Chairs: Patrick Meere, MD, PhD, New York, USA and Armin Janß, PhD, Aachen, Germany
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in medicine are of major importance for quality assurance on an expert level. However, the establishment of SOPs has to be based on clinical evidences and on a broad clinical consensus supported by modern computer integrated technologies enabling closed loop control of the clinical pathways from diagnosis to therapy planning, computer assisted surgery and rehabilitation. Open and secure digital networks in the OR and clinic provide the necessary flexibility and interconnectivity for data exchange and an optimal adaptation of SOPs to the specific needs of each individual patient in a given clinical context.
Since 2019 the international acceptance of the open communication standard family IEEE 11073 SDC, initiated by the international OR.NET initiative (www.ornet.org) , enables manufacturer-independent medical device interconnection in the OR and therefore provides new potential for the standardization of the intraoperative workflow while maintaining flexibility for its context and patient specific adaptation. The approach towards open integrated ORs provides new flexibility for data exchange and visualization, automatic documentation, surgical monitoring, and AI assistance as well as remote- and in-the-loop-control of smart device functions and parameters. Moreover, it opens the door towards more cost-efficient solutions based on modular technical system design replacing monolithic vendor specific solutions.
However,for an open interconnection of medical devices and IT-systems, the definition of SOPs gets even more important as risk management and usability engineering of open modular digital ORs essentially rely on the definition of standardized processes, device profiles and application scenarios. Therefore, the OR.NET initiative is cooperating with international societies in different clinical disciplines (intensive care, endoscopic surgery, neurosurgery,…).
If you are member of CAOS International and you are interested to participate in the focus group activities and related information please contact: sops-in-dors@caos-international.org
