First HD theatres

On 6 August, surgeons at Mater Adult Hospital (MAH) operated in the hospital’s new full high definition (HD) (1080p) digital integrated operating theatre OR1 from Karl Storz, the first of its kind in Australia.

The theatre is part of the MAH refurbishment and has been funded by the State Government and Mater Health Services.

Using equipment from medical distribution company N Stenning & Co., the technologically advanced theatre is part of the hospital’s commitment to delivering better patient outcomes.

Mater Health Services CEO, Dr John O’Donnell said the new theatre provides surgeons with a number of advantages, but in particular the true HD screens will enable surgeons to see the area on which they are operating with greater clarity than is possible with current technology.

“The high quality optical lenses and HD technology within the camera head provide a true high definition image which vastly increases the clarity on the visual screens to assist the surgeons’ vision, particularly in keyhole surgery,” he said.

“The wide-screen display allows for a wider field of view and the increased screen resolution improves depth of field and colour definition, which assists surgeons in diagnosis and surgery.”

Another benefit of a fully integrated operating theatre is that the surgeons can decide where they want the cameras to be angled and visual monitors to be placed. They can operate the visual monitors themselves by a touch screen located inside the sterile operating field.

This unique touch screen uses a Realistic User Interface, the benefit of which is that there are no interruptions in or out of the sterile field when altering surgical device settings.

“Images, documents and patient records relevant to the patient’s care can also be reproduced on the visual monitors,” Dr O’Donnell said.

In addition, the theatre has telemedicine and teleconferencing facilities which allows a procedure to be televised anywhere in the world for teaching purposes or collaboration for complex surgical procedures.

Dr O’Donnell continued by saying, “The acquisition of this theatre is very exciting for Mater Health Services.”

“We are confident this leading edge technology will further our ability to provide exceptional service to our patients.” According to OR1 Product Manager for N Stenning & Co., Steve Griffiths, this is a very exciting time for both surgeons and patients alike.

“The OR1 integrated theatre’s technology now enables surgeons and theatre clinicians of the Mater to perform procedures with more information at their fingertips, thus reducing procedure times,” he said.

“This technology ultimately benefits the patients as it reduces their recovery time and allows them to return to their family or the work place sooner.”