Product News: Olympus’ next-generation operating room integration solution EASYSUITE now offered throughout EMEA

Olympus has launched EASYSUITE, its next-generation operating room (OR) integration solution, in the EMEA region. EASYSUITE incorporates video management and routing, procedure recording, medical content management, and virtual collaboration. As part of EASYSUITE and in response to the coronavirus crisis, Olympus recently supported customers with MedPresence, a remote collaboration solution – temporarily provided free of charge. With the introduction of EASYSUITE, Olympus pushes digitalization in surgery and strengthens its position as an innovator in the EMEA region.

With Olympus’ new OR integration solution EASYSUITE, medical equipment and all major functions of a modern, digital OR can be accessed centrally and with a single touch. Its user interface is designed to support every step before, during and after the procedure, allowing the surgeon and its team to fully concentrate on the patient. EASYSUITE comprises following main products and solutions:

• The video management platform, EasySuite 4K, serves as basis for the new OR integration solution, provides video-over-IP routing of uncompressed 3D/4K video signals
• The remote collaboration solution, MedPresence, is a software add-on, stands for “medical virtual presence”, enables remote collaboration
• The networked and highly flexible medical recorder, nCare, is compatible with nearly every video source, supports various medical specialties
• The secure, intuitive software add-on, hospital-wide medical content management, VaultStream, provides storage of and access to recorded clinical images across the hospital
• Project Management and Workspace Design are services Olympus offers to provide assistance from design to installation, improving the OR workflow
• Service Solutions help customers securing their investment including on-site and remote support, maintenance and loan equipment, regular software updates, as well as on-site training.
• Towards the data-driven future of the OR

EASYSUITE sets a solid foundation to reach to the next frontier for future data-driven and remote decision-making, data analytics and even the further development of artificial intelligence in surgery. During surgery, 3D/4K video signals are transmitted to the screens in real time, assisting surgeons in performing procedures more precisely. While nCare captures full-HD procedures images and videos from up to two surgical devices simultaneously, the VaultStream embedded centralized content management allows medical staff to quickly access procedure footage linked to patient data – from anywhere, at any time. Patient and hospital data are protected by special security mechanisms to help ensure compliance with the European GDPR. EASYSUITE is compatible with the Olympus medical equipment controller UCES-4 to support the standardization of the procedure. Surgeons can send control settings from a single touch panel to UCES-4, which manages the medical and peripheral devices.

Ivica Fedel, MD consultant in general and abdominal surgery and Deputy Director of Pula General Hospital in Croatia relies on system integration solutions for the OR of the future: “[…] The technology will allow our surgeons to develop faster, adopt new technologies, communicate with colleagues from other hospital centers and, most importantly, raise the level of safety of surgery for the benefit of our patients and staff.”

Enabling virtual collaboration in a pandemic and post-pandemic setting
During COVID-19, hospitals face increasing challenges in a stressed healthcare environment. Clinical staff must coordinate care while trying to maintain social distancing directives. The ability to exchange information quickly, easily and virtually is more important than ever.

With MedPresence, participants interact and communicate naturally, just as if they were in the room together. The software provides access to real-time clinical video, such as live feed of endoscopic images and related patient health information, on a private and secure cloud-based platform. It allows medical experts to collaborate on procedures virtually or students to learn procedural techniques in live or saved sessions. Both the in-room participants and the virtual participant can perform two-way annotations, meaning in-picture drawings or remarks.

Olympus Europa recently offered MedPresence free of charge to all healthcare organizations in the EMEA region that already use the Olympus medical content management solutions. Just at the right time: The European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) recommends that “[…] all non-essential hospital or office staff should be allowed to stay home and telework. All in-person educational sessions should be cancelled and could be replace by online resources.”ⁱⁱ

Miquel-Àngel Garcia, Managing Director Medical Systems at Olympus Europa, comments: “Telecollaboration is a recognized tool for reducing exposure to pathogens and can be effective in protecting hospital staff as well as patients. We provide MedPresence during this critical time to reduce risk, conserve resources, and ensure that new approaches to this disease can be made available without barrier. Together, and with the best technologies, we will defeat the coronavirus and its tragic effects.”

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