Frost & Sullivan: End-to-End Integration Of HD Devices In The Operating Room Ushers In A New Era In Disruptive Technology

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 01 Apr 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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Disruptive technologies, which refer to a product or service that revolutionizes screening, diagnostic, procedural, or medical/drug intervention capabilities can become the standards of care. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a case in point. Using a variety of endoscopic and imaging devices in the operating room (OR), surgeons are able to maneuver around delicate structures and to precisely grasp, dissect, and suture within openings measured in millimeters. High-definition (HD) electronics have measurably enhanced this ability.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, believes that end-to-end integration of HD devices used in a variety of MIS procedures represents a new era in disruptive technology, one that goes beyond device selection to one of real-time medicine that could engender a sustainable difference in surgical care.

Frost & Sullivan recently completed a whitepaper, Creating a New Platform in Disruptive Technology: A Case Study of Digital Integration in the OR, that closely follows the design, planning, and implementation of end-to-end HD integrated operating suites at the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

"Obsolescence and potential integration issues abound, as advances in surgical device technologies are introduced every six to nine months," explains Dr. Virginia Cardin, Dr.P.H., senior healthcare consultant with Frost & Sullivan. "To address this, the hospital must select an agile integration partner - one that is vendor-neutral, has its pulse on new technologies, and has the ability to customize a system to accommodate choices in equipment from several manufacturers."

The hospital evaluation process extended over 18 months. A "defining moment" question revolved around the idea that monitors in the OR should be HD, much like the rapid adoption of HD viewing of TV at home. The Penn SurgiCentre/Penn Endoscopy Center believed that the enhancement in visualization and clarity available in a home HD TV should be available during a medical procedure, consultations, or education.

The Penn SurgiCentre/Penn Endoscopy Center eventually selected VTS Medical Systems, for the company's understanding of the needs of surgeons and the functionalities of open and MIS procedures. VTS' staff designed, engineered, programmed and tested a portfolio of products and services specifically for Penn Medicine, employing a structured methodology throughout the process for user validation of the functionality of the integrated Operating Rooms and Endoscopy rooms.

"Medical electronics is an art and a science," adds Dr. Cardin.

In operation for close to six months, the HD-integrated operating rooms at the Penn SurgiCentre have received considerable praise and support from the local medical community, pointing to the goal that end-to-end HD integration in each of the 8 OR room and 8 GI Endoscopy rooms have contributed to the Centre's goal to provide real-time medicine and multidisciplinary collaboration among healthcare providers.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

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