Foundation Donors Make New Technology Available for Lung Cancer Patients

Robotic bronchoscopy, an innovation that holds promise to fight lung cancer, is now in use at Miami Valley Hospital thanks to donor giving. The Monarch™ Platform 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 goal is earlier diagnosis and treatment for lung cancer.

Funds for its purchase came from contributions through the MVH Foundation. Miami Valley Hospital is the first in Ohio to use this cutting-edge technology, which integrates the latest advancements in robotics, software, data science, and endoscopy.

“Because the Monarch Platform provides improved reach, vision, and control for viewing the inside of the airways, it holds potential to help us make a diagnosis earlier,” said Soumitra Sen, MD, critical care and pulmonary disease specialist at Pulmonary & Critical Care Consultants, Inc. “We’re excited about this technology’s promise to offer a more hopeful future for our patients with lung cancer.”

Donor giving through the annual 1890 Society campaign makes up the bulk of the funding that allows for the acquisition of technology outside of the hospital’s budget. “Gifts to the Foundation don’t just allow for traditional amenities for patients,” said Foundation President and CEO, Jenny Lewis, “We’re providing funding for essential equipment like the Monarch Platform. We are very grateful to the generous donors who made this new technology available for MVH patients.”

More information on the Monarch™ Platform is available in the winter 2020 issue of the Foundation’s Insight magazine.