Medtronic
Role: Lead UX
Time Frame: 8 months
Machine learning, Data visualisation
Touch Surgery Enterprise. The first AI-powered surgical video and analytics platform for the OR
Context
🗒️ Digital Surgery were progressing from pre op preparation tools to a full ecosystem that not only help surgeons and trainees to prepare, but assist performance in the OR as well as data capture for better procedure analysis which has been identified as huge gaps in the current process model.
Challenge
⚡️ Provide digital tools that would empower surgical teams to better prepare, perform and analyse surgical processes. The focus on process means improved procedure preparation, patient safety and OR efficiency.
Studies show surgical video analysis can improve surgeon performance†
Our goal is to improve procedure preparation and OR efficiency informing better outcomes.
†Based on a RCT in a porcine model.
User story board, use across the ecosystem.
Problem space
Staff turn-over
The industry has a large turn over of scrub nurses, key players in prepping surgical equipment and handing over at the point necessary, to date was proven to be quite inefficient processes of transferring ‘preference’ knowledge
Time saving is a necessity
Tools created needed to allow users to preview video footage easily and navigate quickly due to time poor circumstances.
Surgeons have preferences
These variables make it harder for teams to anticipate workflow processes creating confusion and inefficiencies, particularly for new staff.
Data protection
There is little assistance of data capture digitally whilst a procedure is happening. Most is done from memory in post op documentation. There is also an issue of protecting patient data
Preparation: Navigating made easy
Our tool allowed users to:
To add annotations during or after surgery to create a rich case record
Jump to a key procedural step using your added annotations
Filter using custom tags to easily search your library
Perform with AI assistance
We simplified the workflow in which users can obtain video footage for training/coaching purposes by creating the first AI tool in the OR.
Automatically uploads surgical videos without the need for USB drives, DVDs or encrypted drives
Technology automatically blurred video outside the body so patient and staff privacy is preserved
Users can time stamp in real-time to add aid post op documentation
Transforming video into actionable insights
Video is automatically segmented into key procedural steps using our AI algorithms
Benchmark your case to identify best practices by comparing a single case against a bank of your historical cases
Power your conversation with data by receiving cross-departmental reports to illustrate variation in technique
Design principles
Inform at a glance
Give the right information at the right time. We put in constraints to ensure the right level of information was portrayed at any one time.
Interaction limitations
Surgical teams could not touch the UI. We experimented with voice and a foot pedal as part of the MVP to transition to each phase. This however was part of a much larger plan the AI would eventually recognised phase of the operation and provide the right information necessary.
Context and logistics
The UI again was our own hardware for now until wider work was done to integrate with hospital hardware. No nevertheless designing for this new context required new UI considerations including distance from screen and the glare from OR lights.
Outcome
The announcement of Digital Surgerys work hit much interest and there were so many opportunities affiliaed with this new product. A big appeal was also how it could be used to help with malpractice.
Next big phases of work that the team pushed to prioritise for this product was integrating with electronic Medical Record of patients (which was possible just very lengthy and hard!) alongside streamlining the creation of the workflows with templated phases and asset libraries.
