How technology is changing the operating room

With all the hype around the use of data, artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies, the operating room environment is constantly changing.

But, how does it translate to what doctors do in practice and how will you improve?

On the panel “How Technology is Changing the Operating Room” at DeviceTalks Boston, Proximie CEO Nadine Hashash Haram asks this question saying that the excitement about technology must be met with the right application.

“Quality of care has improved access but how do you ultimately make sure that every patient gets the best care the first time and every time?” Hakash said it is forbidden. “With this in mind, value and impact have always been at the forefront of minds. … We realized we needed to build something that was right in the moment and also fit in the future.”

Hachach-Haram was a panel member along with Activ Surgical CEO Todd Usen, Stryker VP of Surgical Technologies Digital Innovation Siddharth Satish, and Avail Medsystems CEO Daniel Hawkins. S3 Connected Health Solutions Manager – Medtech Bill Betten moderated the session.

Satish served as founder and CEO of Gauss Surgical before it was acquired by Stryker last year. Gauss built the AI-powered Triton platform for real-time monitoring of blood loss during surgery, using the iPad as the hardware platform for monitoring.

As part of the acquisition by Stryker, Satish said next steps included figuring out how to deploy more AI into the platform and continuing to provide a visual data feed in the OR.

“I really think AI can start to build these independent feedback loops in care where you don’t necessarily need to rely on someone’s expertise,” Satish said. “You could automate the steps of an automated procedure or something like a critical piece of information which would then trigger these protocols.”

Hawkins said that devices like iPads and similar pieces of hardware allow for capabilities that provide meaningful insights. Although he said he liked the idea, he said it was challenging in practice.

Once this challenge is overcome, the Avail CEO said, bringing these capabilities in real time to the operating room or taking decision-making to the next level for surgeons, where computer vision or artificial intelligence allows technology users to see the bare things. The eye may not be able to predict.

“Pulling the data back into the operating room requires that you have the ability to do that,” Hawkins said. “We’re building this capability as a back-end network engine, but that’s where the power of that data lies — to guide clinical decision-making right now.”

This ability to look around the corner fuels what Usen and Activ Surgical do. The company provides real-time information to surgeons on the operating table in an effort to thwart preventable medical errors.

Osun likened the situation to watching football on TV, where the viewer has a yellow line to let him know where the team needs to get to to pick up a first point, but those on the field don’t have that luxury.

“We see [the yellow lines] on TV. “I want the players to see that,” Osen said. “I want surgeons to see what happens in the future. We believe we are providing the first real-time information to the operating room for patient care.”

And Osen added, “The quality of the data is just as good as the quality of the insights that derive from it. And because data is a sucker sticker in terms of how important it is in medicine, at the end of the day, it should be something that is really in demand. … Let’s make sure we put on screens to our surgeons the information.” Relevant experts from around the world at this point of care.Then the data will mean something.