Interventional radiologists Peter Park, MD, Janice Newsome, MD, and Zachary Bercu, MD, use the new XACT ACE Robotic System to identify cancerous growths more quickly and accurately.
Emory Healthcare is the first in the Southeast to employ a novel comprehensive robotic system for interventional radiology procedures that guides physicians toward suspected cancerous growths much sooner and more accurately than ever before.
By augmenting its interventional radiology and oncology suites at Emory University Hospital with the XACT ACE Robotic System, Emory Healthcare interventional radiologists can access both smaller cancerous growths and growths in difficult-to-reach places inside the body.
"Emory Healthcare has committed time and again to innovative technologies that can improve patient outcomes," said Janice Newsome, MD, FSIR, associate professor in the Emory Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences and interventional radiologist at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. "By accessing small and hard-to-reach parts of the anatomy, we can identify malignancies quickly and start patients on therapy in a shorter amount of time. Reducing the time to therapy is proven to improve patient outcomes and can help to avoid unnecessary procedures."
"Imaging-guided biopsy plays an important role in cancer detection and differentiation from other diagnoses. Significant innovation in this space has been long overdue. The potential to improve diagnostic accuracy, patient safety and consistency across operators makes robotic- assisted biopsy an exciting technologic advance," said Amit Saindane, MD, MBA, chair of the Emory Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences and neuroradiologist at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.
The comprehensive XACT ACE Robotic System is the first and only technology that combines image-based procedure planning and real-time monitoring with proprietary S Drive™ technology. The S Drive technology enables the XACT ACE Robotic System to quickly adapt from a linear to non-linear trajectory with its robotic insertion and steering of instruments to remain exactly on target. Proven in clinical studies with hundreds of patients treated, the system has shown to improve the accuracy, consistency and efficiency of CT-guided percutaneous (passing through the skin) procedures.
"We can better treat cancer when it’s detected earlier and accurately, and that’s the advantage of this robotic system," says Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, executive director of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and the Roberto C. Goizueta Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research. "Inspiring hope and improving patient outcomes through innovation is at the heart of Winship Cancer Institute and the drive behind the adoption of this new technology."
Emory University Hospital, located on the Emory University campus in the historic Druid Hills neighborhood of Atlanta, is the first location to offer robot assistance for image-guided percutaneous procedures such as biopsies. Emory University Hospital Midtown will introduce the technology in the next few months just ahead of the new Winship Cancer Institute at Emory Midtown full-service, inpatient and outpatient oncology center opening in May 2023.