Award-Winning Architecture Firm, CallisonRTKL, Designs State-of-the-Art Surgical Training Facility for Future Clinicians
The expansion of the University of San Diego’s (UCSD) Center for the Future of Surgery (CFS), designed by CallisonRTKL, is now open.
Established in 2011, CFS has trained over 20,000 healthcare professionals, making it one of the largest surgical training facilities in the world. In conjunction with OneEQ, the medical equipment planning and technology consultancy, CFS provides state of the art tools to train residents and future clinicians as well as advance the surgical field. CallisonRTKL provided design, medical equipment planning, procurement assistance, construction administration, and installation services.
“When redesigning The Center for the Future of Surgery, our goal was to create a teaching facility that mimicked an actual healthcare setting. We equipped the space with the latest communication and analytical tools to provide students with state-of-the-art equipment that will help develop skills they need for future practice,” says Jacky Yung, Senior Associate Vice President at CallisonRTKL. “Being the largest microsurgery training facility on the west coast, the spirit of innovation was the driving force behind all of our decisions. We created a facility that will instill knowledge in all its students while revolutionizing surgical techniques for the future.”
To present the spirit of innovation visually, CRTKL created an aesthetic interior that took inspiration from futuristic design. Rounded corners were used to help combat infection control and echoing the design of the future. Waste bins were placed within the walls to create sleek lines while also improving cleanliness. Fogged glass walls with lighting control capabilities provide an aesthetic appeal and can be set to different color scenes to suit different types of surgeries and individual surgeon preferences. The surrounding adjustable LED color light can create a dimmed green light environment which is less stressful on the eyes and eliminates the glare traditional overhead white lights create in operating rooms. The multiple LED surgical lights direct focused light onto the procedure table with the CRI (Color Rendering Index) value at 100 to render true color to the human eye. The enhanced lighting setup creates the best possible environment for patient assessment which ultimately results in achieving positive patient outcomes.
CRTKL collaborated with end-users in a series of planning iterations to find a solution that optimized the main project components – the instruction space at the Hybrid Operating room. The Hybrid Operating room is equipped with Siemens robotic imaging and the necessary support space for the technology and tools. To provide the most procedure space, CRTKL minimized the support space by placing all cooling systems in the same closet and using one computer room air conditioner (CRAC) to cool all the systems. The in-wall interactive collaborative wall by MultiTaction with Caresyntax analytic evaluation and Stryker video integration with video conferencing capabilities helps to further support students and enhance educational opportunities.
CFS also features a Microsurgery Lab that has fifteen training stations where students can learn and practice their neurosurgery and endoscopic skills. Each station provides students with a Zeiss microscope with video streaming, dust debris and smoke evacuation, a dual endoscope, a CORE instrument driver and Stryker Video integration/video conferencing. The comprehensive layout of the training station mimics an actual surgical setup with the objective to improve procedure accuracy and efficiency. The tools and technology CFS is equipped with yields better patient outcomes by arming future clinicians with the latest skills to perform non-invasive surgical procedures.