AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Across its Texas campuses, Ascension Seton performed 6,000 robotic procedures in 2024, which was a 10% increase from 2023. The hospital network reports that this "cutting-edge" technology can be more precise, controlled and lower risk. One robotic surgical system used in Ascensi on Seton acute care hospitals is the Intuitive Ion Robot, used in cancer diagnosis. "We want to be able to diagnose lung cancer very early, and the robot gives us the technology to biopsy very small nodules that we weren't able to do before," said Dr. Stanley Hoy, Pulmonologist with Ascension Seton. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the country, and Hoy said that Texas ranks 48th in the country for lung cancer screenings. He said the robot allows them to diagnose cancer much earlier than previously. "It allows us to do multiple nodules, potentially in different lobes and different sizes. It decreases the chance of lung collapse and complications with procedures that other techniques have," he continued. The device is only approved currently for diagnostic uses. Hoy said there are clinical trials underway that could pave the way for its use in a therapeutic setting. "This technology is very new. I would say it's been out for around four years now," he said. ...read more read less