PACEMAKER: Centennial 1998

1998 and Beyond

A new partnership with General Electric will enable the UIHC to install one of the nation’s first cardiac MR scanners, an impressive new imaging technology that could dramatically improve diagnosis of heart disease and revolutionize cardiology. (319) 356-3372

Endoscopic ultrasonography for diagnostic and therapeutic treatment of problems of the biliary tract and pancreas is now available through the UIHC hepatobiliary service. (319) 356-4030

UI HealthWorks, an affiliate of the UI Health System, collaborates with community health professionals to provide comprehensive occupational medicine services to area employers. 1-800-327-5605.

Urologists, family practitioners, internal medicine specialists, and obstetrician-gynecologists will collaborate to focus on urinary incontinence and voiding dysfunction in the elderly. (319) 356-0748

A new dialysis outreach unit will open in North Liberty in 1998 as part of a coordinated effort with community leaders to provide dialysis services in settings that are convenient and accessible to patients. (319) 356-3047

Breast cancer investigators are beginning a study of high dose chemotherapy followed by allogeneic (unrelated) stem cell transplantation in women with stage IV breast cancer. (319) 353-6798

Patients may receive CT-guided wire localization, a new procedure for evaluating lung nodules that significantly decreases pain and reduces hospitalization time. (319) 356-3378

Patients with Parkinson’s Disease and essential tremor will be eligible to receive treatment with an implantable deep brain electrical stimulation system, recently approved by the FDA. (319) 356-8958

Digital chest images will be obtained from a new, automated, dedicated chest unit managed by general diagnostic radiologists, starting early in 1998. (319) 356-3378

Patients with recurrent squamous cell cancer of the head and neck not curable with standard therapy may qualify for treatment under phase II of a gene therapy trial. (319) 356-1228

Patients who are not candidates for cardiac transplantation may receive life-sustaining circulatory support via artificial hearts on a trial basis. These compact, portable devices allow selected patients to return home after placement. (319) 356-4087

The Holmium laser has recently been introduced as an effective therapy for treating patients with kidney stones. The Holmium laser can break any stone, no matter how hard or difficult it might be with other methods. (319) 356-0742

Beginning in early 1998, patients with psychiatric disorders will have the opportunity to benefit from collaborative psychiatric rehabilitative services involving UIHC staff, UI psychiatry faculty, and the Mid-Eastern Iowa Community Mental Health Center. (319) 338-3813

Mental health and chemical dependency assistance services are now available 24 hours a day to employers through a team of mental health specialists from UIHC, the UI Department of Psychiatry and community providers. (319) 356-2431

Patients may now quality for coronary artery radiotherapy, in which localized moderate radiation doses are delivered to coronary arteries as part of balloon angioplasty procedures. Preliminary results suggest the procedure might prevent coronary artery tissue re-growth after angioplasty. (319) 356-3413

The Lone Tree Family Practice Clinic plans to offer counseling services through the Department of Family Medicine’s Stress Clinic one half day per month. (319) 629-4214

The UIHC Medical Museum recently opened its eleventh exhibition, A Century of Caring: The Health Sciences at the University of Iowa, 1850 to 1950. It focuses on the histories of UIHC and the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Nursing. (319) 356-7106.

Under the Senior Health Insurance Information Program, trained volunteers now answer questions from patients and families regarding Medicare benefits, filing claims, and Medicare supplemental insurance plans. (319) 356-3416

Patients with localized prostate cancer may benefit from a collaborative, multidisciplinary service involving the implantation of radioactive Palladium seeds into the prostate under highly accurate transrectal ultrasound guidance. (319) 384-9620

Three new clinical studies are planned for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: TAK 603 or matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor for patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis, or cycle-oxygenase 2 for patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (319) 353-7087

Infertile couples will benefit from several new methods of obtaining/maintaining sperm. These include sperm aspiration with cryopreservation at the time of vasectomy reversal, in-office vibratory stimulation for men with ejaculatory failure (spinal cord injury), and basic science research for couples with failed in vitro fertilization. (319) 356-0742

CT data can be continuously acquired and reconstructed for visual display in real-time via a recently developed CT technology called Surestart. Surestart applications being investigated at UIHC include percutaneous procedures with real-time CT guidance and visualization of the flow of IV-administered contrast material in real-time. (319) 356-3378

Beginning in mid 1998, the IMPACT program-an intensive psychiatric outreach service for people with chronic mental illness-will offer in-home/clinic interactive teleconferencing. (319) 353-6151

University Hospital School’s telemedicine services for people with disabilities, now serving Ottumwa, will serve new Iowa communities during 1998. (319) 356-7447

UI neurologists will offer new clinics for the diagnosis and treatment of motor uncoordination, multiple sclerosis, and neuromuscular disorders (319) 356-2571