ST. LOUIS – New technology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital allows surgeons specializing in minimally invasive and bariatric procedures access to improved visualization and the ability to stream live surgeries around the world to further medical education.
The installation of this “Integrated” operating room also allows centralized control surgical equipment, including surgical devices, video monitors and other systems as well as full integration of historic patient archives (picture archive and communication systems, or PACS), routing of endoscopic video, video-on-demand and bidirectional Web-based communication. This is the first room in St. Louis and with such capabilities.
The benefits are two-fold.
One, as minimally invasive surgeries do not create large open incisions on patients, surgeons perform the procedures watching monitors overhead with a small camera and surgical instruments inserted through small access ports. This new technology at Barnes-Jewish is on larger monitors in high definition allowing enhanced visuals.
“We feel if we can see with enhanced definition, we may provide improved surgical outcomes,” says Esteban Varela, MD, Washington University bariatric surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Secondly, as an academic medical center that trains physicians and provides education across the world, surgeons in this operating room can not only record surgeries from multiple camera angles for training purposes, they can live stream surgeries to physicians anywhere in the world with an internet connection.
“It allows us to obtain pictures not only from the room but from an endoscopic view,” says Dr. Varela. “Technology like this allows us to develop our clinical and teaching missions both locally and abroad.” For example, Dr. Varela and his colleagues will soon stream at upcoming hernia courses to surgeons in South America and China using this technology.
As of now, one operating room at Barnes-Jewish has this technology installed, but more are a possibility in the future according to Colleen Becker, RN, executive director of perioperative services at Barnes-Jewish.
“These advanced communication and data management capabilities offer new possibilities for our surgeons and they fully support our commitment to delivering the highest levels of care to our patients,” says Becker.
The technology from KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America, Inc. -- OR1® NEO Essential and STREAMCONNECT -- was installed in August.
Barnes-Jewish Hospital is 1,288 bed teaching hospital affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. The hospital has a 1,763 member medical staff with many recognized as "Best Doctors in America." Barnes-Jewish is a member of BJC HealthCare, which provides a full range of health care services through its 13 hospitals and more than 100 health care sites in Missouri and Illinois. Barnes-Jewish Hospital is also consistently ranked as one of America’s “Best Hospitals” by U.S.News & World Report.
Contact:
Anne Bassett
314-286-0303
[email protected]