Abstract
This study identified aspects of bronchoscopic surgery that are the most physically and mentally demanding in order to focus future technological improvements in areas that are likely to result in the greatest gains in procedure success rate. Seventeen bronchoscopic surgeries were observed and the three participating physicians and their assisting respiratory therapists filled out questionnaires to identify areas of particular challenge. The results indicate that the greatest difficulty in performing pre-biopsy navigation is physical demand. Needle and forceps biopsies are the most difficult tasks of the procedure, where brush biopsies are the least difficult, forceps the next, and needle biopsies the most difficult. The greatest demand for all biopsies was mental. Physicians would benefit from technological developments that aided biopsy location and execution.
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