Our hospital was designed to advance health care in a world of ever-evolving technology. New technologies such as robotic surgery and next-generation imaging tools are transforming how medicine is practiced and delivered. Our new hospital facility will not only accommodate today’s cutting-edge technology, but it can adapt as we incorporate new technologies and future patient needs.

Our new hospital offers modern, innovative spaces for our care teams as well as for the equipment, treatments and technology we need to deliver the highest level of care possible. Space is maximized so we can integrate technology and equipment inside the operating room instead of having it spread out across the hospital. Not only does this ease the time and effort of moving patients to different units throughout the building, it also decreases patients’ time under anesthesia and improves safety.

Much of this equipment was developed and pioneered right here at Stanford in collaboration with the tech industry. Because we are part of the Stanford academic medical center, we are an active partner in translational medicine, where insights in a research laboratory can be rapidly transferred to patient care. The adaptable design of our new hospital will help to streamline this bench-to-bedside approach.

Bonnie Uytengsu and Family Surgery and Interventional Center weaves powerful new imaging technologies into the surgical theaters, interventional radiology rooms, cardiac catheterization labs and hybrid suites, improving real-time navigation as well as enabling the immediate evaluation of a procedure’s success. The new rooms have the fastest imaging and the highest resolution anywhere and they achieve these with the lowest radiation exposure. New video integration technology allows providers to overlay real-time x-ray images onto all of a patient’s previous studies to guide therapy with new levels of precision. The suites allow surgeons, interventional radiologists and interventional cardiologists to work shoulder to shoulder.

The neuro-hybrid suite allows interventional radiologists and neurosurgeons to conduct procedures simultaneously instead of moving a patient from suite to suite for serial operations. For patients that means fewer surgeries, less radiation exposure, fewer anesthesia events and less time in the hospital. Multiple video links between all rooms enable real-time consultations between clinicians working in different suites.

Highlights include:

• Kid-sized equipment, virtual reality distraction therapy and thematic, colorful MRI rooms all aimed at making stay in the hospital less scary.
• PET/MRI equipment that combines two important types of imaging technologies for a more succinct image of the brain. PET (positron emission tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) technologies allow neurologists and surgeons to see and evaluate critical brain pathways to plan the best surgical approach.
• Hybrid OR (operating room) suites that combine the latest equipment in one room to help achieve minimally invasive procedures with better precision, quicker surgeries and less time under anesthesia. This innovative suite allows surgeons to get real-time updates while the surgery is in progress instead of waiting until after the surgery to determine if the operation was successful.
• Technology that helps us diagnose children at 10 times less radiation exposure than the current equipment being used.
• Next generation technology that can reduce imaging times from 90 minutes to about 10 minutes. This new technology can scan faster and at a higher resolution than ever before. Unlike other equipment, it’s developed for smaller patients so it’s more comfortable and more accurate than anything in the marketplace today.
• Medication alcoves are located directly outside of patient rooms, to make it faster for caregivers to retrieve medication, and an elevator system to the pharmacy ensures even quicker and more reliable service.
• A Real Time Location System (RTLS) system allows staff to locate medical equipment quickly and efficiently and works with the in-room “PackardVision” SmartTV to provide virtual introductions of the care team as they enter the patient’s room.

Our goal is to continually enhance the patient experience and strive for the best possible outcomes. By leveraging the Stanford connection and using the latest technology, we’re able to provide life-changing critical care in ways that are not only safer, but faster.