OPERATING THEATRE TECHNOLOGY


automation of building controls. We have sensors all over the building, actuators to turn the heating and lighting on and off, and to open vents. We also use daylight harvesting, where sensors measure the ambient light from the sun, and then will not turn the lights on if the existing light level is sufficient. Although we currently still rely on a carbon-based heating system, we operate extremely efficient gas boilers. We’ve also got four electric vehicle chargers. We haven’t yet invested in electric commercial delivery vans, because most of our deliveries are long- range, and currently such vehicles don’t tend to have this capability. While for a commercial business, formulating a Green Plan is not mandatory, we saw what NHS hospitals were doing, and it encouraged us to do likewise, so that we can play our part in the NHS’s carbon reduction drive.”


Reducing building services-related energy consumption Nigel Davill said: “A lot of the work in existing hospitals will be about reducing building services-related energy consumption, while new-builds will have to meet increasingly stringent energy standards. One of the key features of the iTCP is its ability to link surgical equipment like ventilation, lighting, and AV systems, to a hospital’s building management system. This gives healthcare engineers the ability to see how efficiently the various theatre systems are running, and adjust as required – for example to ensure that equipment is not needlessly left running when a theatre is vacant.” In the introduction to a Brandon Medical video explaining the iTCP’s key features, National Specifications Manager, Richard McAuley, stresses that modern BMS systems have the ability to monitor, analyse, and interrogate, almost all the characteristics and parameters of the standard built environment – from lighting power consumption, to HVAC efficiency and local air quality. He explains: “The resulting data is then used to measure and calculate climate- specific data sets such as CO2


e levels,


power consumption, and efficiency of the space. In an operating theatre, once data is available on – for instance – how often and when the theatre is in use, and how efficiently the various medical devices are operating, clinical staff may be able to re-think scheduling of operations, and how particular equipment is used, improving surgical efficiency and flow. Healthcare engineers, meanwhile, can identify where plant is not being optimally used, and opportunities for using it more efficiently, in the process reducing energy consumption, and helping lower their hospital’s carbon footprint.” One significant barrier to date to obtaining comprehensive data on aspects such as the energy consumption of


58 Health Estate Journal January 2023


Brandon Medical’s Symposia is a digital media package designed specifically for healthcare. The system connects medical professionals to a range of audio-visual resources which can be accessed immediately from any location.


particular theatre equipment, Brandon explains, has been that while a typical OR accommodates a number of specialist systems, many are not directly accessible via a ‘traditional’ BMS.


Specialist user interface Brandon Medical’s Medicontrol Intelligent Theatre Control Panel (or iTCP for short) was designed to address this. The specialist user interface for operating theatre use provides both control and alarm information to clinical staff. Harnessing an industry standard control and command platform that uses the BACnet protocol, it acts as a local control, monitoring, and alarm annunciator panel, by interfacing directly with the operating theatre systems – data from which is collected, analysed, and processed, within the iTCP for local display, decision making, and remote monitoring. The iTCP thus provides ‘the gateway’ between surgical systems and industry standard BMS platforms, allowing monitoring of power consumption, run time, alarm status, airflow, filter flow, lighting levels, room occupancy, and many other data parameters from within the OR. Brandon explains: “BACnet, which stands for Building Automation and Control Network, uses standard network infrastructure – what we commonly term LAN, or simply network points. This allows it to be connected to the BMS using the standard network facilities present in any modern building, greatly simplifying deployment.”


Beyond a standard BMS’s capabilities Brandon Medical explains that this ‘interconnect’ between, say, an acute hospital’s medical systems, and its central building management system, ‘opens up opportunities for additional features


generally beyond the capabilities of a standard BMS’ – for example power cycling and battery management of medical UPS and battery back-up systems. The iTCP can detect when an operating theatre is not active, and use this time to perform routine checks and preventative maintenance. “In a fully integrated system,” Brandon


explains, “the iTCP is connected to both the theatre surgical lighting and the dedicated battery back-up system. During theatre downtime, the iTCP can disconnect the battery system from the mains supply, and activate the theatre light at full intensity. The subsequent current drain and battery levels can be plotted over time to establish the efficiency and state of the battery cells. This information can then be submitted to the BMS, and integrated into the preventative maintenance schedule.


Engineers pre-warned “If the battery system is performing within specification, the general servicing will not require any replacement cells, but if the system is outside specification, the visiting engineer can be pre-warned that replacement cells are required, reducing the need for a secondary visit.” Brandon cites ‘many examples where the ability of the iTCP to connect with the BMS in a safe and isolated manner can be used to enhance the efficiency of the hospital estate as a whole’. It adds: “Inclusion of an intelligent theatre control panel within an OR project provides a bridge for data gathering and activity reporting between the medical systems and the wider estate BMS systems. This integration can form an integral part of the wider decarbonisation of healthcare delivery as we work towards fully ‘climate smart’ healthcare.”


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