“Dim the lights, please,” is a request that is heard frequently when certain endoscopic surgical devices are being used, as low light enables the surgeon to see the procedure better on the screen. What if an intelligent operating theatre system were able to recognise automatically that the endoscopic mode had been started and the light should be dimmed, rather than the surgeon having to give that instruction to a human assistant? This is just one of many questions occupying the mind of Prof. Oliver Burgert, Dean of the School of Informatics at Reutlingen University and project leader of the DIIC Innovation Community during this project. While it may sound straightforward, it is very complicated in practice. Lights and endoscopic devices must have the correct interfaces so that they can be integrated into the operating theatre’s cloud, regardless of manufacturer. “We can demonstrate open system networking in surgical settings in our university’s teaching and research operating theatre. We show how individual devices interact with each other, what the device interfaces look like and how the system contributes towards improved patient care,” Burgert explains, adding that this is on the condition that an intelligent operating theatre will make clinical life easier in the future rather than more complicated. “Doctors shouldn’t even notice that the system is working – the light simply goes on or off at the correct time.”

Virtually simulated operations are being run round the clock at data level on the platform of the university’s intelligent operating theatre. Companies can integrate their products into this platform and test the systems in a safe environment. “If it works with us – we can’t carry out actual operations, after all – then this platform will be duplicated in the Institute of Clinical Anatomy in Tübingen,” Burgert says. Project partner Prof. Bernhard Hirt, Director of the Institute of Clinical Anatomy and Cell Analysis, will then assess the processes on an anatomical specimen, and thus provide support for the first step into clinical testing. In addition, Prof. Martin Haimerl and his team at Furtwangen University are ensuring that the key regulatory issues regarding the interoperability of devices and the interaction between humans and machines are taken into account.

The research project has the explicit goal of promoting the transfer of research into industry. This is why companies that want to benefit from technological innovation are to be brought on board at an early stage. “Many companies have no idea that these open operating theatre networking opportunities exist. As part of this project, we are therefore creating an interdisciplinary exchange platform with workshops and meetings,” says Prof. Burgert.