Clinical highlights

Clinical milestones

Total-body PET captures immune response to COVID-19 infection

UC Davis scientists used dynamic total-body PET to provide the first imaging of the human body’s immune response to COVID-19 infection in recovering patients. Researchers used the uEXPLORER total-body PET scanner, developed at UC Davis in collaboration with United Imaging Healthcare. Their work, published in Science Advances last fall, could lead to better understanding of how the immune system responds to viral infections and develops long-term protection against re-infection. The study showed the potential of total-body PET to assess T-cell distributions across the entire body, with image quality for detailed modeling and radiation low enough to allow broad application for human study, researchers said.

Pioneering Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program celebrates 30 years

For three decades, the UC Davis Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program has been raising awareness about the leading killer of women: heart disease. Established in 1994, the program was the first of its kind in the nation dedicated to female-focused heart disease care, research, education and community outreach.

The program offers personalized, integrated and women-centered care ranging from prevention to advanced treatments. It provides health equity-focused and guidelines-directed care in a specialty clinic for cardiac conditions that are unique to women or more often occur in women.

Founder Amparo C. Villablanca, M.D., has led the program since its inception, along the way striving to enhance awareness of women’s heart health among patients, providers and policymakers. Some of the program’s achievements include recognition for distinction by California Gov. Pete Wilson; designation as a model women’s heart program by the Department of Health and Human Services; establishing the Women’s Center for Health at UC Davis and its leadership and fellowship training program; a collaboration with the California Department of Public Health to draft California’s Master Plan for Stroke Prevention; and founding the Center for Women’s Cardiovascular and Brain Health.

The nationally recognized program celebrated a special 30th anniversary gala held on National Wear Red Day®. Guests were invited to write a personal heart pledge and pin it to a red dress (see photo). Aaron Jones, an aide to Rep. Doris Matsui, read a proclamation at the event that the congresswoman presented on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, honoring the program for national leadership.

Huntington’s Disease Clinic transitions after 25 years of care and research

One afternoon in 1997, neurologist Vicki Wheelock received an invitation from Judy Roberson to chat about what UC Davis Health could do to advance research and care for patients with Huntington’s disease (HD). Roberson is president of the Joseph P. Roberson Foundation, which was started by her brother-in-law, Joe, after his HD diagnosis. At the time, there was no clinic in Northern California that specialized in Huntington’s.

That year, thanks to ongoing support from the foundation, the UC Davis Huntington’s Disease Clinic launched, co-directed by Wheelock and nurse practitioner Terry Tempkin. The UC Davis Huntington’s Disease Clinic began with eight patients and is now one of the largest in the country. It receives support from the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) as a Center of Excellence for clinical expertise, and is the first and only Level 1 HDSA Center for Excellence for Huntington’s in Northern California.

The Joseph P. Roberson Foundation has continued to help fund the center over the past 25 years, and recently reached a major milestone: $1 million in donations. Funding also comes from the Charles and Margaret Pue Foundation, the HDSA, and others.

Wheelock rose to prominence as a national and international leader in the field. Over the last few years she and other UC Davis researchers have published studies aimed at finding treatments through gene modification and stem cells.

Wheelock retired last summer, transitioning center leadership to movement disorders specialist Alexandra (Sasha) Duffy, but can often be seen at local HD community events.

A Becker’s ‘great psychiatry and mental health program’

UC Davis Health was one of 36 hospitals and health systems in the U.S. honored by Becker’s Hospital Review in its January list of “hospitals and health systems with great psychiatry and mental health programs.” The publication highlighted the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences as “diverse, profitable, and a trailblazer within the field.” The honor comes at a momentous time for the department, which recently opened its new Advanced Psychiatric Therapeutics Clinic.

A Becker’s ‘great diabetes and endocrinology program’

UC Davis Health was also one of 36 U.S. hospitals and health systems honored by Becker’s in its first “hospitals and health systems with great diabetes and endocrinology programs” in February. UC Davis Health was the only organization in Northern California on the list, and one of three in California. The division has a new endocrine XY clinic for children and a new endocrine cardiometabolic clinic, and is home to a dedicated transplant endocrinology clinic and a specialized inpatient diabetes program.

A Becker’s ‘great oncology program’

UC Davis Health was also listed by Becker’s as one of the nation’s top “100 hospitals and health systems with great oncology programs” last fall. UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center serving patients in the Central Valley and inland California, a region of over 6 million ethnically diverse people. UC Davis Health also appeared on Becker’s lists of 70 hospitals and health systems with spine and neuroscience programs to know last fall, and 100 hospitals and health systems with great heart programs last summer.

Comprehensive Breast Imaging Center accreditation

The American College of Radiology (ACR) has recognized UC Davis Medical Center as a Comprehensive Breast Imaging Center. The new designation acknowledges facilities that achieve excellence by participating in rigorous quality assurance programs, and are fully accredited by ACR in mammography, breast MRI, stereotactic breast biopsy and breast ultrasound. ACR evaluation took place at the main breast radiology location at the Lawrence J. Ellison Ambulatory Care Center in Sacramento.

Clinical programs

Liver transplant program certified, expands access

The UC Davis Transplant Center has been certified as a liver transplant program by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and UC Davis Health can now accept potential liver transplant patients insured by Medicare or Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California). The designation greatly expands access to life-saving liver transplants for patients throughout Northern California. To gain certification, transplant programs must meet stringent quality-of-care requirements stipulated by CMS, and perform a minimum of 10 liver transplants in the first 12 months of operation. While the liver transplant program is less than a year old, the UC Davis Transplant Center has been a leader in organ transplantation since its inception in 1985.

All-in-one multidisciplinary Parkinson’s clinic

UC Davis Health has launched the region’s first Parkinson’s Disease Multidisciplinary Clinic. Located in Midtown Sacramento, the clinic is part of the UC Davis Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration, which was recognized last year as the region’s first Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence for expertise in clinical care. Living with Parkinson’s disease requires significant coordination of care, and the new clinic simplifies care by bringing experts from many specialties to one location, allowing patients to see many specialists during one visit from areas such as nutrition, speech therapy and neuropharmacology.

New level 4 epilepsy unit targets uncontrolled seizures

The UC Davis Comprehensive Epilepsy Program has opened a new 11-bed epilepsy monitoring unit that specializes in diagnosing and guiding treatment for people whose seizures aren’t controlled by medication. The unit is the largest in inland Northern California accredited by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers as level 4, a highest-level designation only given to facilities with the most sophisticated intensive neurodiagnostic monitoring technology and the full array of treatments for epilepsy and other seizure disorders. Alongside the new expanded adult unit are four beds dedicated to monitoring in children.

New program to increase lung cancer screening

Although lung cancer is the No. 1 cause of cancer death for both men and women, only about 1% of those eligible in California are checked. A new Lung Cancer, Lung Nodule Early Detection (Lung-LEAD) Clinic, part of a new lung cancer integrated service line at UC Davis Health, provides dedicated “lung care navigators” to increase screening. Navigators proactively engage with eligible patients to conduct virtual screenings, then schedule eligible patients with an advanced practice provider to encourage low-dose CT. Patients whose screening reveals a lung nodule are quickly scheduled with UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center specialists for further testing. Info for self-referring patients and referring providers: 916-703-7050.

Stockton prenatal clinic opens new location

A new Stockton clinic location for patients with high-risk pregnancies has opened housing the UC Davis Health Prenatal Diagnosis of Northern California and the UC Davis Fetal Cardiology Clinic. Both clinics are linked to the UC Davis Fetal Care and Treatment Center, the first comprehensive multidisciplinary fetal diagnosis and therapy center in inland Northern California. The new prenatal clinic provides comprehensive counseling, genetic screening and diagnostic testing for fetal anomalies, with multiple dedicated ultrasound machines, and has tripled patient capacity compared to the former location.

New at-home care program for post-angioplasty care

UC Davis Health has launched a novel digital care program for patients who have undergone a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), previously known as angioplasty with stent. The remote program, supported by the American College of Cardiology and Rosenfeld Foundation, aims to reduce post-procedure admissions. Patients are provided a scale, blood pressure kit, and 4g hub that transmits data directly to a dashboard accessed by UC Davis Health clinicians, who perform daily monitoring and can provide care when there are changes in vitals.

Clinical technology

Augmented reality glasses in the operating room

Safdar Khan, M.D., vice chair of surgical innovation in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, is one of the first surgeons in the country to use augmented reality (AR) glasses. The tool essentially allows him to see beneath the skin without an incision, gaining high quality two-dimensional and three-dimensional views of the spine. The technique enables enhanced accuracy and precision, smaller incisions, meticulous planning, and more efficient and shorter operations, and has proven especially helpful when implanting devices or screws. Khan plans to build an AR program at UC Davis to explore the technology’s potential to help across a wide range of spinal issues.

Novel tricuspid repair with newly approved device

UC Davis Health cardiology team members are among the first in the country to treat patients with tricuspid regurgitation by using a groundbreaking catheter. The minimally invasive procedure, a transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER), is made possible with a new medical device called the Abbott TriClip™ system. UC Davis Medical Center is one of the first sites nationwide to have commercial access to TriClip, and the first hospital in the western U.S. to utilize the system since FDA approval this spring. The new system is designed specifically for the tricuspid valve’s position, location and shape, and was tested for safety and efficacy as part of the national TRILUMINATE Pivotal trial that included UC Davis Health.

World’s first endoscopic, ultrasound-guided biopsy with new needle

UC Davis Health performed the world’s first endoscopic, ultrasound-guided core biopsy of a pancreatic tumor, efficiently collecting a larger than normal core of tissue to allow for improved diagnostics. Antonio Mendoza-Ladd, M.D., medical director of gastrointestinal endoscopy, used an EndoDrill® GI to biopsy a gastrointestinal stromal tumor and two pancreatic tumors. Developed by BibbInstruments AB, it offers much better access to deep tissues in upper GI tract, where cancer can often go undetected. Together, these three cases were the first performed in the U.S. and the pancreatic tumor biopsies were the first cases in the world done with the novel instrument.

New implant helps repair knee cartilage

UC Davis Health orthopaedic surgeon Cassandra Lee, M.D., is among the first in the U.S. to implant a new product that can help preserve knee cartilage. Lee, chief of the Division of Sports Medicine, recently used CartiHeal™ Agili-C™ Cartilage Repair Implant to help ease a patient’s knee pain after an injury. The absorbable, porous implants are made from a form of calcium carbonate; stem cells and healing factors from surrounding tissue and marrow migrate to the implant, allowing the damaged area to fill with new bone and cartilage.

First in region with prostate cancer therapy

UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center is now offering high-intensity focused ultrasound or (HIFU), a leading-edge, non-invasive prostate cancer procedure without a blade, incision, scar or radiation. The idea is to avoid risks and side effects of radical prostatectomy while reducing recovery time. An estimated 80% of early-stage prostate cancer patients who undergo HIFU will not need additional treatment. The robotic platform, developed by Focal One, ablates prostate tissue by focusing high-intensity ultrasound only on the affected area, destroying gland cells without damaging healthy surrounding tissue. The outpatient procedure takes less than two hours and patients can return to work and normal activities within a week.