Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare physicians are now able to detect lung cancer earlier than before with the MONARCH Robotic Bronchoscopy Platform.

The robotic tool is guided by a remote control, similar to a video game controller, as doctors perform minimally invasive bronchoscopy procedures to detect, biopsy, diagnose and mark lung cancer.

“We’re extremely excited about what this means for our patients,” said Carlos Campo, MD, pulmonologist and critical care physician at TMH. “MONARCH lowers the threshold of time it takes to find cancerous nodules and can potentially increase the five-year survival rate of patients in our region who have been diagnosed with lung cancer.”

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare hosts a hands-on demonstration of the MONARCH™ Robotic Bronchoscopy Platform, Friday, July 21, 2023. MONARCH™ is a robotic tool used to perform minimally invasive bronchoscopy procedures to detect, biopsy, diagnose and mark lung cancer.

Procedures with MONARCH began in April, with seven scheduled in the first three days of the healthcare team's days of using the robot.

The robot is the latest high-tech tool acquired by TMH and the nationally accredited Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center.

At this time, the five-year survival rate of lung cancer patients is at 18% primarily due to the fact that lung cancer often goes undetected when it's reached a later stage, often times having already spread to other parts of the body.

The survival rate jumps to 56% when it is found before it has spread and with the MONARCH technology doctors should be able to find the cancerous masses much sooner.

“Traditional bronchoscopy is performed as a physician holds both arms directly over the patient throughout the entire procedure, while trying to watch a monitor and maneuver the scope throughout the patient’s lungs. The ease of robotic bronchoscopy through MONARCH means a much more efficient and optimal procedure for both the patient and care team,” said Alberto Fernandez, MD, pulmonologist and critical care physician at TMH.