The sold-out Pulmonary Nodule Workshop provided two days of hands-on training for doctors to master biopsying very small nodules using the latest methods.

The event also marked the launch of MQ Health’s Early Lung Cancer Detection (ELUCiD) program, a comprehensive service centred around state-of-the-art technology and multidisciplinary care.

ELUCiD Director, interventional pulmonologist and respiratory physician Associate Professor Tajalli Saghaie,Professor Alvin Ing and Associate Professor Jonathan Williamson are leaders in the field and developed and facilitated the workshop.

Associate Professor Saghaie said small nodules may be less than a few millimetres across and have traditionally been difficult to biopsy successfully due to their size, but also their location, as they may be deep in the lung, making navigation challenging.

Old methods of biopsying small lung nodules also carry a significant risk of lung puncture and bleeding.

“The screening program is aimed at current and former heavy smokers aged between 50 and 70, and we are expecting the screening program to uncover hundreds, if not thousands, more of these small lesions every year,” Associate Professor Saghaie said.

“This will exponentially increase demand for these difficult biopsies, making it vital that respiratory physicians and interventional pulmonologists from both the public and private healthcare sectors are prepared.

“In the past, many people with nodules that were very small or very deep in the lung had little choice but either to wait for it to grow large enough to biopsy, or have upfront surgery for it. Obviously, that is not what we want for our patients.

“The latest technology increases the success rate of the biopsies to more than 90 per cent.

“That technology includes robotic bronchoscopy, which uses highly specialised equipment, and CBCT-guided bronchoscopy, which is a method we developed based on imaging technology that most Australian hospitals will already have on hand.

“Early detection is vital if we are to successfully treat lung cancer, so training like this is important to ensure we are not only detecting more lesions but also ensuring they are biopsied quickly and safely so people can either be cleared of cancer or begin their treatment as soon as possible.”

The two-day workshop drew doctors from across the country, and included live demonstrations streamed from MUH operating theatres, hands-on training using models and cadavers, and talks from eminent international speakers.

It was supported by Noah Medical, Intuitive Surgical, Device Technologies, Intervene Medical, Ambu A/S, Philips, Siemens Healthineers, Mediflex, Getz Healthcare, Astra Zeneca, Erbe, Rymed and Olympus.

More workshops are planned in coming months. Please contact the ELUCiD Clinical Nurse Consultant and coordinator Abby Fyfe to express your interest in future training.