Pulmonary nodules, particularly small and non-palpable nodules, present challenges for accurate localization during sublobar lung resection. This multicenter observational cohort study evaluated the feasibility, accuracy, and safety of CT-Free electromagnetic navigation percutaneous localization for pulmonary nodules requiring sublobar resection.

Patients who underwent CT-Free electromagnetic navigation localization were compared with patients who received conventional CT-guided localization. The primary outcome was localization success rate, defined as the distance between the localization marker and the pulmonary nodule center being within 10 mm.

Secondary outcomes included localization procedure time, conversion rate to other localization methods, surgical success rate, perioperative complications, postoperative hospitalization duration, and medical resource utilization.