Hybrid ORs

This year's exhibitors were feeling the pressure of the economy, but many were excited about several new and ongoing collaborations, including those involved in high-tech, "hybrid" operating rooms. STERIS Corporation announced a joint effort with GE Healthcare earlier this month, which follows the global alliance formed between Philips and STERIS back in October. Philips and Skytron also recently teamed up to produce a hybrid angiography suite.


"We are in a time of economic challenge so we want to deliver our customers solutions that will help them manage and improve efficiency, reduce cost, drive revenue and improve patient safety," said Randy Tomaszewski, Skytron's vice president of marketing.

Our hybrid room solution combines cardiovasular, vascular, neurosurgery, orthopedic, and spinal surgery capabilities, noted Tomaszewski. The setup allows transition of the C-arm mounted in the ceiling, and movement from more invasive, open surgery to general and orthopedic surgery, which allows hospitals to treat high-risk patients in one location instead of being transported to multiple specialized operating rooms.

Tomaszewski remarked that market analyses showed approximately 1,500 to 2,000 ORs becoming hybrid-equipped in the next year, and hospitals have been using hybrid rooms 50 percent more in the past three to five years.

Skytron has also partnered with National City Health Care in order to provide financing for customers seeking to implement hybrid OR and other technology, but who are currently struggling with the cost.

Jim Wetzel is director of marketing for the Berchtold Corporation, which offers an array of surgical lighting equipment and provides architectural planning in 3-D for the whole OR spread, including OR tables, boom lights and workflow.

"Our stance is one of realism," said Wetzel. "The economy is bad, but people need quality health care and that is the bottom line."

New Credentialing Effort

Another major concern at the 2009 AORN Congress was credentialing of clinical health care industry representatives (HCIR). A number of health care organizations are uniting to set standards (See DM 8557).

"This was heard loudly from the last Congress: Who is allowed to go into the OR? There is just so much you can do in terms of product training, but these people need to be properly educated and certified," said Marks.

HCIR is a broad term that includes anyone entering the institution to provide technical support, including "device industry personnel," who would remain outside the sterile field but assist in such procedures as catheterization or in orthopedic operations requiring specific implants, said Terry Chang, director of medical and legal affairs at AdvaMed.

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