Ergonomic RFID tag placement on surgical instruments - a preliminary user study.

Objectives: RFID tags on surgical instruments allow tracking of individual instruments. However, the tags on the instruments can restrict the handling, potentially increasing patient risks. Previous studies analyzed hand contact areas to identify potential locations for tags.

Integration of a surgical robotic arm to the connected operating room via ISO IEEE 11073 SDC.

Purpose: Since 2019, intraoperative networking with ISO IEEE 11073 SDC has, for the first time, enabled standardized multi-vendor data exchange between medical devices. For seamless plug-and-play integration of devices without previous configuration, further specifications for device profiles ("device specializations") on top of the existing core standards must be developed. These generic interfaces are then incorporated into the standardization process.

Evaluation of an Anesthesia Dashboard Functional Model Based on a Manufacturer-Independent Communication Standard: Comparative Feasibility Study.

Background: Current anesthesia workspaces consist of several technical devices, such as patient monitors, anesthesia machines, among others. Commonly, they are produced by different manufacturers; thus, they differ in terms of their modus operandi, user interface, and representation of alarms. Merging the information from these devices using a single joint protocol and displaying it in a single graphical user interface could lead to a general improvement in perioperative management.

From SOMDA to application - integration strategies in the OR.NET demonstration sites.

The effective development and dissemination of the open integration for the next generation of operating rooms require a comprehensive testing environment. In this paper, we present the various challenges to be addressed in demonstration applications, and we discuss the implementation approach, the foci of the demonstration sites and the evaluation efforts. Overall, the demonstrator setups have proven the feasibility of the service-oriented medical device architecture (SOMDA) and real-time approaches with a large variety of example applications.

Extended device profiles and testing procedures for the approval process of integrated medical devices using the IEEE 11073 communication standard.

Nowadays, only closed and proprietary integrated operating room systems (IORS) from big manufacturers are available on the market. Hence, the interconnection of components from third-party vendors is only possible with increased time and costs. In the context of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)-funded project OR.

Development and experimental evaluation of an alarm concept for an integrated surgical workstation.

Introduction: Alarm conditions of the technical equipment in operating rooms represent a prevalent cause for interruptions of surgeons and scrub nurses, resulting in an increase of workload and potential reduction of patient safety. In this work, an alarm concept for an integrated operating room system based on open communication standards is developed and tested.

Methods: In a laboratory experiment, the reactions of surgeons were analysed, comparing the displaying of alarms on an integrated workstation and on single devices: disruptive effects of alarm handling on primary task (ratings of perceived distraction, resumption lag, deterioration of speed, accuracy, and prospective memory), efficiency and effectiveness of identification of alarms, as well as perceived workload were included.

Human-centered risk management for medical devices - new methods and tools.

Studies regarding adverse events with technical devices in the medical context showed, that in most of the cases non-usable interfaces are the cause for use deficiencies and therefore a potential harm for the patient and third parties. This is partially due to the lack of suitable methods for interlinking usability engineering and human-centered risk management. Especially regarding the early identification of human-induced errors and the systematic control of these failures, medical device manufacturers and in particular the developers have to be supported in order to guarantee reliable design and error-tolerant human-machine interfaces (HMI).

Bottlenecks and needs in human-human and human-machine interaction - a view from and into the neurosurgical OR.

The number and complexity of user interfaces in the OR has been considerably increasing during the last years. Moreover, increasing cost and time pressure force surgeons and surgical nurses to perform different tasks in parallel. We analyzed the workflow of 25 neurosurgical procedures with a workflow analysis tool in order to analyze the present situation in the neurosurgical OR and to identify potential use-oriented risks and to develop first proposals for respective countermeasures.

Modular user interface design for integrated surgical workplaces.

Severe bottlenecks in usability and human technology interaction (HTI) of existing surgical workplaces and operating room (OR) equipment can occur today: lack of space, cable as trip hazard, communication problems between sterile and non-sterile staff, and operating errors in the handling of the medical devices. In fact, risks that are caused by poor usability can be critical, and studies show that most are preventable. This issue gets even more challenging in the context of open-OR networks regarding consistent and usable integration of user interfaces (UIs) of independently designed systems in one integrated surgical work system.