Thanks to our amazing community of Niagara Health Foundation donors, our local hospitals recently purchased 38 new cystoscopes to replace aging equipment.

The scopes are used in outpatient clinics for cystoscopy, a test that examines the inner lining of the bladder and the tube from the bladder to the outside of the body.

“We perform approximately 140 of these procedures per week across Niagara Health,” explains Gloria Jansz, Nurse Educator at Niagara Health. “The scopes are small cameras that visualize the urinary tract and are used for things such as prostate and bladder cancer screenings, as well as kidney stone biopsies and removals.”

The urologist can see abnormalities on a screen which helps diagnose and treat the patient, or perform a biopsy of tissue that requires further investigation.

“The scopes are the latest technology and come with improved image quality,” Gloria says about the devices that cost a total of $717,313.

“We are so grateful to Niagara Health Foundation donors who made this purchase possible. It is crucial for our department to have state-of-the-art equipment.” 

Niagara Health Urologist Dr. Dianne Heritz agrees. “Urology tends to be a specialty people don’t want to talk about because they are embarrassed to talk about bladder problems. However, the work we do here, such as screening for cancer or investigating incontinence, is so important for people’s health and quality of life. We are thrilled because this new equipment will benefit a lot of patients in Niagara, and we are so grateful to Niagara Health Foundation donors.”