The Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom has published a second scientific study, entitled “The Green Surgical Block 4.0”, on the results of MYSPHERA at Vall d’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the impact on key energy performance indicators with the ORvital solution, which dynamically adjusts the appropriate climatic conditions of each operating theatre as surgical interventions progress.
The case study addresses two of ORvital’s functionalities. First, it automatically adjusts the climate level of the operating theatres according to different states generated by the real-time location system (RTLS). Secondly, it provides an OR display showing patient flow and room status to optimize process management, as well as information and direct control of various climate parameters.
The results of the study show that connecting the HVAC systems to the MYSPHERA solution enabled an impressive 1,445 MWh savings in 2018, representing a reduction of around 30% of the total energy expenditure in that surgery unit and an OT waste reduction of 76 MWh/year. Overall, the cumulative savings in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 were 5.78 GWh/year, with savings of €600,000 and a reduction in GHG emissions of 1,227.27 tCO2e.
The deployment of ORvital at Vall d’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona demonstrates the potential for optimizing energy consumption in hospital environments, which can lead to a significant reduction in energy costs and a decrease in GHG emissions. These results are expected to be of great interest to other hospitals and healthcare centers looking to implement sustainable solutions to improve energy efficiency and reduce their environmental impact.
If you want to know more about the study and its results, you can download it through the following link: https://www.rcpjournals.org/content/futurehosp/early/2023/03/22/fhj.2022-0142
This study has been possible thanks to the work of the authors: Jordi Rovira-Simon, Marc Sales-i-Coll, Patricia Pozo-Rosich, Juan Antonio Hueto-Madrid, Raquel Cánovas Paradell, Anna Ochoa de Echagüen Aguilar, Marta Carbonell-Cobo, Rodolfo de Castro and Genevieve Shaw. We thank them for their contribution to research and the advancement of sustainable solutions in the health sector.
Surgical Block 4.0
“The Green Surgical Block 4.0” complements the first scientific publication by the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom on the impact of MYSPHERA at Vall d’Hebron Hospital, which can be found at the following link: https://www.rcpjournals.org/content/futurehosp/9/2/194.
In this first study on the hospital’s process transformation, it was highlighted that the results indicate a significant improvement in operating room utilization and productivity, as well as a huge reduction in the number of canceled operations per day. An economic gain of €1.88M was recorded in 2018, with a return on investment of 342% in the first year of project implementation.
The study indicates an improvement in coordination between teams and a reduction in the time taken to record activities, which led to an increase in the number of surgeries performed, from 8,154 to 9,235 operations per year, and an increase in surgical performance from 70.02% to 82.5%.
The new way of working, with access to accurate timings and real-time applications, enabled better scheduling and management of the activity, which had an impact on late starts, the cancellation ratio, and the time between surgeries, as shown in the table below:
