Background and Objectives: Operating room (OR) scheduling is key to optimal operating room productivity. The significant uncertainty associated with surgery duration renders scheduling of surgical operation a challenging task. This paper proposes a novel computational stochastic model to optimize scheduling of surgeries with uncertain durations. The model considers various surgical operation co...

Background: Patient safety is one of the essential principles of health care and evaluation of patient safety culture is a motive to provide safe conditions for patient care. Regarding the invasive procedures and the necessity of special attention to patient safety in the operating room, this study aimed to determine the patient safety culture from the perspective of operating room personnel. ...

A recently as the 1960s, hospitals were famous for their quiet and serene environment. Noise restrictions were zealously enforced internally by uniformed nurses and externally by street signs around the perimeter declaring “Hospital—Quiet Zone.” Hospitals and especially operating rooms are no longer quiet.1 In 1972, before the introduction of much of the noisy equipment now routinely used durin...

A hand gesture system for medical images manipulation called “Gestix” was tested during a brain biopsy surgery. In the in vivo experiment, this type of interface avoided surgeon’s focus shift and change of location while achieving, rapid intuitive reaction, and natural interaction. The major advantages of this approach was naturalness (surgeon use his hands), and rapid reaction (hand gesture co...

Operating rooms are important assets for hospitals as they generate the largest revenue and, at the same time, produce the largest cost for hospitals. The model presented in this paper helps make capacity planning decisions on the combination of open operating rooms (ORs) and estimated overtime to satisfy the allocated OR time to each specialty. The model combines both decisions on determining ...