The development of better biopsy approaches is driven by the fact that lung cancer kills more than 130,000 Americans annually, and survival depends on early diagnosis, which requires biopsy to be definitive.

Each year, millions of lung nodules are detected during routine X-rays or CT scans.

Collaboration between a mechanical engineer at Vanderbilt University and a pulmonologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has resulted in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant that will be used to develop a steerable robotic needle to safely biopsy hard-to-reach lung nodules.