Operating Rooms of the Future

Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Surgical Suite

NewYork-Presbyterian's New, Advanced Technology Operating Rooms

From innovative and less invasive surgical approaches treating some of the most complicated and life-threatening medical conditions to developing and perfecting models of futuristic operating rooms, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital continues to play a leading role in advancing surgical practice.

Established through The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, the new Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Surgical Suite consists of four spacious operating rooms housing futuristic surgical, endoscopic and imaging technology. Each of these ORs is tailored for specialty areas.

Operating Rooms Designed for Specialty Areas

One OR will primarily accommodate vascular procedures. The room contains the Artis zeego angiography C-arm system developed by Siemens Healthcare and recently approved for use in the United States.

Artis zeego C-arm

Based on industrial robotic technology, the imaging system can be completely controlled right at the OR table and allows virtually all anatomic regions to be easily imaged. The system provides extraordinary functionality and flexibility, enabling the C-arm to articulate at many angles and move to almost any position around the patient. As a result, the surgeon can visualize internal organs from various perspectives with access to more anatomical details, including the most minute vessels, than ever before possible. With more complete information to determine a precise diagnosis, surgical planning can be more specific and treatment more targeted. And by having this technology in the OR, our surgeons can go directly from diagnosis to surgical remedy.

A second OR also has the Artis zeego system, with the added capability for brain mapping and navigation. This OR has been designed for neurosurgical and cardiothoracic procedures.

The other two ORs are designated for less invasive or minimally invasive procedures, particularly for colorectal and bariatric procedures. In these rooms, equipment has been installed that facilitates maximum flexibility to support unique needs and advanced procedures, while improving function and safety of patient care.

Advanced Communications

Each operating room is equipped with multiple high-definition video screens and telecommunication channels, known collectively as a "Wall of Knowledge."

With the technology, physicians and nurses can access a range of patient information, including clinical reports available through WebCIS, the Hospital's clinical information system; imaging data via PACS, the Picture Archiving and Communication System, and reports from the Hospital's laboratories. They can communicate with pathology, other operating rooms, and see information about the case such as a roster of who is in the room, milestones occurring during the surgery, and information on patient vital signs usually only seen continuously by anesthesia personnel.

Safety and Comfort

The spacious operating rooms, which are 600-plus square feet, provide a feeling of openness. The nursing stations face into the OR, providing the OR nurses with a clear view of the patient, surgery and other personnel involved.

Equipment is now accessible from booms, keeping the floors clear of cords and carts and making the OR environment less intimidating for patients and safer for staff. The room colors were designed to be calming for patients.