Miami Valley Hospital Completes 100th Monarch™Platform Case
DAYTON, Ohio (November 19, 2021) – Premier Health’s Miami Valley Hospital recently accomplished its 100th Monarch™ Platform case, a milestone for technology used to diagnose and treat lung cancer earlier. Monarch™ Platform is a robotic bronchoscopy that enables pulmonary specialists to navigate and search the delicate, distant branches of the lung and obtain tissue samples from hard-to-reach nodules for biopsy.
The 100th Monarch™ Platform case was completed Thursday, November 18 at Miami Valley Hospital by Murthy Gollamudi, MD, a critical care and pulmonary disease specialist at Pulmonary and Critical Care Consultants, Inc.
“This recent achievement offers a more hopeful future for our patients with lung cancer,” said Dr. Gollamudi. “The Monarch™ Platform provides our team with improved vision, reach, and control for viewing inside a patient’s airways.”
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, in part because it has no symptoms in its early stages. As lung cancer screening increases, the nodules found tend to be smaller and harder to reach, making early-stage diagnosis – and therefore treatment – difficult.
Launched in August 2020, Miami Valley Hospital was the first in Ohio to use the Monarch™ Platform, which integrates the latest advancements in robotics, software, data science, and endoscopy (the use of small cameras and tools to enter the body through its natural openings). Funds for its purchase were raised by the Miami Valley Hospital Foundation.
“This achievement could not have been made possible without the community’s generosity,” said Soumitra Sen, MD, critical care and pulmonary disease specialist at Pulmonary and Critical Care Consultants, Inc. “With financial assistance from the Miami Valley Hospital Foundation, we were able to purchase this cutting-edge technology that provides more treatment options for cancer patients close to home.”
The Monarch™ Platform utilizes a familiar controller-like interface that physicians use to navigate the flexible robotic endoscope to the periphery of the lung. Combining traditional endoscopic views into the lung with computer-assisted navigation based on 3-D models of the patient’s own lung anatomy, the Monarch™ Platform provides physicians with continuous bronchoscope vision throughout the entire procedure.
Premier Health is a certified member of MD Anderson Cancer Network®, a program of MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Contact Us
Discover more about Premier Health and join us in building healthier communities in Southwest Ohio. Learn more about working at Premier Health, becoming a volunteer, and making a gift to support our mission.