TECHNOLOGY
enforced, the system provides units with auditable and historical documentation for regulatory compliance. Importing the surgical schedule
from Torin (Getinge’s Operating Theatre Management solution) into T-DOC, also ensures correct association of goods with surgeries. The decontamination department can therefore gain access to live updates of the surgery schedule via T-DOC, allowing for quick decision-making and better planning of the sterile production.
Harnessing data Ultimately, harnessing data through intelligent technologies will be key to driving improvement as services resume and ramp up capacity, according to Tim. “Large centres may reprocess up to 40,000-50,000 endoscopes per year and 4-5 million instruments – all producing vast amounts of data. Trusts can significantly improve how this data is harnessed, analysed and interpreted. This is where our consultancy services can help. Trusts have so much information at their fingertips and we can help them use this to make them more efficient, to make their processes flow better and to turn data into meaningful insights, so there are incremental improvements within the facility,” commented Tim.
In the future, there is also scope
for further automation, in his view. However, this shouldn’t be “automation for automation’s sake”; it needs to “make sense” and make processes safer and more efficient.
“We have an example of this in Denmark
where we are using T-DOC to track a number of autonomous vehicles. These transport the sets from the washer to the table and from the table to the steriliser – removing the manual handling element. People no longer have to lift heavy sets around and can remain stationary, which means greater efficiencies from a time and motion perspective – individuals are able to focus more on packing tasks, for example, instead of travelling between areas. It also removes the risk of repetitive strain injuries. “We are having conversations with Trusts that are building new facilities on how this innovation could be applied and how the technology could be future proofed. I believe we will see increasing automation over the next 10-15 years. More and more customers are asking us how they can automate and what this could potentially look like,” Tim reported.
Artificial intelligence
Tim Bryant, Getinge’s director of commercial strategy, UK & Ireland
76 l
WWW.CLINICALSERVICESJOURNAL.COM
There is also potential for increased use of artificial intelligence and machine learning – this is an interesting area for development within decontamination departments. Getinge Online is already helping to deliver efficiencies by providing automatic replenishment of consumables, remote diagnostics and preventative services. It also gives immediate access to detailed, real-time information about the Trust’s reprocessing equipment. In the event of an equipment issue, the system provides suggestions on how to resolve the problem and, if more assistance is necessary, connects the Trust with a technician or service professional who can guide the operator remotely to resolve the problem. It also provides access to valuable statistics and analytics, to realise potential cost savings by optimising workflows and equipment performance. Going forward, the system will also provide a platform to offer increased intelligence to enable predictive maintenance. With connections to thousands of machines around the world, this volume of data will facilitate machine learning to identify trends and parameters that could forecast the need for parts replacement or servicing, therefore preventing unplanned downtime. “As Trusts tackle the backlog, uptime and availability will be critical. This is one way that artificial intelligence could help decontamination departments to run more efficiently,” Tim concluded.
CSJ APRIL 2021
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