INTEGRATED THEATRES
Embracing digital integration in the operating theatre
Howorth Air Technology is best-known to many in healthcare as the company which developed the world’s first ultraclean surgical enclosure. Today, the company now offers an ever broader range of products and is seeing growing demand for a recently introduced ‘digital integration’ service.
With surgical techniques and process’ evolving, Howorth has become increasingly involved in supplying digital integration systems, selling – as part of the overall “Theatre Package” to the hospital customer – wall and pendant mounted monitors, PACS workstations and vendor neutral hardware and software. Howorth has recently reached
agreement with Sony Healthcare to distribute the NUCLeUS. This platform provides a vendor neutral system backed by a global technology leader. Surgeons have been using minimally invasive techniques for many years. The systems and associated equipment has been supplied and installed as part of a package provided by the endoscope manufacturer.
This means that the hospital is tied to that manufacturer for many years with the scope and the manufacturer specific software. But what happens when camera/scope technologies change and different manufacturers have the technologies to that of the installed systems. Group Sales Director, Tom Ford commented: “In recent years vendor neutral systems have been developed, to integrate with all manufacturers equipment. The systems provide flexible, simple GUI (graphic user interfaces), all of the hardware; monitors, PACS, operating light and room cameras. This allows the use of any manufacturers endoscopes, microscopes, arthroscopes etc in any theatre with the VN system installed. Consequently, the team can buy whichever equipment for surgical requirements and within available
budget. Howorth are about removing the mystique and making digital integration more accessible. “A key benefit is the ability for a Trust or private healthcare provider to select a variety of equipment for use in different theatres and surgeries at a much- reduced cost while retaining flexibility.” One recent project saw Howorth fit
out two renal theatres used for kidney transplants at St George’s Hospital in Tooting with Exflow Evolution UCV canopies, complemented by a digital integration system, which effectively fully
When undertaking more delicate surgery, you can, in any event, simply reduce the speed of the canopy’s fans
‘connects’ the two adjacent theatres. The equipment ‘package’ included canopies, pendants, operating theatre lights, theatre control panels with integrated PACS systems, and wall and pendant-mounted monitors, plus the associated hardware and software to control and integrate it all. Tom Ford said “For instance, the set- up allows surgeons to be carrying out transplant surgery in one theatre whilst being connected to the second theatre carrying out the harvesting of the healthy organ in an adjacent theatre. With the use of UCV systems and the digital integration, both communication and infection risk reduction are greatly increased.” “The surgeons can also stream audio and video through the hospital’s IP network for teaching. Two other UCV theatres we have supplied on the St George’s Hospital site also incorporate digital integration, so surgeons can use the PACS systems or write up reports remotely. It’s all about flexibility. While our ultraclean canopies are primarily designed for orthopaedic surgery, they are now widely used for other procedures. In one recent project, where we installed Exflow Evolutions in an ophthalmic theatre, surgeons told us they believed the concentrated airflow would dry out the wound site. In fact the hospital’s estates team had turned off the theatre’s humidity control several years earlier, and they had not noticed any difference in humidity levels or “drying out” with the air flows. “When undertaking more delicate
surgery, you can, in any event, simply reduce the speed of the canopy’s fans.”
OPERATING THEATRE l JULY 2018 l 53
t
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
