UC Davis Health Opens New Endoscopy Room

A new outpatient endoscopy room is now open at UC Davis Health as part of an ongoing effort to improve patient care and technology that delivers superior results and experiences.

The University Tower Endoscopy Room opened in July 2022 on the second floor of the UC Davis Medical Center. Staffed by a team of nurses and patient care technicians, the suite serves patients from gastroenterology, interventional pulmonology, and colorectal surgery.

“This new facility is a step forward in the care we provide at UC Davis Health, with a larger area to accommodate the growing volume of endoscopic procedures,” said John Ortiz, University Tower Endoscopy Nurse Manager. “Modern equipment and thoughtful layouts offer our doctors, nurses and technicians the ideal setting to deliver the highest quality, most compassionate, patient-centered care.”

Endoscopy refers to minimally invasive procedures that use various types of flexible instruments known as “scopes,” which can include surgical instruments as well as tiny cameras for advanced training.

The new facility provides physicians with a dedicated endoscopy room in the Perioperative Services Department. It has eight treatment rooms. This includes HVAC air-isolated rooms, advanced intervention technology rooms, a recovery unit and a state-of-the-art flexible endoscope reprocessing room.

The team provides advanced care in gastroenterology and interventional pulmonology, including both complex and routine procedures, including:

• Colonoscopy
• Endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the esophagus, stomach and small intestine
• Methods for diagnosing diseases of the gallbladder, biliary system, pancreas and liver
• Minimally Invasive Pulmonary Bronchoscopy Procedures for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung and Airway Diseases

Technologies and new procedures

The Endoscopy Kit is equipped with the latest technology to assist in endoscopic procedures. This includes imaging-assisted interventional gastroenterology procedures with advanced integrated fluoroscopy suites, a 3D mobile C-arm system, and minimally invasive lung biopsy using Intuitive’s Ion Endoluminal robotic platform.

3D mobile C-arm systems are used for diagnostic imaging and minimally invasive procedures. The 3D mobile C-arm gives clinicians improved visualization of anatomy, less invasive approaches and reduced hospital stays.

The Ion Endoluminal Platform from Intuitive is a high-tech system that creates a 3D map of a patient’s lungs using computed tomography. One procedure that uses the ion endoluminal platform is robotic bronchoscopy. Interventional Pulmonology recently celebrated the completion of its 100th robotic bronchoscopy procedure in the endoscopy department.

“The advanced technology we have allows us to treat some of the most ill and challenging patients in our community,” Ortiz explained. “Many of our patients require more complex procedures than other healthcare providers in the community can typically provide.”

Endoscope cleaning

The new office is equipped with the most advanced automated cleaning and storage system for flexible endoscopes in the Sacramento region. This endoscope reprocessing room uses technology to help reduce human error and cross-contamination, and to make ready-to-use endoscopes safe and affordable for every patient.

In the endoscope reprocessing room, highly trained and certified technologists manually clean and inspect endoscopes for holes and damage. The endoscopes are then placed in a modern automatic washer for sterilization. Finally, endoscopes are placed in automatic storage drying cabinets that control conditions to ensure they remain safe for use by patients.

“Our endoscope reprocessing system meets the highest industry standards to ensure that patients have thoroughly sanitized and safe endoscopes for their procedures,” added Ortiz. “This is just another way to ensure safety and improve the quality of care for our patients during procedures.”