Integrated operating rooms and the benefits they provide

Integrated operating room systems aim to enhance efficiency, communication, and overall performance during surgical procedures. At a minimum, they include audio and video recording features, and they can have additional features including visual information displays, picture archives, connectivity to medical equipment, room environment, and telemedicine capabilities. Most of these more advanced integrations involve an external coordinator to assist the surgical team.

Stryker is the market leader in this segment as many of its robotic surgery suites require these features to function. Hospitals that already have Stryker systems find that conventional surgical techniques can also benefit from an integrated operating room (OR) and look to add functionality. This gives Stryker natural sales leads and a strong competitive edge in this market.

Olympus is taking a different approach and offering custom installation packages to make the best use of existing hospital equipment. Capital equipment expenditures have a long purchasing cycle and hospitals want to make the best use of their resources. Olympus can complement its market-leading install base of endoscopy devices with incremental improvements rather than needing hospitals to commit to a full installation. GlobalData expects integrated ORs to continue to show strong growth despite a slow rate of adoption due to the long timeframe required for new builds and upgrades to existing ORs. While integrated ORs offer numerous advantages, their implementation requires careful planning, investment, and ongoing maintenance to ensure optimal functionality and usability. This market is being driven by the US, with some adoption among other developed economies and regional world-class hospitals. The technologies involved are new, expensive, and have a high burden of technical expertise. It is not in the interest of a hospital to require surgical teams and technicians to train on multiple systems, so a large brand preference develops.