The Sterile Processing Department is where surgical instruments are cleaned, sterilized, and maintained. Efficient, effective, and safe surgical services are key financial and operational concerns for many hospitals that are vital for patient care and wellbeing.

Surgical tools or other items left in the body after surgery can lead to serious risks and potential complications for patients. Identifying ways to reduce and mitigate these errors directly benefits patients, hospitals, and the healthcare system as a whole.

The time it takes to prepare an operating room for the next patient is an important part of surgical care. Improving turnover time and understanding the factors which affect it could help increase surgical efficiency and enhance patient care.

Delivering the right organ to the right patient at the right time, and with proper consent, involves many challenges in today's complex modern healthcare system. Understanding the complexity of transplant coordination could help patients get the organs they need and improve the quality of patient care.

Artificial support for cardiac and respiratory function during open-heart surgery or other medical procedures is vital to ensuring the patient remains safe while their heartbeat is temporarily stopped during an operation. Identifying ways to help ensure patient safety during cardiac perfusion presents a unique opportunity to improve patient care.

Anesthetic procedures are increasingly occurring outside traditional operating rooms, resulting in new challenges for both care teams and patients. Understanding these challenges can be beneficial as current care techniques continue to change.

Though new surgical technologies are intended to benefit patients and providers, they can also introduce new stresses on teamwork, technical knowledge, and functional space in the operating room. Robotic-assisted surgery offers an opportunity to explore ways to make the best use of these technologies and reduce opportunities for harm.

Understanding the needs of surgical teams and the challenges of the surgical work environment can help inform the design of operating rooms of the future.