Optimizing healthcare efficiency in the OR

The global healthcare system faces numerous challenges, marked by a severe shortage of medical staff. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the shortage of healthcare personnel will reach nearly 10 million individuals by 2030 [1]. “One of the most important challenges we face every day is that we have to provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, high-quality care for our trauma patients,” says Professor Mario Perl, MD, Head of Department, Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Germany. A new automated intraoperative imaging system like CIARTIC Move¹ can help fill the gaps and provide solutions where the healthcare system is experiencing shortages.

Surgical procedures require a well-trained and orchestrated team of staff to keep the balance between control and flexibility for the best clinical outcomes for patients [2,3]. “If surgical staff are absent at short notice, there is always the risk that procedures will have to be postponed,” says Professor Perl. To be able to execute the proceducres, the OR staff then needs to compensate for missing staff. This might mean a surgeon would have to shift their focus from the patient to the imaging process.

In surgery, minimally invasive procedures have become the preferred approach due to the reduced impact on patients [4]. However, these advanced techniques mostly demand imaging and higher levels of skill and precision from surgical teams. All of this while operating on tight schedules and performing multiple image-guided procedures daily, which adds to their workload. “The time savings with the automated C-arm are high, it finds the position faster. The X-ray technologist that usually moves it can do other things at the same time,” says Benedict Swartman, MD, Head of Acute Traumatology, BG Klinik Ludwigshafen, Germany.

The physical demands on surgical teams are substantial, particularly in managing the C-arm during operations. Weighing up to half a ton, the C-arm requires frequent repositioning, a task that is time consuming, physically strenuous when done manually and can lead to delays and errors. “Positioning C-arms is always very difficult because the surgeon’s view is often different to the person who is operating the system,” says Nina Renner, MD, Senior Physician, Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Germany. But what if intraoperative imaging could minimize the effort and workforce capacity needed?