Question

Q19. Consider the following statements about Virtual Bronchoscopy Navigation (VBN):

1. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has become the country’s first hospital to set up Virtual Bronchoscopy Navigation (VBN).

2. VBN is an advanced facility for diagnosis and treatment of patients with small tumour-like spots in the lungs, which can be cancerous.

Which of the above statements are correct?

• A. a) 1 only
• B. b) 2 only
• C. c) Both 1 and 2
• D. d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer 1

The correct option is C

c) Both 1 and 2

• The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said it has become the country’s first hospital to set up Virtual Bronchoscopy Navigation (VBN), an advanced facility for diagnosis and treatment of patients with small tumour-like spots in the lungs, which can be cancerous.
• Lung diseases are on the rise and it is not uncommon to find patients who have been diagnosed with small abnormal appearing areas in the lungs which are picked up on chest X-rays and CT scan examinations.
• These small lung lesions can very commonly be lung cancer and if not diagnosed on time, they can increase in size and the cancer can spread to other body parts.
• It is difficult to make a definite diagnosis by seeing the appearance of these lesions on the CT scans or the chest X-rays and for that, an image-guided biopsy is needed in which a needle is used to puncture the chest wall to reach the spot.
• The VBN system allows getting samples from these small lung lesions with extreme precision and safety using a bronchoscope after a 3D view of the windpipe is generated using the CT scan images, thereby avoiding puncturing the lung and reducing complications.
• This is sophisticated software like a GPS of airways that allows going through the nose and windpipe. This has raised the chances of correct diagnosis to 90 per cent from 65 per cent earlier. It prevents delay in diagnosis and allows identifying cancer and TB in early stages.