Effects of New Technology on the Operating Room Team

Abstract

A study was conducted to examine the changes in performance and communication pattern within the operating room team as a result of the introduction of a new technology: a remote master-slave surgical robot. A detailed analysis of the information flow during a cholecystectomy procedure with and without the robot revealed large disparities in terms of the amount and type of information required by the surgeon to perform the surgical procedure. Adjustments in team communication were necessary to accommodate the novel technology, new procedures, and altered roles of the operating room personnel.