Reporting Device Observations for semantic interoperability of surgical devices and clinical information systems

Service-oriented medical device architectures make the progress from interdisciplinary research projects to international standardisation: A new set of IEEE 11073 proposals shall pave the way to industry acceptance. This expected availability of device observations in a standardised representation enables secondary usage if interoperability with clinical information systems can be achieved. The Device Observation Reporter (DOR) described in this work is a gateway that connects these realms. After a user chooses a selection of signals from different devices in the digital operating room, the DOR records these semantically described values for a specified duration. Upon completion, the signals descriptions and values are transformed to Health Level Seven version 2 messages and sent to a hospital information system/electronic health record system within the clinical IT network. The successful integration of device data for documentation and usage in clinical information systems can further leverage the novel device communication standard proposals. Complementing these, an Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise profile will aid commercial implementers in achieving interoperability. Their solutions could incorporate clinical knowledge to autonomously select signal combinations and generate reports of diagnostic and interventional procedures, thus saving time and effort for surgical documentation.