Fighting lung cancer with innovative new technology

The team at San Ramon Regional Medical Center recently acquired an innovative technology for lung cancer diagnosis. Used to view the inside of the lungs and obtain a tissue sample for biopsy, the goal of the Monarch™ Platform is to enable earlier and more-accurate diagnosis of small and hard-to-reach nodules in the periphery of the lung.

The Monarch™ Platform integrates the latest advancements in robotics, software, data science and endoscopy. It utilizes a familiar controller-like interface that physicians use to navigate the flexible robotic endoscope to the periphery of the lung with improved reach, vision, and control. Combining traditional endoscopic views into the lung with computer-assisted navigation based on 3D models of the patient’s own lung anatomy, the Monarch Platform provides physicians with continuous bronchoscope vision throughout the entire procedure. The innovation allows the team to take samples from areas deep in the lung that were previously only accessible via more invasive methods.

“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, in part because it has no symptoms in its early stages,” said Ann Lucena, Chief Executive Officer of San Ramon Regional Medical Center. “As the Monarch Platform provides improved reach, vision and control for bronchoscopic procedures, it holds the potential to help us to make an earlier diagnosis. We are encouraged by the promise of this technology to offer a more hopeful future for our patients with lung cancer.”

San Ramon Regional Medical Center is one of only ten hospitals in California to utilize the Monarch™ Platform.