In the operating room of CHOC Children’s new Bill Holmes Tower, technology helps equipment work together to ensure the best outcomes for young patients.
Using the technology integration system iSuite by Stryker, CHOC is the first children’s hospital in the region to have a fully integrated operating room. With more than 1,000 presets for individual doctors or disciplines, the system can also control the ambient lights, laproscopic camera and music.
The system anchors all camera and monitoring equipment to a boom overhead. This eliminates the need for carts and cords, and frees staff to move with less risk of tripping. The cameras give surgeons a better look at the operating field thanks to a variety of angle possibilities and zoom features. These images can then be broadcasted on large, high-definition monitors placed inside the operating room.
From the system’s hub, a nurse can control the technology using a touch screen that is akin to an iPad. The software is easy to use and similar to that of a desktop computer.
Stryker’s Connect Suite Video Conference System allows CHOC surgeons to connect with other experts outside the operating room. This technology allows experts to give advice, direction and guidance without entering the sterile operating room. The system can also connect from the operating room to a conference room, or even off site completely.
CHOC is the third facility in the nation – and the only in California – to have Stryker’s media management system, Studio 3. This system collects still photographs and videos taken during surgery and automatically sends them to a patient’s file. Doctors can more easily document their cases and follow a patient’s progress over time. Physicians can use an iPad to show a patient’s family the video and still images captured from surgery.
