Foreword

Healthcare providers face ever increasing demands to deliver more and better-quality care to growing numbers of people on more occasions at no greater or, if possible, less cost. A whole range of developments have supported that challenging requirement, not least of which has been the introduction of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and image guided surgery.

With less physical trauma to the patient’s body, MIS reduces the risk of infection during or after surgery and reduces the time taken to heal from a less invasive procedure. However, because the surgeon is not seeing directly inside the patient, he or she relies heavily on pre-operative planning, X-Ray, CT and other images of the site and a camera that accompanies the tools used during the laparoscopic access to the operating site. The quality of the system that brings all of these inputs to the surgeon as well as the quality of individual images is a key factor contributing to a successful outcome and digital technology has enabled a significant leap forward in that.

This paper opens with a contribution from Barco, a global technology leader that develops networked visualization solutions for the entertainment, enterprise and healthcare markets, identifying five ways in which digital technology can support productivity and efficiency in the operating theatre. We then continue with an article that looks at the technology itself as well as from a surgeon’s point of view and at the advantages that digital technology can deliver to the surgeon. Following on from that, Camilla Slade considers the maintenance and troubleshooting demands of an operating theatre and how a digitised environment can better support that as well as giving an overview of image guided surgery, the essential component in MIS. Peter Dunwell’s article looks at the value of integrating the various inputs that a surgeon needs and at some of the human factors that cannot be neglected, even in a paper about technology. Finally, we look at the ways in which new technology is being used and at the importance of a well-managed theatre: plus, a brief look into the future.

John Hancock Editor

John Hancock, an Editor of Hospital Reports Europe, has worked in healthcare reporting and review for many years. A journalist for more than 30 years, he has written and edited articles, papers and books on a range of medical and management topics. Subjects have included management of long-term conditions, elective and non-elective surgery, wound management, complex health issues, Schizophrenia, health risks of travel, local health management and NHS management.