Medical Cockpit

Doctors traditionally work on their own. Unlike in an airplane cockpit, for example, there are only a few support systems. In addition, medical knowledge is still stored in an analog form of books and publications, which makes it very difficult for technical systems to use it. After all, medicine is a field of traditionalists. For more or less good reasons, the doctor is given a kind of "superhero role" after his training: further training, proof of ability and the treatment itself are entirely in his hands.

Gero Strauss has been developing systems to support doctors since 2002. First in the operating room and later for the consultation. The idea of automation, i.e. supporting human skills to improve the result, is the common denominator of all systems. Likewise, the agreement to only provide really useful support and to implement it at an initially low level of automation. Because Strauss saw early on the risks of overconfidence and the loss of skills through medical assistance systems.

OR1 surgical cockpit

Today, a navigation system shows the ENT surgeon exactly where he is in the skull. Warning algorithms give an alarm if the distance to a risk structure, such as the meninges or the facial nerve, falls below a critical distance. This makes interventions possible that were previously not possible or only possible with great trauma due to the risk of injury to the risk structures. The best example is the opening of the frontal sinuses through the nose, which is only possible with the help of a navigated, bent milling machine without removing parts of the nasal septum has become. The technique introduced by Strauss as "DRAF IV" drainage has spared many patients the torment of severe crusting and the restriction of their sense of smell.

Since 2018, the "Surgical Procedure Manager" has given the surgical and anesthesiological team detailed instructions for every step in the OR. In everyday situations, such as opening a drainage path or unusual situations, such as heavy bleeding, the system helps to ensure that no step is forgotten, to keep a cool head and to reduce the surgeon's stress level.

Medical Cockpit Office1

The "black box" principle has so far ruled in the treatment room. The doctor alone determined the examinations and drew the conclusions from the results. Each doctor took the patient with him on this journey in very different ways: some doctors are true explanatory masters on their own, others can only explain the steps in incomprehensible foreign words or not at all. The shortcomings of modern medicine are particularly evident in everyday life in the examination room: medical knowledge increases with each passing day. Nobody is able to process this amount of information in a meaningful way. Some doctors therefore work with information that is years old and in some cases already refuted. This is exactly where the "Medical Operation & Decision Manager" comes into play. Based on "Medical Operation Handbooks", the system tells the doctor exactly which examinations are the basis for a well-founded diagnosis. In this way, the patient can assess the progress as well as the care taken by the doctor at any time. But much more than that, the MODM indicates at any point in time which steps appear to be useful and helpful based on the knowledge in the manual. In this way, the patient has a kind of "second opinion" at all times, which significantly improves the relationship of trust with the doctor.