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On Oct. 28 outside UVA’s John Paul Jones Arena, UVA Health hosted the Thoracic Oncology Mobile Experience (TOME) — a state-of-the-art, interactive, traveling exhibit showcasing the latest advances in robotic care platforms transforming lung cancer care. 

Supporting a UVA Health strategic plan goal of expanding our excellence by leading in the delivery of the best and most advanced patient care — UVA Health clinicians are performing procedures that combine two robotic platforms from Intuitive, helping our teams diagnose and treat cancer in one seamless visit. One robot is used to perform biopsies while the other is used to remove cancer. 

Visitors to the exhibit got a firsthand look at how the two robots work together to diagnose and treat lung cancer in one procedure. “Lung cancer is the second-most common cancer in both men and women,” Interventional Pulmonologist Ellen Volker, MD, tells the media. “The greatest risk for lung cancer is smoking, but lung cancer can occur in patients who’ve never smoked before.” 

“The robotic bronchoscope allows us to go anywhere in the lung and diagnose lung nodules,” she explains. “In the same procedure, the lymph nodes are also sampled, providing not only the diagnosis, but the stage of lung cancer.  In early lung cancers, we can utilize the robotic bronchoscope — followed by the surgical robot — to diagnose, stage, and remove the lung cancer under one round of anesthesia. ” 

UVA Health University Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Reid Adams, MD, sees the technology as the future of lung cancer care. “If people need surgery, trying to provide it in a fashion that allows them to recover as quickly as possible is the ideal goal."

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