The Balgrist University Hospital opened the new surgical research and teaching center OR-X (Operating Room X) with guests from politics, healthcare, industry and medicine. The heart of the OR-X is the fully equipped operating room and a skills lab, which offers an optimal environment for the development of surgical innovations and the training of tomorrow’s surgeons. As a strategic infrastructure of the University Medicine Zurich (UMZH), the OR-X promotes scientific research and plays a decisive role in the further development of health care in the Zurich region.
On August 24th and 25th, the Balgrist University Hospital opened its tenth operating room (Operating Room X, or OR-X for short). Over 250 invited guests took the opportunity to visit the hall with its state-of-the-art technical equipment and to hear speeches from the President of the Balgrist Association, Rita Fuhrer, the hospital directors Mazda Farshad and Thomas Huggler, as well as Swissmem President Martin Hirzel and OR-X co-founder Philipp to hear Fürnstahl.
However, the new OR-X will never see patients. The OR-X is a national research infrastructure and the surgical teaching and research center at the Balgrist University Hospital. It combines a realistic infrastructure with the latest technology and is accessible to national and international professionals. At the heart of OR-X is a fully equipped operating room designed for tomorrow’s surgical research and education. A place where new technologies are developed, experienced surgeons receive further training and future surgeons are trained.
The X not only stands for the number 10, but also for the great potential that this digitized research infrastructure brings with it. Without direct contact with patients, teaching and learning takes place on 3D printed models, simulators and human specimens. The direct integration into a clinic and the connection to the existing research environment is unique. The technical equipment highlights include intraoperative artificial intelligence (AI), navigation systems, surgical robots and applications supported by augmented reality (AR). The Skills Lab, with its six surgical workstations, offers perfect conditions for training courses and larger research experiments with several participants.
Source: Balgrist University Hospital, August 25, 2023
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