Photos: The “digital operating room of the future” at the new Smith+Nephew Academy

A VR simulation studio, warm greenery, an interactive LED wall and more are what healthcare professionals in the area can look forward to. Priya Sunil takes readers on a guided tour of the facility.

Imagine this: you perform a simulated knee surgery side-by-side with someone. This person, however, is located in country A, while you are located in country B. The whole interaction is seamless and you almost feel like you are together in the operating room. Now, how is that possible?

All through the use of virtual reality (VR), of course – something Smith+Nephew (S+N) brings to life at its recently launched S+N Academy at Alice@Mediapolis in Singapore, the first company in medical technology major center of medical education and digital innovation for the Asia-Pacific region.

This new academy will provide an “engaging, immersive and interactive” training environment for healthcare professionals across the region to learn about the latest products and technologies and hone their techniques under the guidance of expert peers. It has been designed to support the company’s goal of Life Unlimited and aims to provide three fundamental pillars – education, innovation, and Excellency.

Here is an overview of the features and facilities that make up the academy:

The reception lounge

Upon entering the academy, learners and visitors are greeted by a welcoming lounge set up with self-check-in terminals, plenty of seating, a coffee corner and warm greenery. The lounge, which can accommodate up to 100 people for events, also features an interactive LED wall that allows individuals to view presentations, videos and live streams from the auditorium and bio-skills lab. .

The “digital operating room of the future”

Here, learners will have the opportunity to experience an advanced digital operating room ecosystem that integrates technology with navigation, robotics and arthroscopic visualization solutions from S+N Orthopedics.

What also stands out about this operating room is its ability to be configured to look like the hospital of the future. Innovators will be able to perform surgical demonstrations while broadcasting live to the public either in the auditorium or virtually across the globe.

The auditorium/seminar rooms

The auditorium, which can also be divided into two soundproof seminar rooms, has been built to accommodate up to 100 people and will host a range of activities – classroom lectures and events including town halls, award ceremonies prizes and fireside chats.

It also has video capabilities and audio systems that allow simultaneous live streaming to the aforementioned lounge, as well as to the digital operating room and bio-skills lab.

The AR/VR simulation studio

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to perform a simulation with a remote peer? Well, one of the strengths of the S+N Academy is that it makes it happen (no pun intended) with its educational VR format. Thanks to its simulation studio, individuals or groups will be able to learn and practice new techniques in a “calm, comfortable and exclusive” environment.

See an idea of ​​what it might look like, like HR noted on the day of the launch ceremony:

The laboratory space

The advanced bio-skills lab includes 10 standard stations and two “superstations” equipped with 4k lens cameras, audio and microphones. This allows professionals to broadcast live surgeries from the lab – to the auditorium and living room.

According to S+N, this “first-in-class” lab is integrated with C-arm technology and a lead wall for added security, and is fully equipped to support cadaver training and R&D testing.

[Browse through all our office photo features, by visiting HRO’s Spacial Awareness section]

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All images / Provided by S+N
Video / reporter’s own