General Director of Medical Visual Systems Ltd. (or MVS) Andrei Kobets spoke about what technologies help doctors work more efficiently and patients recover faster.
25.03.2022
Integrated operating rooms: who in Russia creates the medicine of the future
Autors
Pavel Petrov
Director of the Installation and Service Department
Mikhail Bobryshev
Correspondent of Komsomolskaya Pravda
THE ROUTE OF THE OPERATION HAS BEEN BUILT
Hardware and software complexes for operating room equipment management and documentation of operations (Integrated operating room MVS OR), a mobile multifunctional workstation for the introduction of telemedicine technologies (TELEPORT), a multimedia library of surgical interventions that allows you to collect, process, verify and upload data (MEDIKT)… These and many other products are developed by MVS. As the head of the company explains, globally, the task of all these developments is the same – to help the doctor.
– There are many factors that affect how well and quickly surgical intervention will be performed. For example, the correct location of the monitors and the detail of the visualization (sometimes a difference of even one inch in the diagonal can be crucial!), as well as an accessible and intuitive interface. In the end, the set of these products becomes a kind of dispatch console, from where all the operation management takes place,” says Andrei Kobets.
And immediately draws a vivid parallel
– All drivers – even those who already know their city perfectly – use the navigator. Because it is the perfect prompter: it knows the most optimal path and editing it timely, it seeing the location of the cameras… It’s the same with us – we don’t want to replace the doctor, but to help him, make his work more effective. And in the end, not only the surgeon will win, but also the patient who will receive medical care at the highest level,” our interlocutor emphasizes.
THE MARKET WILL GROW
What Andrei Kobets is talking about is called “integrated operating rooms” in the language of specialists. In the USA and Europe, their first prototypes were created 12 years ago, in our country, pilot samples appeared only in 2014.
An integrated operating room is a modern approach to creating operating rooms, which implies the possibility of setting up a comfortable working environment, integrating medical equipment and engineering systems with a centralized management function, telemedicine from the operating room, video recording and archiving of operations, integration of operating rooms into a single information space of the hospital.
– In Europe, about 12-13% of medical organizations use integrated operating rooms, in our country – less than 1% of all medical institutions. At the same time, market analysis suggests that the situation will change dramatically over the next 5-6 years, – predicts the CEO of MVS. – The state is well aware of the need to introduce innovative solutions: the activities of companies such as ours are supported by the government of the country through grants.
We ask the head to comment on the popular opinion that imported equipment (including software) is a priori better than domestic.
– Doesn’t it hurt when they say that? – we ask Andrey Sergeevich.
– How can I tell you… – he shrugs his shoulders. – This opinion has been formed for decades. There are companies abroad that have been operating for 100 or even more years. And all this time they are actively engaged in marketing, establishing contacts with the medical community, improving their equipment.
– As for Russian manufacturers. – Active development began about 10 years ago. And now we see how the attitude towards domestic equipment has changed – it is used by the largest companies in the country!
“TECHNOLOGIES HAVE CHANGED”
Doctors themselves also trust the MVS developments. Of course, doctors are pleased to work in a modern operating unit, where everything is thought out for their convenience and comfort.
The opinion of doctors, their requests and wishes are important for the company – this is exactly the cornerstone on which the work of the company’s specialists is based.
– Feedback from doctors is what is most important for us, – notes Andrei Kobets. – This, of course, is not the level of “like” or “dislike”. No. Very often we hear specific requests and try to implement this in our products. We can say that MVS solutions were created as a response to the needs of doctors.
Speaking in more detail, the MVS product line is used by medical institutions from Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, Grozny, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Novosibirsk, Perm, Barnaul, Surgut, Khabarovsk, Tula and Minsk (many are federal centers, Ed.). The experience of St. Petersburg is interesting: MVS technologies are actively used by St. Luke’s Clinical Hospital. The company’s management calls cooperation with this hospital “fundamental luck”, since the specialists of this hospital promote science and are open to everything new. A fact that speaks for itself: recently, the doctors of St. Luke’s Clinical Hospital have been performing operations on the da Vinci XI robotic system of the fourth generation. This is still a rarity for Russia.
– Look at this: 10 years ago, about 300-400 operations a year were performed in this hospital. And now it’s 5-6 thousand! At the same time, the area of the building has not changed much. The technology and approach to work have changed,” says the head of MVS. “For us, St. Luke’s Hospital is an advanced example. Doctors not only perform their direct duties, but also share their experience – both with novice specialists and with colleagues around the world, holding conferences, including via video link. And it is a great honor for us that our developments help them in this important matter.
THE ART OF TRANSFORMATION
Why do doctors “rewind” operations?
One of the many developments of Medical Visual Systems allows you to rewind the video recording of the operation on the monitor in real time, right in the operating unit. This is necessary both for the surgeon performing the operation from the very beginning, and for his colleagues who can connect in the process.
– Some operations last for 6-10 hours. And, believe me, even for the most experienced surgeon, it is quite difficult to thoroughly memorize the entire sequence of their actions. However, thanks to modern solutions, every doctor now has this opportunity.
It should be noted that the MVS integrated operating rooms record the operation, and all sources available in the operating room are recorded synchronously: external cameras, endoscope cameras, patient monitor data, CT, ultrasound, etc.
The videos are uploaded to a single video archive of hospital operations, which is needed both to protect the doctor and the patient (the video can act as evidence in the case of court proceedings). As well as for training, retrospective error analysis and analysis of complex clinical cases.
AND AT THIS TIME
MVS is 100% confident that in the foreseeable future Russia will enter the top five countries in terms of the number of integrated operating systems. And what will happen next?
– And then integrated operating rooms evolve into smart operating rooms, – our interlocutor answers. – This means that optimization will not affect individual stages of the operation, but the organization of the entire workflow as a whole, both in the operating room and beyond. In addition, artificial intelligence will appear in the operating unit to help surgeons.
One doctor will be able to perform several operations at the same time, he will have at his disposal all the necessary information about the patient’s condition and about the world’s best practices in this type of surgical intervention, the optimal operation plan with navigation and prompts.
– So the profession of a doctor will become unnecessary in the future, will robots do everything? – asking we the CEO of MVS.
– No way! I repeat: our task is not to replace a doctor, but to help him, transform innovative technologies into convenient and useful tools. The art of medicine is really the most real art. And the philosophy of our company is to transform it, to make it more perfect, – sums up Andrey Kobets.
on a note
Medical Visual Systems is a recognized expert and an active member of the digital healthcare communities in Russia. In particular, Medical Visual Systems is a resident of Skolkovo.