Robotic Versus Electromagnetic Bronchoscopy for Pulmonary LesIon AssessmeNT Using Integrated Intraprocedural Imaging (RELIANT 2)

October 14, 2025 updated by: Rafael Paez, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Robotic Versus Electromagnetic Bronchoscopy for Pulmonary LesIon AssessmeNT Using Integrated Intraprocedural Imaging: the RELIANT 2 Trial

RELIANT 2 is a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. The goal of this study is to compare the diagnostic yield of robotic assisted bronchoscopy with integrated cone beam computed tomography to that of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy with integrated digital tomosynthesis in patients undergoing bronchoscopy to biopsy a pulmonary lesion.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Pulmonary nodules are an incredibly common finding, with millions incidentally detected in the US every year. Biopsy is often needed for diagnosis. There are several technologies currently available to biopsy these lesions, including electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (ENB) and robotic assisted bronchoscopy (RAB). The latter is used clinically with either conventional fluoroscopy or with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) guidance, which provides real time 3-dimensional images during the procedure. Recently, CBCT has been integrated with RAB, which allows for automatic update of the lesion location. This update is believed to increase the diagnostic yield of the procedure. Given this new upgrade, we designed this pragmatic, randomized controlled study to test the hypothesis that the diagnostic yield of RAB with integrated CBCT is superior to ENB with integrated digital tomosynthesis in patients undergoing bronchoscopic biopsy of a peripheral pulmonary lesion. Patients undergoing advanced diagnostic bronchoscopy to biopsy a lung lesion will be assigned to either the RAB or ENB based on cluster randomization. Randomization will be revealed each morning before procedures are started. Any advanced diagnostic bronchoscopy scheduled on that day will be performed with the device (RAB or ENB) allocated to that room on that day. All decisions regarding procedure tools, techniques, and patient management will be per usual care and at the discretion of the treating physician.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
440

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612
        • Rush University Medical Center
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287
        • Johns Hopkins University
    • Tennessee
      • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
        • Vanderbilt University Medical Center
      • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37212
        • Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • ≥ 18 years of age at time of bronchoscopy
  • Scheduled for navigational bronchoscopy for the evaluation of a pulmonary lesion

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patient declines to participate
  • Patients enrolled in another trial which requires the use of one specific navigational platform

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Robotic assisted bronchoscopy (RAB)
Robotic assisted bronchoscopy with integrated cone beam computed tomography
Device: Robotic assisted bronchoscopy (RAB)
Participants allocated to the robotic assisted bronchoscopy arm will undergo robotic assisted bronchoscopy with integrated cone beam computed tomography
Active Comparator: Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB)
Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) with integrated digital tomosynthesis
Device: Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB)
Participants allocated to the electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy arm will undergo electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy with integrated digital tomosynthesis

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The primary endpoint is the diagnostic yield, defined as the proportion of procedures that result in acquisition of lesional tissue.
Time Frame: 7 days post-procedure

Lesional tissue is defined by the presence of specific pathological findings that readily explain the presence of a pulmonary lesion. The following common pathological findings are pre-specified:

  • Malignancy

  • Specific benign pathologic findings including:

    • Organizing pneumonia
    • Frank purulence/robust neutrophilic inflammation
    • Granulomatous inflammation
    • Other specific benign findings such as hamartoma, amyloidoma or other uncommon causes of peripheral pulmonary lesions with distinctive pathological patterns as adjudicated by an expert lung pathologist.
7 days post-procedure

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Duration of bronchoscopy (in minutes)
Time Frame: Duration of procedure, approximately 60 minutes
Defined as time from the start of airway registration to the removal of the bronchoscope after completion of navigation procedures
Duration of procedure, approximately 60 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Rafael Paez, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 11, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 14, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 14, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 21, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 21, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 23, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 20, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 14, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 241103

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data that underlie the results reported will be made available after de-identification.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

The data will become available 3 months following publication of outcomes and will remain available for at least 3 years.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data will be made available to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal that has been approved by the Vanderbilt Institutional Review Board and the study executive committee.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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