New Delhi, Apr 27 :The country’s premier institute the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has become the first centre in the country to set up the Virtual Bronchoscopy Navigation (VBN) facility.
This advanced facility is used for diagnosis and treatment of patients with small tumour such as spots in the lungs. It was installed in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorder at the centre on April 23 and four patients initially underwent the procedure successfully.
Talking to UNI today Assistant Professor in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorder and Additional Spokesperson of AIIMS Dr Karan Madan said, “This is an advanced software system and the first to be installed in any private and government hospital in the country”.
“Patients diagnosed with small abnormal appearing areas in the lungs picked up on chest x-rays and CT scans can be lung cancer or related to diseases like TB. Only by seeing the appearance of these lesions on CT scan and chest X-rays it can be difficult to make a definite diagnosis and for that a biopsy is generally required.
Traditionally, these lesions have been diagnosed by image guided biopsy in which a needle is used to puncture the chest wall to reach the spot in the lungs to sample it,” Dr Madan said.
Professor in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorder Dr Ananat Mohan said, “The new system allows doctors to obtain samples from these lung lesions with extreme precision and safety using a bronchoscope and thus increases the likelihood of making a clear cut diagnosis. The bronchoscope avoids needle puncture of the chest and reduces the chances of complications as it can be passed through the windpipe to reach the abnormal areas”.
“In future we hope this equipment can also help in bronchoscopic treatment”, Dr Mohan said.
Director AIIMS Prof Randeep Guleria, in a statement said, the Interventional Bronchoscopy team had always been at the forefront of innovation and excellence in patient care.
The newly setup system was going to benefit a large number patients with lung problems. Most of the patients with lung cancer present late and in advanced stages of disease in which case only a limited number of treatment options could be offered to patients. If disease was diagnosed early definitive treatment could be offered and cure rate could be improved, Prof Guleria said (uni)
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