Evaluation of Electromagnetic Navigational Bronchoscopy Using Tomosynthesis-Assisted Visualization, Intraprocedural Positional Correction and Continuous Guidance for Evaluation of Peripheral Pulmonary Nodules

Background: Electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (ENB) has been shown to have variable diagnostic accuracy for the assessment of peripheral pulmonary nodules. This may be because of discrepancies between the preplanned computed tomography of chest target lesion location versus actual target location (computed tomography-to-body divergence), and the lack of a continuous navigational image. The ILLUMISITE (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) is a newly developed ENB platform that utilizes tomosynthesis, an imaging technology that can visualize the target location using fluoroscopy (F-ENB). This new system also allows for intraprocedural positional correction and continuous navigation guidance during sampling to overcome these limitations and improve diagnostic yield. We report our first experience in a single center, single proceduralist using this new technology. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single center, single operator study reviewing 72 consecutive patients (78 nodules) over a 3-month period. We investigated the overall diagnostic yield and diagnostic yield by nodule location, size, and sedation type using this new F-ENB system. Results: The overall diagnostic yield was 87% and pnemothoraces occurred in 2/78 procedures. We did not find any statistically significant difference when comparing pulmonary nodule location, size or sedation method utilized (P=0.231, 0.338, and 0.112, respectively). Sixty-nine percent of the pulmonary nodules biopsied were 2 to 3 cm in size. The average distance corrected after tomosynthesis visualization was 15.4 mm (0.4 to 29.8 mm). Conclusion: We report our initial experience with the ILLUMISITE system using fluoroscopic tomosynthesis-assisted visualization with continuous navigational guidance at our institution. This new technology allows the operator to correct for better target lesion alignment and real time positional correction and may improve diagnostic yields with minimal complications for evaluation of peripheral pulmonary nodules.

Automated summary

This study reports the initial experience of using the ILLUMISITE system for electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy of peripheral pulmonary nodules. The system utilizes tomosynthesis for imaging and real-time navigation, allowing for better target lesion alignment and improved diagnostic yield.