by Andreas Bätzel (Consultant Innovation Medical Technology & Health Market in the ZVEI Association for Electromedical Technology)
(12/2019) In addition to the skills of the user of medical technology, the smooth interaction of various innovative, high-performance devices is an essential part of modern medicine. This further promotes the increasing interlinking of medical disciplines such as radiology and surgery. At the same time, this interlinking is becoming increasingly important with a view to optimized health care, especially in the operating theater. Operating theaters are complex room systems. The associations ZVEI and Spectaris have therefore developed a planning aid for equipping operating theaters as a strategic solution for operators.
Medical technology manufacturers are constantly confronting the social demands for available, safe and high-quality health care with new, improved possible solutions.
Challenges - medical and operational
In the area of integrated operating rooms in particular, clinic operators are increasingly planning multimodal overall systems (Fig. 1) that go well beyond the merging of radiology and surgery. This dynamic approach must bring the in-house need for new equipment features and the operator's changed performance requirements in line with the structural requirements and other local conditions. From a competitive point of view, it is also becoming increasingly important for hospitals to offer hybrid treatment options. The planning preparation as well as the investment volume and the tailor-made implementation regularly represent a particular challenge.
Preliminary considerations for an investment project
Doctors from various disciplines and support staff are now working together across disciplines in operating theaters. Hybrid operating theaters are often created that include an angiography system, which contributes to the close connection of diagnosis and therapy in terms of time. Mobile C-arms and other radiological systems are able to deliver the required image quality in real time. The space required by an operating theater is of great importance. Routes for technology and patient must be kept clear and possible device collisions avoided by suitable arrangement. The integrated operating theater, which includes all medical technology systems and other technical components - such as proper ventilation, parallel monitor displays and secure IT networking - enables superior forms of care to traditional service provision. However, with a view to economy and work processes, high-end solutions or the maximum possible amount of technology do not necessarily have to be implemented. Rather, it is important to keep an eye on the intended use and the required qualifications of the employees from the start. In addition, the flexibility of the equipment elements plays a major role. And finally, it is important to keep an eye on all questions relating to hygiene management and IT security architecture and their subsystems throughout the hospital. It is also of fundamental importance whether an existing building, a new building or a building module is to be converted or set up. Experience has shown that existing buildings increase the planning complexity, especially since in the event of a renovation, the continued operation of the house as a whole must be guaranteed. For these reasons, a careful analysis is required before procurement planning for such functional rooms.
