The operating room of the future: a view from Europe

The Operating Room of the Future will be characterized by meticulous preoperative planning, full integration of the operating room into the general flow of information, more comprehensive intraoperative diagnostic imaging procedures, and the use of sophisticated visualization processes including augmented reality. Mechatronic support (partially autonomous robots) enhances safety and allows reduction of staff. Integrated operating room systems will allow the wide spectrum of new devices and functionalities to be easily controlled by the operating team. The Operating Room of the Future will no longer be isolated from the rest of the clinical endeavor. Intraoperative teleconsultation and telepresence will help to promote and teach safer evidence-based endoscopic therapeutic surgery. Traditional surgical intervention will expand its definitions by procedures via an interdisciplinary, cooperative approach that will replace the sequential therapeutic process of today.