MARLTON Hard-to-reach tumors in the lung aren t as hard to reach anymore for doctors at Virtua Marlton Hospital.
By using a controller similar to one you d use to play Xbox, Virtua doctors are taking advantage of robotic navigation technology that enables them to access and biopsy very small growths in the lungs and reduces the need for more invasive procedures on patients. The goal is catch the nodules in the early stage, so if they are surgical candidates we can get these nodules taken out, said Dr. Syed Riaz, interventional pulmonologist.
Syed said the technology will help doctors reach up to 90% of suspicious lung nodules. Traditional, non-robotic bronchoscopy procedures have a diagnostic reach of about 60% to 65%.
Some COVID-19 long haulers have had symptoms since the first wave. Can they still get better? Stacey Burling, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Joy Ezekiel-Gibson and Michael Clark both caught COVID-19 last March during the horrible first wave, when tests were hard to get, when only medical workers wore masks if they could find them and when doctors were figuring out on the fly how to treat a brand-new, deadly disease.
Ezekiel-Gibson, 47, of Atco, Camden County, survived 17 days on a ventilator, then needed a second hospitalization for pneumonia and blood clots. Clark, a 32-year-old runner from Philadelphia, fought the virus at home despite serious symptoms. He was afraid to go to the emergency department.