Unlocking New Horizons in Surgical Data Science

The ORD team kicks off its project in the operating room of the OR-X.

Unlocking New Horizons in Surgical Data Science

Collaborative ORD project at OR-X revolutionizes surgical data collection methods and innovative in-vivo treatment technologies

Advancing surgical data science and developing innovative in-vivo treatment technologies rely heavily on the ability to collect high-quality intraoperative data. However, real operating rooms present significant challenges, including proprietary interfaces, workflow constraints, and regulatory and safety concerns, which complicate comprehensive data acquisition. Since July 2024, a group of researchers and engineers from the University of Zurich, ZHAW, Zühlke Group, and the Digital Medicine Unit of the University Hospital Balgrist has been working on a groundbreaking Open Research Data (ORD) project at OR-X, aiming to revolutionize surgical data collection. This project is part of the swissuniversities and State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI) funding program.

Collecting surgical data through cutting-edge technologies

Camera installed in the OR-X for collecting surgical data.
Collecting surgical data through cutting-edge technologies

Leveraging OR-X’s robust network infrastructure, researchers can integrate advanced technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR), surgical robotics, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into surgical tests under realistic conditions. This integration is intended to accelerate the implementation of novel surgical technologies and provide valuable insights through continuous analysis of on-site experiments.

By the end of June 2025, the ORD project "Surgical Data Science OR-X" aims to develop an advanced Data Collection and Sharing Framework that will enable the automatic collection, structuring, and standardization of surgical data. Furthermore, the project seeks to establish a Surgical Data Cloud Platform that aligns with Open Science and FAIR principles. This platform aims to set new benchmarks in surgical research and contribute to national initiatives such as the Swiss Personalized Health Network.