A medical novice might be forgiven for imagining the soaring theme from the movie, "2001: A Space Odyssey," as the introduction of a futuristic-looking operating room unfolded recently at St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill.

With the familiar operating table and bright overhead lights, the scene was easily recognizable as a hospital surgical suite. But, as a large gantry with a C-shaped articulating arm silently glided from its resting place near the operating room wall to a position hovering above the operating room table, it was plain to see a new dimension had been added.

Vascular and cardiac surgeons were on hand for the media unveiling Nov. 16 of a new high-tech operating room they said is the look of the future of medicine.

"This is truly a medical revolution. It doesn't have boundaries," said Hal Folander, MD, chairman of the Radiology Department and section chief of Interventional Radiology for the St. Luke's University Health Network.

St. Luke's is the first hospital in the United States to install GE Healthcare's Discovery IGS 730 Hybrid Operating Room. Several St. Luke's Hospital clinicians traveled to Buc, France, three years ago to analyze GE's hybrid operating room prototype and then contribute to the development of the technology in the system installed here in the U.S.

The hybrid operating room at St. Luke's is expected to draw medical specialists from across the United States to evaluate the possibilities of adapting the technologies for their surgical facilities.

The new dimension of the technology is the combining of the surgical world and the advanced imaging world into the operating room.

"Having been part of the development process from the ground up, we know firsthand how extremely agile and capable this new technology is," Folander said.

"A tether housing the electrical and communication components of the [imaging] unit allows the system to float, providing great mobility," Folander continued.

"The unit can be moved into a nearly infinite number of imaging positions, and then back out of the way when necessary." A touch of a button moves the imaging arm back into its former position.

The new imaging component is equipped with lasers and a GPS system that helps the device locate itself in the room, so physicians can literally tell the device where to move for precise real-time imaging during a procedure.

"The Discovery IGS 730 can be positioned as needed to image a patient's head, neck, chest, torso or legs without the obstructions typically found in a catheter lab. If a surgical intervention becomes necessary, the system can be moved aside so surgeons can access the patient," said Tim Oskin, MD, section chief of vascular surgery at St. Luke's.

Stephen Olenchock Jr., D.O. FACS, FACC, chief of cardiovascular surgery at St. Luke's, participated in the development of the Discovery system. He emphasized the operational benefits of having technology that moves itself out of the way with a button click. "This helps us keep the patient the focal point of the procedure," he said.

The system also allows surgeons to provide more minimally-invasive procedures because it's easy to control while performing an open procedure and everything is in front of you, Olenchock said.

"As we move to very technical procedures, like transcatheter aortic valve replacement [TVAR], where we thread a valve on a catheter up though the groin, we have to expect exceptional imaging," Olenchock said.

"There's alot that can happen during valve replacement, and the better we can see the patient's coronary arteries and the landing site for our valve, the better our outcomes and procedural success," said Olenchock.

Although this cutting-edge treatment has been performed without the new Discovery hybrid operating room, Olenchock said, "the new technology provides a more convenient, safer way to deliver the valve, providing physicians with better visualization and capability to easily switch to an open procedure if necessary."

The hybrid operating room system will make many cardiac and thoracic operations, including the TVAR procedure, more convenient and safe, said Raymond Durkin, M.D., chief of Cardiology at St. Luke's.

"Typically, an interventional room and surgical suite are separated," Durkin said. "In an interventional procedure room, we have good imaging equipment to perform procedures such as catheterizations, or to deploy stents.

"If you get into a situation where you have to cut into something, you can't really do that in there. An operating room allows you to cut, but the imaging capabilities are inferior. For procedures that may need interventional aspects with imaging and surgery, the Discovery system brings both together in one location," Durkin said.

New advanced cardiac and vascular procedures are bringing obvious benefits to patients. Procedures that not so long ago required up to five days in the hospital, and six weeks of recovery, can now be done with the potential of next-day hospital discharge. Some procedures that once required major invasive surgery can be accomplished with small-incisions or puncture-only access.

With the new GE Healthcare hybrid operating room, St. Luke's University Hospital clinicians say they are well-positioned to address the growing trend for minimally-invasive procedures.

And, with first-of-its-kind technology, St. Luke's is likely to become a reference site for surgeons and interventionists, putting the Lehigh Valley at the forefront of a "medical revolution," said Hal Folander MD.