The Operating Room of the Future

摘要

Predicting the future has never been rewarding, and when dealing with a complex field such as surgery it is invariably wrong. The present rate of technological development, especially in neurological surgery, far exceeds our ability to predict where the field will go. Indeed, many surgeons find it difficult to employ the technology currently available, much less anticipate what the future may bring. Even so, neurosur-geons are frequently called upon by hospital administrators to plan for new operating rooms, as the specialty as a whole tends to place heavy demands on surgical resources. Many hospitals are in the planning stages of operating room (OR) renovation, as these facilities use personnel resources excessively, represent a major source of income, and have become obsolete due to technological changes in all surgical specialties.Many of these technological changes have been developed, and embraced, by neurosurgeons, including image guidance, intraoperative imaging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or three-dimensional (3D) fluoroscopy, and neurophysiological monitoring.