Johnson & Johnson MedTech has an-nounced the first robotically assisted bronchoscopy procedure carried out in the Middle East using its MONARCH™ Platfonn, perfonned at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The case also marked the region’s first clinical use of MONARCH™ QUEST, the company’s latest navigation software, which incorporates Al-powered algorithms intended to work alongside a range of mobile and fixed imaging systems.
Addressing late-stage diagnosis in lung cancer
Lung cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, largely because it is frequently identified only once it has reached an advanced stage, when treatment options are more limited. Accord-ing to figures cited in the announcement, patients diagnosed at an early stage have a five-year survival rate of up to 90 per cent, compared with under 10 per cent for those diagnosed late. Robotically assisted bron-choscopy is positioned by the company as a means of biopsying lung nodules earlier, with the aim of moving patients into treatment pathways more quickly.
Aleksandra Popovic, President of MONARCH, MedTech, Johnson & Johnson, said: “As the company that pio-neered the first robotic bronchoscopy platform, we are proud to be bringing this technology to clinicians in a new region of the world. We are commit-ted to advancing the standard of care in lung cancer by increasing access to meaningful innovation that helps improve outcomes for patients around the world.”
How the platform works
The MONARCH Platform is designed to provide minimally invasive access to, and visualisation of, the airways, enabling clinicians to biopsy suspicious lung nodules. Nearly half of early-stage lesions sit in the periphery of the lung, an area described as difficult to reach using traditional bronchoscopy. The system’s scope-in-sheath design is intended to offer stable reach and precision, with continuous visualisation for the operator throughout the procedure.
MONARCH QUEST integrates enhanced navigation with intraprocedural 3D imaging data, with the intention of improving accuracy when targeting lung nodules. Johnson & Johnson said the platform’s digital capabilities now span preoperative planning through to intraoperative AI-enabled navigation, and that MONARCH will form part of its wider Polyphonic™ digital ecosystem, which is designed to connect data across the company’s surgical technologies, robotics and software.
Clinical experience at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
Dr Zaid Zoumot, Interventional Pulmonologist and Division Chair, Pulmonary Medicine, at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said: “Robotically-assisted bronchoscopy represents a breakthrough in how we detect and diagnose lung disease. With this technology, we can reach small lesions in all segments of the lung, which creates the opportunity to accelerate treatment decisions.”
