Dr. Sean Stoy, Interventional Pulmonologist and Critical Care Physician at North Memorial Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota was one of the first Body Vision users and now uses it in every navigation bronchoscopy procedure at his practice. Dr. Stoy consciously made the decision to explore Interventional Pulmonology after discovering that, for many patients, a lung cancer diagnosis puts their life on pause and he is passionate about helping patients through that difficult journey by providing them the information needed to make the right decision on their care.

We got a chance to sit down with Dr. Stoy to hear how he’s using Body Vision’s intraoperative imaging system and how its real-time, tool-in-lesion confirmation capabilities and image-guided biopsy approach has positively impacted his practice. 

What first intrigued you about the Body Vision system?

I was first introduced to Body Vision during my residency at the University of Chicago with Dr. D. Kyle Hogarth. What intrigued me the most was the live augmented fluoroscopy technology and the fact that you're seeing both the lesion and the bronchoscopy tools in real-time instead of virtually. The Body Vision system does all of this with my current equipment and existing workflow. I’m able to maximize my diagnostic yield using the same equipment I’ve been using all along. Even today, there is no other system readily available to bronchoscopists that lets you navigate in real-time to an actual lesion location using only your existing C-arm. This is game changing.

Tell me about your experience with Body Vision, to date.

Since I had some prior experience with the system it was less of a steep learning curve when we got it, but like any other technology, there is a learning curve. I have really appreciated the level of support that the Body Vision team has given and continues to give us. They have turned my entire team into superusers which has allowed me to have more of a hands-off approach which for somebody in private practice, has given me the opportunity to step out of the room and meet with other patients on the floor or talk to prior patients and their families. Since bringing Body Vision in I haven’t done a single electromagnetic navigation case. 

There still may be times when you cannot get to the nodule. But with Body Vision’s intraoperative imaging, you can see the real lesion and your tool in real-time so that you have the feedback necessary to make the adjustments you need to maximize your chances for success. With Body Vision, I’m not wasting two hours of my time trying to get to a nodule that is literally impossible to get to. Nobody wants that. Your patient doesn't want that. With Body Vision I can be confident that I’m there every time. That’s all I can ask for.

What would you say is the most important benefit Body Vision offers you right now?

With ENB and other virtual bronchoscopy platforms you are navigating to a virtual target. So even if you successfully navigated to that virtual target, it does not mean that you got to where you wanted to go, which is the lesion. It just means you played a video game and you got to the end. 

Body Vision’s intraoperative 3D imaging and augmented fluoroscopy not only gives you real-time imaging during navigation but also allows you to see the lesion during biopsy. I can verify in real-time that I am in fact there and that my biopsy tools are actually in the lesion prior to taking tissue samples. It’s the same thing as having access to a cone-beam CT but, in some ways, it’s even better as you can integrate the Body Vision system with any existing equipment that you use. You can even integrate it with ENB, if you want to, and you can use it with robotics. It’s truly a standalone system that easily integrates into any current workflow.

How did you justify the purchase of Body Vision to your administration?

I must say, the Body Vision team made it very easy. A capital purchase wasn’t in the cards for us due to budget constraints. I requested that Body Vision provide us an option that wouldn’t require capital and, within a month, we had an agreement signed and were installing the system. It was incredible how flexible the team was in accommodating our needs and coming up with creative ways for us to acquire a system. It was clear that we shared the same long-term vision and I have found them to be a fantastic company to partner with.

What advice do you have for other doctors considering Body Vision?

My advice is to trial it and really see for yourself what the system is capable of in your hands and in your bronch suite. If you're expecting this to be ENB 2.0, don’t. Walk in as if you've never seen this technology before, because you haven't. This is a completely new technology. It's completely different and that’s a good thing.