hospital engineering archivos - Page 2 of 3 - ETKHO Hospital Engineering

Equipment and facilities for haemodynamics operating theatre

Over the last two decades, the development of cath-lab rooms in hospitals has gone hand in hand with the profound transformation and innovation in hospital equipment, safety conditions and process improvement.

A profound transformation in which interventional procedures have become major players.

As new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities have appeared in this type of hospital, the level of training of medical staff, as well as the human, technical and equipment requirements, have been modified.

Find out from ETKHO what haemodynamics operating theatres consist of and what systems and elements they should contain as a basic foundation for their optimal functioning.

The hybrid operating room: design, equipment and benefits

The hybrid operating room is a great advance in the field of surgery, since, in general terms, it allows multidisciplinary work by specialists from different areas and helps to perform complex surgeries faster, easier, safer and less invasively. But what exactly is a hybrid operating room?

It is a surgical room that is equipped with advanced medical imaging/radiodiagnosis devices, allowing different diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to be carried out simultaneously.

A hybrid operating room allows the insertion of catheters or endoscopes through small holes with which to view smaller anatomical regions, greatly facilitating the surgery process.

Electrical safety in the ICU and resuscitation areas

Hospital units, especially ICUs, are contexts with high risks of electrical failures if they do not have an adequate electrical safety system.

Today, most medical devices are electronic, so they are powered by power supplies and the electrical grid. If an electrical safety failure occurs, the risk of patient injury is high. Especially, in areas such as the ICU or other critical areas in health centers.

The ICU is the intensive care unit of a hospital, that is, the area of a hospital center where the most seriously ill patients who require continuous and specific surveillance and attention are admitted.

By critical areas we understand those areas of the hospitals where health care is produced in which the risk is high. In addition to the ICU, for example, we find operating rooms, emergencies, clean rooms, isolation rooms, ICU…

To maintain hospital electrical safety in these areas, there are various elements that protect and guarantee the electrical supply. We are talking about, for example, IT power systems, uninterruptible power supplies or ground connections, among others.

Telemedicine: Paradigm shift after the pandemic

Telemedicine, after the coronavirus, has positioned itself as an essential element in the health industry.

One of the main consequences of Covid-19 is the great advance that telemedicine has experienced globally. Whether they are more advanced countries accustomed to the use of new health technologies, or those that had not opted for telemedicine, remote health care has increased during the pandemic and lockdowns.

Although it is true that more telephone medicine has been done than telemedicine itself, many barriers planned for the coming years have been broken in just a few months. In addition, much of the fear of the dehumanization of health technology has been eliminated.

Thus, the different health administrations are beginning to generalize teleconsultations and other resources of the digitalization of health.

The effectiveness of home health care, regardless of the face-to-face hospital infrastructure, in case of having telematic means to be able to monitor the patient, has become the present and the future of health.

The future of quantum technology applied to medicine

Quantum computing is presented as one of the greatest allies of health for the coming years.

Quantum computing has positioned itself as the protagonist of the next great revolution in the medical sector. The advantages of this technology are endless in many fields, but especially in what affects the health sector. Fundamentally, thanks to the processes of quantum computing technologies, problems that used to take days, months, or entire years to solve will now only be a matter of seconds.

The union of quantum physics and quantum technology uses nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and especially quantum computing to process large volumes of data, create simulations, develop custom drugs, manipulate organs at the molecular level…

What applications in medicine does quantum technology have? What is it based on? What can the future hold for us? In this article, we are going to analyze in detail the new paradigm of quantum technology in the health field.

5 Healthcare trends in 2022

Hospital engineering, electrical safety, the consumerization of health, mobility and telemedicine are some of the challenges that will mark the future of global health this year.

Like every beginning of the year, it is always interesting to analyse the trends that we will find in the health field. With our sights set on this 2022, at Ethko we have detected some of the main items or elements that will be decisive in hospital centers. From the outset, we cannot ignore the pandemic, which although it no longer causes the same havoc as in 2020 and early 2021, we do have to take into account that the transition from pandemic to endemic will take place.

There will be new treatments and vaccines on the market and in the sector to deal with Covid-19. In this regard, the reinforcement of primary care is a yes or yes that, however, produces more uncertainty than anything else. We already know that this virus has become persistent in thousands of people, something to keep in mind. European funds for health, the impact of mental health… The topics will be many and varied.

However, we can talk about the 5 main trends that will mark the path of health in 2022.

Current outlook of hospital energy cost and consumption

Improving efficiency in energy consumption in hospitals has many advantages and is a crucial aspect for the future of these health centers in the coming years.

The price of electricity is shooting up 25% in energy costs for hospitals. That is the reality that health centers are experiencing due to the global energy crisis, which is increasing the price of electricity to unapproachable limits for many people and companies.

According to the Spanish media Redacción Médica, hospital centers are going through very hard times and uncertainty due to the year-on-year increase in the price of electricity of 25 percent. According to Sedisa, 100,000 euros the monthly bill for electricity consumption of an average hospital. Hospitals spend more and more energy because they take on more and more activities, and also the VAT they pay and pay is 21%: there is no reduced price for these rates.

As they explain, part of the country’s health centers do not have the price of electricity closed. This causes that there is a real increase on what they pay in each invoice. Especially taking into account that the energy consumption of hospitals is around 3% of the country’s total.

Robotics in hospitals

Through Artificial Intelligence (AI), robots in the medical field are transforming the way surgeries are performed, the way patients are cleaned, cared for or disinfected.

Robotics for patient care and assistance in hospitals, to optimise all processes involving healthcare professionals and for the surgical operations themselves, is the present and the future of hospital technology.

Health centres nowadays have the option of having robots in practically any room, whether in the operating and surgical areas, waiting rooms, patient rooms, cleaning areas…

The adaptation of Artificial Intelligence and robotic surgery to the clinical industry is an unstoppable phenomenon. These devices, in the medical field, are transforming the way surgeries are performed, cleaned, cared for or disinfected. These robots, during the COVID-19 pandemic, have been deployed throughout hospitals and clinics, delivering excellent performance.

Trends and conclusions in hospital engineering currently

Last October, the 38th Hospital Engineering Congress / 9th IFHE-EU Congress was held in Gijón (Spain). During the two and a half days that the event lasted, several of the most important professionals in the health sector in this area met.

On this occasion, the main novelties, trends and elements of analysis were the innovation of technology, such as 3D printing, Big Data, equipment management … There were also novelties in electromedicine equipment, new architectural projects and especially everything related to the role of hospital engineering in the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Etkho we have summarized the main points that were discussed and the conclusions that were reached in this congress.

Operation of a surgery control room: key safety devices in supervision

The isolation watchdog and multi-repeater, together with the alarm repeaters, are fundamental elements in the security, control and supervision of operating rooms.

Safety in surgery and operating room control is one of the pillars for the proper functioning of the interventions, as well as to guarantee their success.

It is just as important that medical personnel know the characteristics, risks and security solutions as well as having the best devices and elements so that nothing interrupts an operation / intervention.