Medtronic, a leading company in medical technology, is now offering the GenCut core biopsy system together with superDimension(TM) navigation system for lung tissue biopsies.
Medtronic’s superDimension navigation system allows pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons to access difficult areas within the lungs in a minimally invasive way. Now, combined with the GenCut core biopsy system, surgeons can extract several samples of lesions embedded in lungs’ deep tissue. With this new technological tool, pathologists (specialists in examining organs, tissues, and bodily fluids to make a diagnosis of disease) have sufficient tissue for proper lung cancer diagnosis and further genetic analysis. Additionally, the new system allows surgeons to extract, in one pass, sufficient tissue and hence decrease the necessity for further invasive procedures.
Chuck Brynelsen, President of Early Technologies business in Medtronic’s Minimally Invasive Therapies Group commented, “Lung cancer diagnostic clinicians consistently state that tissue is the issue. When performing a biopsy, they need enough tissue for the pathologist to make a diagnosis and to ensure undamaged tissue for genetic testing and molecular analysis. As lung cancer drugs and therapies advance, the ability to provide earlier diagnosis and earlier, personalized treatment can potentially save lives.”
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women in the United States, with estimates pointing to 221,200 new cases diagnosed in 2015 alone, according to the American Lung Association. The death toll due to lung cancer is higher than deaths caused by colorectal, breast and prostate cancers combined. Additionally, lung cancer’s five-year survival rate is only 17.8%, the lowest among other leading cancers, including colon, breast and prostate cancer, with 65.4%, 90.5% and 99.6% rates, respectively. As a result, early diagnosis is vital for patients to receive curative or effective treatment.
Brynelsen added, “The continuum of care is the healthcare journey a patient takes from diagnosis to recovery. Our goal, across this continuum, is to diagnose earlier, intervene earlier, treat better and help patients recover faster.”
Medtronic is based in Dublin, Ireland and its main goal is to develop technologies to alleviate pain, restore health and extending life for patients around the world.