is only 15 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute.
"Earlier diagnosis and treatment could increase the chance that patients live longer," said Dr. Travaline. "With the inReach System, we have the potential to help reduce the mortality rate for lung cancer."
To schedule an appointment with a Temple Lung Center physician, click here or call 1-800-TEMPLE-MED (1-800-836-7536).
Date Published: Monday, August 17, 2009
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