| The BC Cancer Agency, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, said earlier this week that the equipment is the first of its kind to be used in Canada and is newly-installed at the agency’s Vancouver Center.
“This new system will improve the accuracy of bronchoscopy procedures from 30 to 80 percent for small lesions in the lung that are traditionally very difficult to biopsy.”
According to the agency, the technology converts two-dimensional images from a Computerized Tomography scan into three-dimensional graphics that guide the respirologist through a bronchoscopy procedure, directly to the suspect tumor.
The mapping system is particularly beneficial in procedures where the tumor is less than two centimeters and located in the periphery of the lung, it said.
Previously, oncologists would refer to a two-dimensional image highlighting the tumor’s location from a patient’s CT scan.
Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death in all cancer patients. In the early stages, the symptoms of lung cancer is usually very poor and atypical, making diagnosis very difficult.
With the new three-dimensional images, care providers will also be better equipped to plan for radiation therapy and surgical procedures with specific markers indicating the cancer’s location, it said.
According to scientists, if detected early, survival for patients with lung cancer is very high. However, recent statistics show that only 15% of cases are detected before this deadly disease early metastasis. /.
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