Advanced Diagnostics Aid Lung Treatments Both benign and cancerous conditions can be examined with image-guided biopsies By John Berggren W hen an imaging study shows a suspicious mass in the lungs or questionable lymph nodes in the chest, doctors need a definitive diagnosis to tell patients how to proceed with treatments if they are needed. In many cases, doctors are turning to new technology available at Salina Regional Health Center called endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS). Pulmonologist Kent Berquist, M.D., uses the technology to take image-guided biopsies within the lungs and from lymph nodes in nearby areas throughout the chest. The procedure is minimally invasive, and patients typically go home after they wake up from a sedative. 10 srhc.com Bronchoscopy has been used for decades to collect tissue and mucus Kent Berquist, M.D. samples from within the airway. A long, thin scope is passed through the nose or mouth and moved through the throat and windpipe to view the airways within the lung. Bronchoscopy works well to investigate the throat and larger passageways within the lungs, but it is often limited in allowing specimen collection from deeper areas in the lungs or from nearby surrounding lymph nodes in the chest. "You're really limited to what you can see with the camera on the bronchoscope," Berquist says.http://www.srhc.com