Operating theatres (OTs) are becoming increasingly intelligent, incorporating technologies such as 3D navigation and imaging, AI, and augmented reality. Understanding how these solutions can be safely and effectively integrated within the healthcare space is vital to the future proofing of healthcare facilities. This increasing complexity was a driver for Starkstrom’s investment in its demonstration and training facility, where key stakeholders can interact with the latest OT technologies within a dedicated environment that showcases how these solutions can improve patient safety, advance surgery, enhance efficiency, and minimise vital infrastructure and OT downtime.
“Some of our best ‘showrooms’ are the hospitals where our vital infrastructure and OT equipment has been installed – new customers can visit these facilities and see the technology in situ,” explains Starkstrom managing director, Guy Pomroy. “However, vital infrastructure and OTs are becoming increasingly complex, and we wanted to create a facility that would help clinicians make effective and informed decisions on how their technology could be configured.
“Within a week of opening the facility, we welcomed a number of clinicians and other stakeholders to the facility and the feedback was really positive. They can be hands on with the technology in an environment where it doesn’t matter if you make a mistake.”
A flexible, configurable space
The facility has been created with a frame above the ceiling space that allows the room to be re-configured at will, giving the flexibility to demonstrate and explore a variety of customer preferences for the vital infrastructure and OT set-up – helping stakeholders visualise a wide range of technology configurations in a realistic environment.
“The facility allows us to develop new innovations in a relatively live environment and evaluate how they might be received by clinicians,” says Guy. “We also invest in continuous training for our staff and field engineers, and this state of-the-art facility will help ensure the highest standards of technical support for healthcare providers that have installed our technologies.
“We have recently installed AEDs (defibrillators) and provided training to support this online,” Guy continues. “We are now seeking to expand our training provision across other technology areas.”
Guy points to the company’s advanced picture archiving and communication system (PACs viewing station) and theatre control panels which can be viewed and operated in the live demonstration environment. The PACs technology – which provides access to images from multiple modalities, such as X-Ray, CT, MRI, and AV equipment – can be designed to virtually any configuration to meet the OT team’s needs and improve workflow.
The touch-control panels enable the theatre team to control humidity and temperature, the functioning of the ultra-clean canopy, keep track of the surgery duration, and receive alerts relating to the power supply.
Increased connectivity
The facility incorporates the triangular Proteus pendant head – which has six surfaces that can be customised to meet an OT’s needs. The pendants are designed to help with infection prevention practices, improve workflow by providing a safe and organised environment for clinical staff, and are easy to maintain and service. The pendant range includes provision for medical gas services, an Anaesthetic Gas Scavenging System (AGSS) outlet to remove anaesthetic gases from the environment, and a VAC outlet to provide vacuum when used with suction control devices. This is in addition to provision for electrical services such as electrical sockets, AV sockets, and nurse call systems. Pendant movement is controlled by a remote switch or central membrane panel, making it easier to carry loads of up to 400kg (e.g. monitors, anaesthetic machines). It also offers provision for cable management, so cables can be hidden away to help prevent trips and falls.
LED lighting provides gentle ambient light and illumination for reading notes, while the pendants also offer provision for medical poles – with three integral 25mm diameter IV poles and up to six Medi-Rails for mounting clinical devices and accessories, keeping the area around the patient bed tidy.
“We also have a channel for data – we are seeing a trend for more and more equipment, coupled with increased connectivity, in theatres, and this is only set to increase in the future,” says Guy.
Key insights into theatre builds
It is not just clinical visitors that are benefiting from having access to the facility. Architects can understand not only what goes into the OT, but also what goes in above the ceiling – enabling them to understand what steel structures are required to support the equipment.
Engineers can explore what will be required in terms of wiring for the OT space and the critical power infrastructure being installed. With OT builds, the ability to gain these insights are key to successful planning and design.
On show at the facility is a range of technologies that are critical to ensuring high levels of electrical supply continuity and safety in operating theatres – including solutions for Medical IT Isolated Power System (IPS), battery back-up, and uninterruptible power supply (UPS).
In general, electrical safety can be compromised by either unplanned interruptions to supply (required for patients) or electric shock hazards (to patients and staff). UK and international standards recommended that Medical IT (IPS) are to be used for circuits supplying medical electrical life-support equipment or in areas where intra cardiac procedures are performed.
An IPS is recommended over the standard TN (Terre-Neutral) Earthed Supply systems as it has several advantages, including the detection (via an alarm) of the insulation level of medical equipment dropping below pre-set parameters.
UPS Systems are also a critical part of a hospital’s power supply infrastructure. When coupled with IPS Systems and back-up generators, they provide the operating room and other critical care areas with continuity of power in the event of a supply failure.
With a long history of working with its UPS partner, Power Control Limited, Starkstrom can provide a fully integrated package of a UPS System feeding into a Medical IT (IPS) System, while the remote alarms for these systems can be integrated as a single remote alarm displayed on the Theatre Control Panel. By further integrating this within the Building Management System (BMS), email alerts can be sent across the hospital network.
Initiatives such as Green Theatres and the drive for sustainability in the NHS are also shaping the way OT technologies are evolving, and Starkstrom is increasingly focusing on ensuring low power consumption. OTs are recognised as energy hot spots and are six times more energy-intense than hospitals as a whole, primarily due to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning requirements.
Another way that suppliers can improve sustainability is to ensure their technologies are long-lasting and reliable, so they are not being replaced unnecessarily. This will require a shift to value-based procurement as part of a drive for greater sustainability, while future proofing OT technology is also important.
It is widely recognised that the most sustainable surgical procedure is one that prevents surgical site infection. Infections increase the use of costly hospital resources, and lead to readmissions, repeat surgeries, and longer hospital stays. This is in addition to the human cost. Starkstrom takes infection prevention extremely seriously – placing it at the heart of its R&D.
“The coatings we use for our technologies are antimicrobial and the surfaces of our technologies are designed to be easy to clean,” Guy explains. “This is a key focus area, and we are currently working with hospital IPC teams on the development of future products that will advance this further.”
Future innovations
When it comes to the innovations we can expect to see in the future, Guy confirms that there has been a lot of interest and discussion around AI.
“Machine learning has been around for a while and we can clearly see a lot of products are coming into the theatre, so we must make provision for this,” he says. “We also know that there is a drive towards augmented reality for surgeons. In the future, surgeons will view images superimposed over the patient, instead of having to view a PACS screen, for example. Therefore, pendants will need to accommodate these new technologies and approaches.”
Guy predicts that advances in laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures will continue to assist with reducing operating time and produce safer outcomes, while we will also see the advancement of ‘smart’ hospitals, integrating care with more digital input.
“The reduction of healthcare-associated infections will be a key to safety and patient care, and we will also see more surgical hubs formed with ‘barn’ style environments, and more community-based hubs,” he concludes. “Starkstrom is already taking steps forward with the future vision for the OT. We are constantly improving and innovating – continually working with clinicians to help solve problems today, as well as future-proofing their working environments.”
Starkstrom
33 Turn Street
Syston
Leicester
LE7 1HP
www.starkstrom.com