Intelligent Health.tech Issue 06 | Page 63

D I G I T A L D I A G N O S T I C S

According to data published by the British Medical Association , over 7 million people in the UK are currently waiting for elective surgery – with 2.87 million patients waiting over 18 weeks and 401,537 patients waiting over a year .

In Europe , the situation is not much better . According to OECD iLibrary , the median waiting time for hip replacement ranged from a comparatively speedy five to seven weeks in Denmark , Hungary and Italy , to 35 weeks in Estonia , where 90 % of patients are waiting more than three months for surgery .
Although the mismatch between demand and capacity is not a new problem for healthcare systems , today ’ s crisis is markedly different to pre-pandemic years . A combination of staff shortages , ageing populations and COVID-19 backlogs have created an acute need for new solutions and technologies . It ’ s the field of surgery where much of recent innovation has been concentrated : and with good reason . Surgery is a critical part of healthcare delivery and is often the first line of treatment for conditions such as cardiovascular disease , cancer and traumatic injuries .
How surgery is planned and executed is failing to deliver the best outcomes for patients and clinical teams . Inefficiencies in the preparation stages and outdated technologies in the operating theatre are exacerbating delays , piling pressure on clinicians and putting patients at risk . According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ), in industrialised countries nearly half of all adverse events in hospitalised patients are related to surgical care ; at least half of these are considered preventable .
But the status quo is about to be disrupted . As scientists , medics and technologists collaborate to bring the latest tech innovation to the hospital floor , we are approaching an era of smarter , safer surgery and empowered clinical teams .
Healthtech and surgery
Jahn Otto Andersen , CTO at HoloCare , talks to us about the potential of hologram tech and how it could make surgeries smarter and safer for both professionals and patients .
The rise of Extended Reality ( XR ) technologies has ushered in a new wave of healthtech innovations , which have impacted the way that clinical teams train , prepare and collaborate . Surgery has been a huge benefactor of this innovation : XR offers a new 3D view of clinical data , equipping surgical teams with the knowledge to precisely simulate individual surgeries .

HOW HOLOGRAM TECH IS EMPOWERING SURGICAL TEAMS WORLDWIDE

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