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F R O M
T H E
S H O W
F L O O R
tion, the "ecoFLOW" application graphically displays the amount —
and cost — of the anesthetic agents used and oxygen consumed during surgery.
The whole idea of cost-efficient anesthesia is good, and a significant
factor for us right now. There's no way we're going to compromise
patient care, but case costs are a pressure. This immediate feedback
can assist us in those aims, by showing us how much we can do with
low-flow anesthesia.
The big question is: If your anesthesia providers know how much
the gas is costing as it's being delivered, will it influence how they
practice? The ecoFLOW offers a polite (and optionally visible)
reminder that they could go lower, but it's dependent on them to heed
those numbers. Dr. Bloom is skeptical, too, about the widespread
adoption of virtualized touchscreen controls for gas delivery over the
tactile feedback of the mechanical dials and bobbins we trained with.
KARL STORZ-ENDOSCOPY
Flexible Intubation Video Endoscope (FIVE)
As soon as Dr. O'Neill had this scope in his hands, he wanted it for his
cases. The lighter handpiece, the equilibrium point, the hand control's
nicely ergonomic neutral position (with tactile and audible signals):
It's all about the simple pleasures.
This flexible video endoscope has a CMOS video chip at the distal
end instead of a CCD chip at the handpiece, as fiber-optic scopes do.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | D E C E M B E R 2012
