UCLA Health
UCLA Health System is comprised of four hospitals on two campuses, plus a wide-reaching system of more than 200 primary-care and specialty-care offices throughout the Southern California region. In 2021-2022, UCLA Health was ranked #1 in California, and #3 nationally in an annual evaluation published by U.S. News & World Report.
About UCLA Health:
UCLA Health System is comprised of four hospitals on two campuses, plus a wide-reaching system of more than 200 primary-care and specialty-care offices throughout the Southern California region. In 2021-2022, UCLA Health was ranked #1 in California, and #3 nationally in an annual evaluation published by U.S. News & World Report. (https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals), (https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/ca).
As the Director of Ultrasound Services, Jyotsna Vitale oversees all 24 locations that utilize ultrasound for procedures, including radiology, outpatient imaging, interventional radiology, OBGYN and urology departments. Jyotsna was the driving force behind UCLA’s early adoption of trophon® technology in 2012 – a move that was first motivated by UCLA’s initiative towards green and sustainable practices.
Environmental Benefits
“Prior to trophon devices, we were using CIDEX OPA to reprocess our ultrasound probes. In an effort to move away from these chemicals, I submitted a proposal to implement trophon devices for HLD of our probes.” Each trophon device may prevent the disposal of thousands of gallons of water and chemicals each year, so the environmental benefit of using trophon devices aligns closely with UCLA’s commitment to sustainability. “I had done some research on the technology and seen the devices demonstrated at conferences. I knew there would be an initial hesitancy to the upfront investment, but one of our radiology physicians was a supporter of the idea, and they helped me push the proposal through to the decision-makers. At the time, we were a smaller facility so we began by installing seven units.”Jyotsna VitaleDirector of Ultrasound & Breast Imaging
Patient Safety and Workflow Efficiency
The UCLA Health System has grown tremendously in the past decade. It now utilizes more than 60 trophon units, and according to Jyotsna, performs “450-500 ultrasound procedures system-wide, each day. Any ultrasound probes that have the potential for coming into contact with body fluids are reprocessed with trophon devices.” This principle is applied to include all endocavity and interventional procedures. Sonographers and technologists at UCLA go through initial online training modules for trophon device operation, and one-on-one training with a sonographer preceptor. trophon device processing competency is checked by the preceptor annually. This practice, and the device’s automated documentation of cycle, probe and operator data has increased the team’s confidence in proper disinfection. “With the CIDEX OPA, we were relying on a manual process, and keeping track on timers. It was difficult to be sure a probe had been soaked for the right amount of time. Staff would have to monitor the 20-minute soaking cycle. If not soaked long enough, there’s less confidence in efficacy, and if a probe was left too long, it would get damaged. With trophon technology, we’re confident there is no residual contamination, and the reprocessing time is cut to less than half of what it was before. Improved turnaround time for equipment utilization is also a huge benefit. From a business-revenue perspective and in terms of patient care, we are able to perform more ultrasound procedures each day (due to time savings in probe reprocessing), and we know each probe is clean and ready for the next patient. We are a high-volume health-system with next available appointments 8-10 days out, so this time-savings is valuable. The process is much more efficient.”
The trophon® family includes trophon® EPR and trophon®2, which share the same core technology of ‘sonically activated’ hydrogen peroxide.
