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CPMC Unveils Operating Room of the Future in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 20, 2008 – High tech medicine just went high def. California Pacific Medical Center is now home to what is probably the most technologically advanced operating room in the U.S.
California Pacific's OR 10 is unique in that it is a fully-integrated high definition operating room that also has full interactive conferencing abilities. What does that mean in plain English? It's simple. It means OR 10 gives surgeons the flexibility to use the tools they want to use, in ways they have never been able to use them before.
New techniques mean that many surgical procedures are far less invasive than ever before. Combine this with the rapid miniaturization of electronics and you understand why physicians are increasingly relying on video technology for complex patient care. That's why the quality of the video is so important. Until recently, physicians were looking at images that were 640 x 480 pixels - in OR10 they are looking at images that are 1920 x 1080 pixels.
"If you can see better you can operate better," says Andrew Brill, M.D. director of the new Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Program at CPMC. "The equipment allows us to see the human anatomy with a clarity and detail we've never had before. This enables us to reduce risk, to increase safety and precision, and to improve the overall quality of what we do."
The ability to do more procedures in a minimally invasive way is good news for patients. It means fewer open incisions, less pain and faster recovery.
OR 10 is capable of producing HD images on every monitor in the operating room, and even interactively beaming them half way around the world, with little manipulation, distortion or diminution of the picture. For teaching purposes that is critical because it means the image appears as sharp in Beijing as it does in OR 10. And just as John Madden is able to "telestrate" plays on Sunday Night Football, so the surgeon in OR 10 is able to "telestrate" what he or she is doing, so that everyone involved knows exactly what is about to happen.
"OR 10 is the future of all modern operating rooms," says Michael Black, M.D., chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at CPMC. "When you are operating on children, particularly infants, you are working with tiny blood vessels. This equipment enables you to see everything with a sharpness and precision that we've never had before."
Just as some cars allow you to pre-set your car seat for your height and weight, with just the touch of a button, OR 10 allows individual physicians to pre-set the equipment for their particular preferences so they don't have to change the settings every time they use the room.
Physicians can also see multiple images, such as x-rays and MRIs, displayed at the same time to give them a more complete view of each individual patient.
To take a tour of this new facility join us at OR 10 at 3700 California St, at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 23rd.
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