Consideration of the human-computer interface in the operation room in the era of computer aided surgery

Abstract

Human-computer interactions in the operation room (OR) are rapidly increasing as a result of advances in endoscopic surgery and the implementation of computerized physicians order entry systems (CPOE). Not only computerized medical devices and robotics, but also various image guidance systems with augmented reality to support endoscopic surgery, are being developed and some are already widely used in the OR. While CPOE provide the surgical team with quick and wide-ranging access to individual patients' medical records and images while in the OR, essentially the procedures undertaken by surgeons and scrub nurses cannot be changed. In this study, ergonomic problems involving the human-computer interface in the operation room were investigated for the smooth uses of computers in this era of computer-aided surgery. The amount of cords, cables and medical tubing is increased between 3- and 5-fold over that used in the conventional OR, which carries latent risks for fault connections between the equipment and slipping and tripping accidents among the OR team. The use of a CPOE requires additional movement to the computer terminal during surgery. If fingerprint recognition is used as the CPOE biometrics system, surgeons and scrub nurses cannot access the CPOE themselves during operations. As countermeasures against such problems, the integration of cables and wires, improvement of the WIFI environment and electromagnetic compatibility with medical devices, and implementation of tablet PCs with voice recognition or touch screens are required. Moreover, it is essential for the human-computer interface in the OR to be further improved by accounting for OR-staff's work flow. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.