Surgeons often use ultrasound dissectors and surgical microscopes for liver surgeries. Soon it may be possible to operate both of these medical devices together using a foot-operated switch. Steute Meditech will be illustrating a similar scenario at their booth at the Medica trade fair.
Ergonomic, hygienically compliant, and easy-to-use are the features that today’s user interfaces for medical devices should already have, preferably with wireless communication with other devices. Another requirement will be added in the near future: interoperability.
This function is already used in luxury cars: drivers select a basic function, such as radio, phone, navigation, or AC, and can then use the same user interface to run those systems. When applied to the operating room, it means that surgeons will be able to operate several medical devices through a single user interface.
This technology requires the use of standardized communication interfaces of medical devices, user interfaces, and IT systems. The initiative OR.Net has been dedicated to this central goal for some time, and it involves the participation of 46 project partners and 23 associated partners, including the Meditech division of Steute Schaltgeräte GmbH & Co. KG, in Löhne, Germany.
Using the example of liver resection, which is a particularly challenging area of surgery, Steute will demonstrate at its booth at the Medica trade fair how interoperability of medical devices is used in the operating room and what advantages this new feature has to offer in the practical application of the device.
In liver surgeries, surgeons have to take considerable care so as not to damage the vascular tree. Ultrasound dissectors are ideal for this purpose because they dissect the liver tissue while leaving blood vessels, nerves, and bile ducts undamaged. It is very common for surgeons to use a surgical microscope, for instance, to identify tissue structure and to be able to navigate accurately using the instruments.
During the OR.Net project, a manufacturer of ultrasound dissectors and a supplier of surgical microscopes worked alongside Steute Meditech to develop an “interoperable” user interface. All three devices use the same protocol, and the two medical devices recognize the operating system. A separate control panel allows the user to switch back and forth between devices.
The foot-operated system that is currently used for the surgical microscope served as the basis for the control. This system allows surgeons to control up to 14 device functions; a central footrest creates an ergonomic resting position for the foot.
Since the dissector and microscope are usually not controlled at the same time during surgery, these two activities can be divided up easily and assigned to one of the medical devices in the user interface. This makes the operating system less complicated, and surgeons will not have to adjust constantly to two different user interfaces. Since the controller communicates wirelessly with the respective device, it can be placed anywhere in the room without concern for cables, which raises the hygiene standard.
Guido Becker Steute Schaltgeräte, Löhne
Additional information About the control unit manufacturer: www.steute.com/en/home.html The operational installation consisting of operating table, ultrasound dissector, surgical microscope, and common user interface with a touchscreen for assignment of operating system and medical device will be displayed in Hall 11 at Booth J39.
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