News

As annoying — and agonizing — as it can be, pain is a common and important signal from your body. It’s a sign that something needs attention, and, once you’ve given it that attention and the pain lessens, its absence is an indication that you’re healing.

Every day for the next five years, 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65, and by 2030, 18 percent of the U.S. population will be age 65 or older according to the Pew Research Center. While old age certainly doesn’t begin at 65, it’s not unreasonable to think as we age, we may need help from loved ones. Millions of Americans already act as caregivers each year.

In a surgical suite at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a robotic arm snakes an ultra-thin, ultra-flexible tube through a patient’s airway. Once the tube reaches the lungs, the surgeon operating the device remotely uses a tiny camera to search the area for an abnormal growth, or nodule, that might be cancerous. Once located, a needle pierces the nodule for biopsy.