(Sharecast News) - Creo Medical Group announced a significant milestone in the field of minimally-invasive surgical endoscopy for cancer patients on Friday, with its 'MicroBlate Flex' device.
The AIM-traded company announced that professor Pallav Shah and Dr Christopher Orton, specialists from the Royal Brompton Hospital, had successfully conducted the world's first robotic-guided microwave ablation of lung tissue concurrently with a diagnostic procedure.
It said the pioneering procedure, using its MicroBlate Flex device, targeted a 27mm cancerous nodule within a patient's lung.
The achievement was considered a notable advancement in the medical community's ability to diagnose, stage, and treat lung cancer in a single sitting.
In a statement, Dr Orton emphasised the potential of the innovative approach, saying the "potential to combine the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of lung cancer in one procedure offers significant benefit to patients".
Creo said the procedure, conducted at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, reportedly lasted just three minutes.
"Creo has been pioneering minimally invasive surgical endoscopy for pre-cancer and cancer patients for years, and implementing our technology into robotic application is a key goal for us as the adoption of this technology continues to grow exponentially," said chief executive officer Craig Gulliford.
"We are incredibly proud that our MicroBlate Flex technology has been able to make this world-first possible.
"The potential for these technologies to combine precise robotically guided lung cancer diagnosis with the ablation of cancerous tissue in one session is transformational."
Gulliford said that could "dramatically improve" outcomes for lung cancer patients, and had the potential to remove "long and worrying" delays between diagnosis and treatment.
"This is the beginning of an exciting programme and the team have done a terrific job in reaching this point."
At 1411 GMT, shares in Creo Medical Group were up 0.84% at 30p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Creo Medical (CREO)