08
March
2022
|
19:10 PM
America/New_York

The OR of the Future

Outpatient Surgery Magazine discusses the operating room (OR) of the future and includes insight from Michael P. Ast, MD, hip and knee surgeon, chief medical innovation officer and Vice-Chair of the HSS Innovation Institute.

According to Dr. Ast, “ORs are going to look very different in the future. Nothing will be on the ground. Data and images will be displayed on floating screens or digitally projected into augmented reality (AR) glasses. Things like patient information, the consent form and the timeout checklist could be visible to everybody in the room at the same time.”

He explained the increase of higher acuity outpatient surgery is combining with the emergence of advanced technology such as tracking and automation systems, computer-assisted surgery, robotics and AR. “I think the platforms will combine to automate the entire surgical experience,” he continued. “Eventually, every surgeon could wear some type of AR headset, and when using robotic or computer-assistive technology, they’ll see everything right in front of them in the surgical field, and the information will be projected for everyone else in the room to see.”

Dr. Ast noted that patients will be tagged with wireless technology that identifies them throughout the perioperative process and connects to their relevant clinical information. “This will make patient care easier and more personalized,” he added. “The technology will perform its own safety checks and alert the surgical team if the wrong patient is in the wrong OR or about to undergo the wrong surgery. The more we implement technology, the safer surgery will become.”

Technology will also enable remote surgeries and collaboration. “A really big benefit would be live on-demand mentorship,” said Dr. Ast. “Through an AR headset, an expert surgeon offsite could watch the surgery. If you have a quick question, or it’s a complicated case, they’re right there to help walk you through it.”

Read the full article at Aorn.org.