Region turns to robots in fight against cancer

CUTTING-EDGE TOOL CAN REACH DEEP INTO LUNGS

- By ANNETTE BELCHER

ROBOTS are set to test Teesside patients for cancer.

Patients across the North East and North Yorkshire are set to benefit from earlier, safer lung cancer diagnosis thanks to cutting edge robotic technology at the University Hospital of North Tees.

In May the hospital became the first hospital in the region to launch a pilot programme using an Ion robotic-assisted bronchoscope.

Funded by the Northern Cancer Alliance, the state-of-the-art tool allows clinicians to reach previously inaccessible areas of the lung using a 3.5mm catheter and shape sensing technology. It means clinicians can collect tissue samples from hard-to-reach nodules deep in the lungs - where over 70% of early lung cancers are typically found.