Hartford Hospital has installed a new HD, audio visual system in its operating room that will allow it to broadcast live surgeries. It’s all part of an effort to boost the hospital’s reputation as a leader in robotic surgery and increase its ability to train surgeons and students around the country.
The feeds will allow Hartford Hospital surgeons to discuss what they’re doing during a robotic procedure, as they’re doing it, with medical audiences across the nation.
While live surgery broadcasts are not necessarily a new thing, using HD quality technology for robotic procedures is.
Hospital officials say it will provide a much higher quality picture, allowing viewers to see tissue and anatomy images as if they were at the controls of the robot.
“As a teaching hospital, the idea was to have a live, high-quality feed for interns, nurses and doctors who are interested in learning about robotic surgeries,” said Al Hofmann, who is the director of network services at Hartford Hospital. “Early on, that teaching was done with low-end gear that really wasn’t worth the effort because of the lack of clarity.”
Hartford Hospital’s technology upgrade cost about $500,000, Hofmann said. It includes an operating room equipped with three cameras that produce HD quality images and provide all the angles necessary to do teaching at the operating table.
There is also a live feed from the robot itself, which allows onlookers to get the exact same view as the operating physician.
Other upgrades include a new 52-inch plasma TV in the operating room, a new broadcast center, and an on-campus auditorium equipped with two new projectors, as well as a new sound system and 27-foot, movie theater-style HD screen. The HD TV in the operating room allows nurses and assistants to the see same view as the operating physician.
Hartford Hospital physician Steven J. Shichman said robotic surgery is becoming more prevalent across the country because it allows for minimally-invasive procedures. That results in surgeries that require smaller incisions, and produce less pain and quicker recoveries.
But along with the advanced technology comes a greater learning curve.
Mastering surgical robotic techniques requires intense and repetitive training before a physician can use it on a patient.
That makes workforce training all the more important.
Hartford Hospital is nationally renowned for its robotic and laparoscopic surgery capabilities. It’s ranked in the top five nationally in terms of robotic surgery case volume, and is one of only four hospital campuses in the world with five surgical robots, officials said.
So it’s natural for the health care provider to also take a leading role in educating other physicians across the country, officials said.
“This is a large undertaking that Hartford Hospital has been committed to as an education provider to physicians and providers regionally,” Shichman said.
Most importantly the hospital’s new technology enhances remote teaching opportunities.
“Teleconferencing has been part of the business world, but now it’s becoming just as prevalent in the medical field,” Shichman added.
Shichman and fellow Hartford Hospital doctor Joseph Wagner have done a number of robotic surgeries where physicians from around the country have observed and asked questions.
In June, Hartford Hospital hosted the National Renal and Prostate Robotic Symposium, which brought in surgeons from all over the country, who watched and learned from Hartford’s experts. They also linked in and watched a surgery coming out of a Florida hospital.
Besides teaching opportunities the new HD technology can also lead to improved care, Shichman said. That’s because it can allow doctors to make surgical decisions remotely, or get a second opinion from an expert who may be located in another state.
More importantly it provides surgeons with improved clarity.
“When you are performing surgical procedures on a patient, the better you can see, the better you can operate,” Shichman said.
