ORTwinConnect

ORTwinConnect – Digital twins for the connected operating room

The ORTwinConnect project is developing digital twins of medical devices and surgical workflows for the integrated operating room. These digital representations are based on device communication compliant with IEEE 11073 SDC, which enables medical devices from different manufacturers to provide interoperable data. Building on this communication layer, device information, operating states, functions, and usage data are represented in standardized digital twins. For this purpose, ORTwinConnect uses the IDTA Asset Administration Shell (AAS) as a structured framework for digital representations.

The aim is not only to describe individual devices digitally, but also to make their interaction within the operating room context transparent and analyzable. By combining IEEE 11073 SDC and IDTA AAS, ORTwinConnect enables the standardized digital representation of devices, workflows, and relevant process information. This provides a basis for analyzing clinical processes more transparently, tracking device states more effectively, and developing new approaches for workflow support, documentation, and device management. The developed solutions are being tested in realistic demonstrator environments in Leipzig and Reutlingen.

Within the project, ICCAS contributes the clinical perspective and translates the technical concepts into concrete surgical application scenarios. In close collaboration with clinical users, the ICCAS team analyzes relevant operating room workflows, models them as digital workflows, and links them to the digital twins of the devices. A particular focus is placed on integrating intraoperative workflow management that combines device information with clinical process steps.

At ICCAS, the developed components are integrated into a realistic development and testing environment, technically tested, and evaluated together with clinical staff and hospital operators. Finally, the practical benefits of digital twins in the operating room and the potential of the project results for clinical applications are analyzed and assessed together with the DiiC community.

This project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR) as part of the DATIpilot innovation community “DiiC – Digital Integration and Innovation in Surgery.”