I)Video Management (VM) for operating theatres: Is there a standard need?

Part 1: Identify the real need

‍Today hospitals, and in particular operating theaters, have become hubs of innovation. There is a real proliferation of solutions, functions and various technologies, with manufacturers, resellers or suppliers offering tailor-made and sometimes scalable solutions. These solutions are often captive and proprietary and do not always allow you to compose your own solution from selected elements.

Some of our biomedical engineer clients say they feel pressured, confused by the never-ending race for innovation: "Do I really need the latest technology? How do I differentiate the technology gadget from what is really necessary?"

A great responsibility rests on their shoulders: a significant investment and in the background, the fear of making the wrong choice of product (not adapted to a dedicated or multidisciplinary environment, not used daily, or that become obsolete quickly) AND of company. Because advice and support count a lot in the end result and in the long term.

So how do you make the right choice? What is sufficient? How to distinguish between the real need and the gadget?

In this article we will give you the keys to understand and the right questions to ask yourself to avoid losing ground.

Video Management (VM):  Video? Yes, but not only!

Generally, when we read “video management”, behind this word, we put everything related to the video in the operating room, namely video sources (endoscopes, microscopes, the C-Arm, etc.) and monitors to display them. This is partly correct. What we often forget to relate to it is the information and images coming from the computer network and most often coming from the X-ray image servers.

Evolution

To answer that, let`s go back a few years backwards. 50-100 years ago, the surgeon operated only "by sight" and was all alone to see what he saw, directly or through dedicated microscope-type accessories and / or with endoscopes. These tools, then associated with the first cameras, introduced increasingly "flat" screens in the operating rooms: he was no longer the only one to see what he was seeing. He could share it with his team, which consisted mainly of his assistant and a nurse.

To keep track of his intervention, he solicited the biomedical engineer for the purchase of a VCR or a printer. These complementary (not always medical) devices were generally supplied by the manufacturers of endoscopy columns. But what one could notice at this point was the fact that the surgeon was the sole user and managed his display, photos and videos on his own.

This practice having multiplied and developed over the years, the problem of patient data security began to arise through mobile storage devices (CD-ROM, USB, external hard drive, etc.) "wandering" in the corridors of the establishment and sometimes even outside, with data that was not systematically referenced. Thus, to ensure a minimum of security, hospitals wanted to establish traceability with the centralization of data so that they are automatically attached to the patient and to prevent them from being lost. To do this, IT, already being deployed in all the other departments of the hospital, was therefore implemented in the operating room.

Medical imaging

Another significant development in surgical practices has brought IT closer to operating theaters: the digitization of X-ray images and preoperative scans. This data, initially used for diagnostic purposes, was centralized and then made available to interconnected users. This effectively established a physical link between the previously isolated operating room and the rest of the hospital, allowing access to PACS images.