Project titel
PriMed – Process optimization through integrated medical products in operating theatres and clinics
Projekt period
2019 – 2022
Projekt description and objectives
The project “Process optimization through integrated medical devices in the operating room and clinic” – or PriMed – addressed the problem of the lack of manufacturer-independent, secure networking between devices and the exchange of information between specialized disciplines. In order to create added value in the sense of process optimization in the OR and clinic, device-specific information and functionalities must be accessible across disciplines and departments.
The idea was to further develop integrated workstations for surgery, anesthesia, OR nursing, OR management and the other interfaces to the hospital, which had already been started with great success in the previous projects (OR.NET, ZiMT). The focus was on developing the workstations through which functions and information can be effectively and efficiently exchanged. In addition, multimodal, process- and context-dependent input options for the OR team (surgeon, OR nurse, anesthetist), such as touch, tablet, gesture and voice control, were to be created.
The objectives of the PriMed project in the pre-competitive area of medical technology research and development were basic concepts and initial feasibility studies for optimization measures of perioperative processes in the sense of Hospital 4.0 developments through the use of cross-manufacturer, open networking. Building on this, integrated workstations for OR management, surgery and anesthesia, and OR nursing were to be further developed. Modern methods and interfaces for safe human-machine interaction and a context- and situation-adaptive presentation of information and decision support by combining and processing patient-, process- and device-specific individual data should be used. In today’s clinics and surgical departments, proprietary device technology has been used to date, which is optimized exclusively in terms of functions rather than processes. In order to create added value in terms of process optimization in the operating room and clinic, device-specific information and functionalities must be available across disciplines and departments. The information and data already collected, for example from surgery and anesthesia, must be processed in the future in knowledge-based expert systems and prepared in the sense of process support. By using the open communication standard according to IEEE 11073, the above-described interdisciplinary process optimizations in the OR and clinic should become possible for the first time. The optimized processes should ultimately lead to better diagnostic and therapeutic procedures while at the same time conserving resources (personnel, technology and surgical capacities).
Project partner
SurgiTAIX AG , Lehrstuhl für Medizintechnik (mediTEC) der RWTH Aachen, vertreten durch den Rektor, am Helmholtz-Institut für Biomedizinische Technik , Sektion Medizintechnik der Klinik für Anästhesiologie in der Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen (UKA-AN/SMT), Docs in Clouds GmbH (DiC), BEGER DESIGN (Beger), IT4process GmbH (IT4process), Klinik für Orthopädie der Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen (UKA-Ortho), Klinik für Neurochirurgie der Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen (UKA-Neuro), Localite GmbH, OP Management der Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen (UKA-OPM)