Medi.NET - Medical device platform for openly networked central workstations in operating theaters and clinics

The digital transformation in the healthcare sector offers great opportunities to improve the quality of care in operating theaters and clinics. Until now, individual solutions have prevented comprehensive data exchange and standardized device operation. Against this backdrop, the open and manufacturer-independent networking of medical devices represents a promising solution. It has the potential to revolutionize and significantly relieve the healthcare market by exploiting synergy effects. Networking leads to data fusion, automated documentation and standardized user interfaces, thus improving clinical processes.

These benefits support and relieve the burden on staff, optimize treatment options and increase patient safety, which improves the overall clinical outcome. In addition to cost savings, this particularly addresses the challenges of increasing staff shortages and the growing documentation workload in clinical departments.

A central unit for the control and documentation of manufacturer-independent, interoperable device functions and parameters can only be realized through the open networking of medical devices. A basic building block for this approach is a manufacturer-independent central workstation for use in operating theaters and clinics.

Using the example of a central workstation and its modules for surgery and anesthesia, Medi.NET is carrying out the design, implementation and evaluation of initial functional models. The scientific and technical objectives of the research project include:

• Determination of operator and manufacturer requirements for openly networked medical device systems (development of methods for putting openly networked systems into operation, development of guidelines for conformity assessment)
• Usability engineering and risk management for open networked systems
• One solution fits all - user interfaces (analysis and development of methods and toolsets for simplification and standardization and generation of user interfaces in openly networked systems, development of standardized interfaces)
• Development of SDC platform and interfaces to adjacent modules
• Design, development and implementation of a workflow manager based on standardizable processes in the OR