• Patient Care
• Education
• Research
• Community
• Referring Physicians
• Find a Physician
• Departments & Centers
• About Us

• Libraries
• Alumni
• Giving
• Home

URMC » Referring Physicians

Email this page

• Working With Us
  • Make Referrals, Consultations or Appointments
  • Hospital-to-Hospital Transport & Transfer Services
  • Clinical Laboratory Services
  • Information for Your Patients
  • Resources
• About Us
  • Innovative Technology
  • Newsletters & Magazines
• Professional Development
  • Continuing Professional Education
  • Web Rounds

Innovative Technology at URMC

The following are diagnostic and treatment procedures and technologies that are not widely available in the region, but are available through the University of Rochester Medical Center. Contact our MD Access Call Center for referral information.

• Imaging Technologies
• Treatment Technologies

Imaging Technologies

• The region's first 3-Tesla MRI machine. With a magnet strength of 3 Tesla, or 3T, the new MRI is the most powerful scanner available to patients today in routine clinical use.
• MRI GE 1.5T Scanner. Features faster scan times, and expands imaging capabilities in neurology, cardiovascular and orthopedic applications. More information (see the article "New MRI Center Opens at Strong").
• PET/CT Scanner. Merges images from both technologies into one scan, significantly improving physicians' ability to accurately diagnose and guide treatment plans for cancer, cardiac and, more recently, Alzheimer's patients. More information.
• SenoScan Digital Mammography. Provides sharper images and faster results than conventional film scans. More information.
• Virtual Colonoscopy. Advanced visualization techniques are used to create a virtual image and exploration of the colon. This procedure offers several advantages over conventional colonoscopy. It is non-invasive, takes less time, and does not require sedation.
• Given Diagnostic Imaging System. A tiny camera inside a pill is used to image the small intestine, snapping pictures at a rate of two per second. More information.
• 3-D Cystoscope. Offers clearer, sharper digital images, making it easier to identify bladder lesions. More information (see Urology article).

Treatment Technologies

• Prostate Implant Planning Engine for Radiotherapy (PIPER). Uses sophisticated algorithms to help system clinicians more precisely determine how many radioactive seeds are necessary and exactly where to place them within the prostate to destroy cancer cells. More information.
• Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy. Involves implanting devices in the brain that deliver carefully controlled pulses of electrical stimulation to relieve the debilitating slowness, stiffness, and tremors that characterize Parkinson's. More information.
• daVinci Surgical System Robotic Technology. Used laparoscopically to assist urologists, cardio-thoracic and general surgeons in the operating room. The device replicates a surgeon's motions with pinpoint precision. More information.
• Soft Artificial Cornea. A nickel-sized, flexible, one-piece implant provides an alternative for those at high risk of rejecting a human cornea or for whom human transplants have failed. More information.
• Endovascular Coil Embolization. An aneurysm treatment. A detachable platinum coil is placed inside the aneurysm to close off blood flow, preventing its rupture or reducing mass effect. More information.
• Left Ventricular Assist Devices. Can be implanted as a bridge to transplant or as permanent therapy for heart failure patients who do not qualify for transplantation. Strong Memorial is among the first in the nation to receive approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implant the devices. More information.
• Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty. A relatively simple outpatient or one over night stay procedure that offers pain relief in a significant portion of patients with painful spinal compression fractures. X-ray cameras guide a needle into the injured vertebra. A cement-like mixture is injected and hardens in less then one hour, sealing and stabilizing fractures and preventing further compression. Kyphoplasty entails the use of a balloon to expand the compressed vertebral body before cement is injected. More information.
• Merci® Retrieval System. A mechanical device used to remove acute blood clots in the brain. It can also be used to retrieve foreign bodies in the peripheral, coronary, and neuro vasculature. More information.
• Conductive Keratoplasty. An alternative to laser surgery for individuals who are farsighted, this new procedure uses radiofrequency energy to reshape the corneal tissue and adjust its refractive characteristics. More information.
• Off-Pump, Open-Heart Surgery. A device stabilizes the heart during surgery but permits the organ to beat naturally, avoiding the need for a patient to be sustained on a heart-lung machine during surgery. Patients generally require fewer blood transfusions, less ventilation after surgery, and less recovery time. More information.
• Microwave Treatment for Benign Enlarged Prostates. A microwave antenna inside a flexible catheter delivers precisely targeted microwave energy, creating high temperatures in the prostate that destroy diseased prostate tissue. This minimally invasive technique eliminates the need for anesthesia and hospitalization. More information.
• Extracorporeal Photopheresis. An innovative method of treating patients whose bodies are rejecting transplanted stem cells. The patient's own lymphocytes are removed, treated with a photosensitizer, then exposed to ultraviolet light before being returned to the patient. More information.
• Novalis® Shaped-Beam Radiosurgery. The most advanced approach to stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy available today. Novalis continuously shapes the treatment beam to match the size and shape of a tumor from all angles, ensuring that the tumor receives the full prescription dose of radiation, while protecting healthy tissue. More information.
• Novoste Intravascular Radiation Therapy. For cardiac patients, a catheter beta-radiation source is used to prevent aberrant tissue growth and vessel occlusion after balloon angioplasty or other vascular procedures.
• Uterine Fibroid Embolization. Cuts off the blood supply to fibroids to inhibit their growth and decrease problematic symptoms. More information.
• Medtronic CareLink Network. For patients with a Medtronic defibrillator: When the defibrillator is activated, diagnostic data is captured, then sent through a phone line to a database where the cardiologist can access it via a secure Internet site. More information.
• VNUS Closure. A new procedure to treat varicose veins, this technology uses a catheter and radiofrequency energy to collapse veins and seal them shut. It results in fewer complications, minimal to no scarring, as well as faster recovery time compared with the traditional vein-stripping technique. More information.