SPOTLIGHT
Northwest Florida doctors are using robots and gaming controllers to improve the early detection of lung cancer.
The device, called the Galaxy Robot System, performs bronchoscopies to enhance the early identification of lung cancer, which is the leading cause of all cancer deaths nationwide.
“Traditionally, with a scope, you would have to drive it with your hand and guide it to the lungs,” says Dr. Luke Yuhico, a pulmonologist at HCA Florida Healthcare in Fort Walton Beach. “Now we use an Xbox controller to do small movements through the lungs to get into parts we could never go before.”
And the Galaxy Robot is efficient, collecting a tissue sample within 45 minutes that is sent to a lab, and the resulting diagnosis can be delivered the same day.
Because lung cancer has some of the lowest rates for survival, early detection is crucial. Studies have shown early detection of lung cancer at stage 1 gives the patient a 65% five-year survival rate. At stage 2, the survival rate is about 40%. Stage 3 drops it down to 15% and stage 4 is only around 5%. “The sooner we find it, the better people have a chance of surviving,” Yuhico says.
“Robotic technology is taking over the world as we all know, but with this robot, we are now able to do things that we never thought we could ever do,” says Yuhico. “It’s really amazing that we’re doing this right now in medicine.”
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
- One of the first new affordable housing complexes geared toward families has opened in Panama City Beach. The Tupelo Park Apartments offers 47 units that will be made affordable for families earning $30,000 to $40,000 per year or $14 to $20 per hour. The apartment complex was developed by the nonprofit Paces Foundation. “Anyone who pays more than one-third of their income for housing is considered rent-burdened, and our goal is to reduce that burden,” says Steven Bauhan, Paces’ chief development officer.
ELECTIONS
- For the third time in a decade, efforts to incorporate the rapidly growing community of Navarre in Santa Rosa County have failed. A recent straw vote held late last year to gauge the interest among Navarre’s 40,000 residents had 60% of voters opposed to incorporation.
HOUSING
- Escambia County’s Development Review Committee has approved six large residential projects that will lay the groundwork for nearly 500 new residences to be located throughout the county.
RETAIL
- Construction is underway on a much-anticipated Costco in the rapidly growing northwest Pensacola area. The 172,580-sq.-ft. building is located on 21 acres of commercial property near the Beulah community and the 360- acre Navy Federal Credit Union campus. Construction is expected to be completed by early 2026.
EDUCATION
- Triumph Gulf Coast is providing $3.3 million in funding to the University of West Florida’s Watercraft and Vessel Engineering project. The WAVE project is a research and development center that will be located at the Port of Pensacola. The project’s goals are to create opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in engineering and technology and attracting industry leaders to Northwest Florida.
TRANSPORTATION/AVIATION
- All four of Northwest Florida’s major airports posted recordbreaking passenger counts for fiscal 2024. Pensacola International Airport had more than 3 million passengers pass through the facility during the 12-month period. Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport counted slightly more than 2 million passengers during the same period. Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport also saw a healthy increase in passenger numbers, which approached nearly 2 million. Tallahassee International Airport reported a 2024 passenger count at slightly over 1 million, also a record.
- Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport has received a $10-million grant to help finance construction of its North Terminal Expansion project. The money comes from the federal government’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Airport Terminal Program. It’s one of 125 airports across the country selected to receive some of the $970 million in grant money. Pensacola International Airport is receiving a $4-million grant through the federal program. “This grant is a significant milestone for Pensacola International Airport as we continue to meet the demands of our growing passenger base,” says Matt Coughlin, the airport’s executive director. “The Terminal Expansion and Modernization Program is a major part of our longterm vision for our airport.”