The Future of Operating Rooms

The operating room is getting smarter, more effective and a lot less risky for patients. Still, the operating room can be an intimidating, busy place where a patient is surrounded by a lot of unfamiliar technical equipment. While each operating room varies depending on the type of procedure being done, typically there can be anywhere between 4-8 people in the room at one time. The average size of an operating room is around 600 square feet. The following is a brief list of equipment you may see:

• The operating table in the center of the room can be raised, lowered and tilted in any direction.
• Lamps allow for brilliant illumination without shadows during surgery.
• You will be connected to various monitors used to keep track of vital signs like your heart rate and blood pressure.
• A ventilator or breathing machine stands by the head of the operating table. If your procedure is done under general anesthesia, a ventilator will breathe for you during the procedure by moving oxygen and air in and out of your lungs.
• Sterile instruments used during surgery are arranged on a stainless steel table.
• A diathermy machine, to control bleeding, is usually present.
• If the surgery needs it, a heart-lung machine, or other specialized equipment, may be brought into the room.
• The operating room will likely be cold to minimize bacterial growth.

Operating rooms are being transformed as new devices, designs and digital technologies are being introduced. Traditional, more invasive surgical procedures that involve big incisions and longer hospitalizations are shifting towards minimally invasive outpatient surgeries, with fewer complications, quicker recoveries, and less pain and scarring. Fewer procedures will require general anesthesia during patient treatment and others will only require simple sedation.

New devices and technologies with enhanced attention to ergonomics will improve the surgeon-tool interface, refining the surgeon’s ability to safely complete required tasks. Other advances are aimed at redesigning the operating room itself, increasing workspace for surgeons and adding imaging equipment that allows patients to receive X-rays and other tests while on the operating table instead of traveling around to different departments of the hospital. Artificial-intelligence technology and machine learning is being developed that will provide surgeons with big data before, during and after they work, to get direction from computer systems that have evaluated the procedures and learned to make recommendations.

If successful, these changes could have a profound effect on patients. Whatever the changes may be, it’s clear that improved integration of high technology, along with teamwork and enhanced communication and coordination among services, providers, and staff, is essential to improve efficiency, enhance safety, and reduce the cost of care.