Ion Robotic Bronchoscopy

Significant improvement in lung cancer survival is our north star

In lung cancer, early detection and diagnosis are critical. Yet today, nearly half of all lung cancer cases are diagnosed at a distant stage, when treatment options are limited.¹ Ion delivers an innovative solution for clinicians to get early answers and continue to advance care for lung cancer patients.

We built Ion on the belief that obtaining lung tissue samples for biopsy could be safe and simple, even when lung nodules are small and located in difficult-to-reach locations. Ion’s ultrathin, ultramaneuverable catheter allows clinicians to reach small lesions in all 18 segments of the lung with more reach, precision, and stability.²

More than 100,000 Ion biopsies completed.

Ion enables clinical confidence for early answers by allowing doctors to reach and biopsy lung nodules, even when nodules are small and located in the lung periphery.

Sep 16, 2024 | 00:01:08

More than 100,000 Ion biopsies completed.

Ion enables clinical confidence for early answers by allowing doctors to reach and biopsy lung nodules, even when nodules are small and located in the lung periphery.

Sep 16, 2024 | 00:01:08
The Ion system for minimally invasive lung biopsy

Every design decision, from catheter sizing to use of shape-sensing technology, represents focused effort. Ion enhances reach, precision, and stability relative to manual technologies.

Feb 15, 2019 | 00:02:08
Groundbreaking innovations bring new capabilities

Since releasing Ion in 2019, we’ve listened and learned from physicians who use Ion to continue innovating to transform lung cancer care.

Sep 17, 2024 | 00:05:17
Learn about Ion from a patient’s perspective

With her family history of lung cancer, Joanne knew to pay attention. When a lung cancer screening showed a lung nodule had grown, she took action.

Mar 25, 2026 | 00:02:16

Our mission is to shorten the lung cancer patient pathway

Patients who learn they have a suspicious lung nodule shouldn’t have to wait to find out if they have lung cancer. Instead, they should be able to get definitive answers without delay. Yet today, some patients are told to return months later for a follow-up CT scan to see if the nodule has grown³. Patients may also require multiple biopsies prior to a lung cancer diagnosis, which can add months to a patient’s journey to care⁴ reducing overall survivability and increasing the likelihood of recurrence.⁵

A chief goal in designing Ion was to help shorten the patient journey by making it possible to biopsy small, difficult-to-reach nodules in the peripheral lung, where more than 70% of cancerous lung nodules may be located.⁶ Since Ion’s introduction in 2019, it has been reshaping the lung biopsy landscape by allowing physicians to biopsy these challenging nodules.

Visit our Research and Outcomes page to learn what recent studies say about how Ion is helping physicians get early answers for their patients.

Empowering lung cancer centers through platform innovation

At Intuitive, our ongoing commitment to collaborative innovation focuses on providing lung cancer centers with a platform for the future. In partnership with the care community, we continually advance the value of our Ion system, product portfolio, and services to continually advance lung care.

Ion system in a suite integrated with Cios Spin

Customizable advanced imaging solutions

Ion’s fully integrated cone-beam CT and tomosynthesis solutions expand access to high-quality patient care with real-time imaging to refine navigation and verify tool-in-lesion.⁷ Ion’s open-access platform helps you achieve the best technology solution for your practice.

Shape-sensing technology

Ion is the only bronchoscopy platform using shape sensing to provide precise location, shape, and orientation information throughout navigation and biopsy by measuring the catheter’s shape 100s of times per second.⁸

Explore shape sensing

My Intuitive

Delivering data insights to power improvement, My Intuitive equips you with a succinct digital record of combined system and clinical data⁹ that can be used to draw unique insight about your personal practice.

Learn about My Intuitive

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Stage at Diagnosis and 5-Year Survival Rate data for NSCLC published in State of Lung Cancer 2025. American Lung Association. Published November 2025. https://www.lung.org/research/state-of-lung-cancer, accessed November 17, 2025
Comparison to reach, precision and stability are relative to manual bronchoscope and biopsy techniques. Reach is defined by airway generation access. Precision is the ability to place a biopsy tool in a desired location consistently. Stability is enabled by fiber optic sensing technology which maintains active robotic control of catheter position and corrects unwanted tip deflection. Data on file at Intuitive.
MacMahon H, Naidich DP, Goo JM, et al. Guidelines for Management of Incidental Pulmonary Nodules Detected on CT Images: From the Fleischner Society 2017. Radiology. 2017;284(1):228-243. doi:10.1148/radiol.2017161659
Zhang Y, Simoff MJ, Ost D, et al. Understanding the patient journey to diagnosis of lung cancer. BMC Cancer. 2021;21(1):402. Published 2021 Apr 14. doi:10.1186/s12885-021-08067-1
Heiden BT, Eaton DB, Engelhardt KE, et al. Analysis of Delayed Surgical Treatment and Oncologic Outcomes in Clinical Stage I Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(5):e2111613. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.11613.
Note: This study was conducted using a data set from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system. Results may not be generalizable to other patient populations and/or hospitals.
Horeweg N, van der Aalst CM, Thunnissen E, et al. Characteristics of lung cancers detected by computer tomography screening in the randomized NELSON trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;187(8):848-854. doi:10.1164/rccm.201209-1651OC
In preclinical testing, Ion integration with Cios Spin enables tool-in-lesion accuracy of 100% in an average of 1.41 spins. Does not include confirmatory spin from all cases where catheter adjustment was not required. Preclinical testing completed in live porcine model. Data on file at Intuitive.
Results based on internal testing. Data on file.
The presence of clinical data within My Intuitive is dependent on user entry.

Disclosures and important safety information

Important safety information
As with any bronchoscopic procedure under general anesthesia, serious complications may include bleeding, pneumothorax (collapsed lung), cardiac-related complications, respiratory failure, air embolism, or death. For summary of the risks associated with bronchoscopy refer to www.intuitive.com/safety.

For risks, cautions, and warnings and full prescribing information, refer to the associated Ion System user manual(s) or visit https://manuals.intuitivesurgical.com/market.

Individuals’ outcomes may depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to patient characteristics, disease characteristics, and physician experience.

Ion endoluminal system
The Ion endoluminal system (Model IF1000) assists the user in navigating a catheter and endoscopic tools in the pulmonary tract using endoscopic visualization of the tracheobronchial tree for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The Ion endoluminal system enables fiducial marker placement. It does not make a diagnosis and is not for pediatric use.

Information provided by the Ion endoluminal system or its components should be considered guidance only and not replace clinical decisions made by a trained physician.

The Flexision Biopsy Needle is used with the Ion Endoluminal System to biopsy tissue from a target area in the lung.

The PlanPoint Software uses patient CT scans to create a 3D plan of the lung and navigation pathways for use with the Ion Endoluminal System.