Diagnose lung cancer earlier by reliably reaching and sampling small nodules in the outer lung, where most suspicious spots sit and manual scopes struggle.
DeployStage 4 of 5
16,000+ US procedures; Galaxy II software launched Aug 2026; first commercial case in Asia Sep 2026.
Updated 12d ago·Checked 11 Oct·0 updates this week
Milestones
No announced next step
FDA clearanceMar 2023Complete.
First US clinical use (UChicago Medicine)May 2023Complete.
First clinical use in Asia (Hong Kong)Dec 2023Complete.
5,000 proceduresMar 2025Complete.
Galaxy II software launched11 Aug 2026Complete.
First commercial procedure in Asia (Hong Kong)Sep 2026Complete.
Quality-system fixes after the FDA warning letterThe April 2025 letter cited late injury reports and weak complaint and design checks; earlier recalls covered a controller and power supplies.
Competing with a larger installed baseIntuitive's Ion and J&J's Monarch got to hospitals first; switching needs proof of better yield or lower cost per case.
Physics limits
The lung moves and deflatesBreathing, anaesthesia and partial collapse shift nodules from where the pre-op CT showed them, so any map-based navigation needs live imaging to confirm.
Airways narrow toward the edgeAirways branch and shrink toward the lung's outer edge, so a scope carrying a camera and tool channel cannot follow them all the way; the last stretch is reached by needle.
Seeing in 3D costs radiationTelling a needle from a nodule needs 3D X-ray imaging. Fewer angles mean less dose but blurrier depth, a trade-off set by tomography physics.
How it works
4 parts
Plan
A route from the CT scan
Software maps the airways from the patient's CT and plans a path; a magnetic sensor at the scope tip shows where it is on that map.
Drive
Robot steers a disposable scope
The doctor uses a controller; the robot bends the four-way scope tip and holds it steady while its camera stays on throughout.
Confirm
Tomosynthesis check
A partial X-ray sweep builds a 3D slice showing if the needle is in the nodule. Galaxy II can switch to full cone-beam CT when needed.
Correct
Fix the map drift
Lungs on the table differ from the CT; the live image updates the target and is drawn over live X-ray, so the tool is re-aimed first.
Noah Medical builds Galaxy, a robot that steers a thin, single-use camera tube deep into the lungs so doctors can biopsy small nodules that may be cancer. Founded in 2018 and based in San Jose, California.
Galaxy passed 16,000 US procedures by September 2026, up from 5,000 in March 2025.
Galaxy II software (Aug 2026) adds dual-mode imaging: low-dose tomosynthesis or full cone-beam CT.
First commercial case in Asia came in Hong Kong in Sep 2026. An FDA warning letter (Apr 2025) flagged quality lapses.
