Providence Portland Medical Center Acquires New Technology to Detect Lung Cancer Earlier

April 22, 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. – People with hard-to-reach lung lesions may be able to receive a diagnosis sooner, thanks to new technology now available at Providence Portland Medical Center.

Nearly a dozen pulmonologists have been trained on the inReach System™, a new bronchoscopy device that uses electromagnetic navigation and guidance to access distant regions of the lungs. This technology enables physicians to locate, test and plan treatment for lung lesions and lymph nodes that are difficult to reach with traditional bronchoscopy.

“We are able to get a more accurate and more timely diagnosis with this system,” said Michael Skokan, M.D., medical director of Respiratory Care Services at Providence Portland Medical Center. “Because the system is minimally-invasive, it enables us to diagnose patients whose medical conditions don’t allow us to perform higher-risk surgical procedures.”

Similar to Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, the device provides a three-dimensional virtual “road map” of the lungs, generated from CT images. Once the patient’s lungs have been mapped, physicians use the device to guide catheters with standard bronchoscopes to reach the targeted lesion. Currently, patients experiencing symptoms of lung disease or those who have suspected lesions can be examined and treated only with standard bronchoscopes, needle aspiration, or surgery.

Lung cancer is the most common cancer-related death in American men and the second most common in women, claiming more lives than breast cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer combined.