November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. The disease is easiest to treat and cure in its earliest stages, and at North Memorial Health Hospital, they are using new technology to diagnose cases.

It’s called the Ion Robotic Bronchoscope — and it’s like a GPS for the lungs. It’s the latest robotic airway camera that is smaller and more flexible, allowing it to go more places.

They started using this new device at North Memorial Health Hospital earlier this year. It goes into the lungs through a breathing tube and allows doctors to see pathways that can be difficult to reach.

The camera is used to detect infections and nodules, as well as diagnose cases of cancer.

“It’s very similar to Google Maps. You have a map and it tells you to take a left turn or a right turn,“ said Dr. Sean Stoy with North Memorial Health.

Dr. Stoy says before using this new bronchoscope, they’d typically be able to make a diagnosis in patients about 70% of the time. Now, this nimble camera has increased that to about 95%.

“I can confidently tell patients we have a good shot to get to this spot and we have a good shot to give them an answer about what is going on… whether or not they need to worry, or how aggressively we need to treat it in a short period of time,” he said.