Open Access

Katharina Schaumann, Denise JungerORCiD, Laurenz Althaus, Anika Fienhold, Tom Prinzen, Oliver BurgertORCiD, Thomas Klenzner

• Introduction: After every surgical procedure, the surgeon is responsible for preparing an individual surgical report. This is often done with a time delay and relies on the correct memory of the surgeon, which can lead to inaccurat documentation. Semiautomatic recording, systematic storage and text processing of all intraoperative data would be time saving for the surgeon and form the foundation for quality management and subsequent data analysis. Method: In collaboration with the school of informatics at Reutlingen University, the prototype of a semi-automatic checklist tool was developed using the example of cochlear implantation. The basis for this is a BPMN model (Business Process Model and Notation) of the procedure, which was created using a workflow analysis of the surgical process of cochlear implantation. Based on this, automatically generated, dynamic checklists are displayed via a user interface on an Android tablet. The intraoperative interaction, handeling of different input devices and the verification of medical correctness were tested on a phantom model. Results: The user interface allows a simple intuitive handling by the surgeon or assistant, which can be well implemented in the intraoperative setting. The checklist allows individual recording and storage of both clinical data and surgical steps. In addition, an automated surgical report can be generated, customized and saved. The dynamic generation of the checklist via a BPMN model allows the easy transfer of the tool to other use cases. Summary: The utilization of a dynamic checklist tool simplifies the collection, storage, and analysis of surgical data. Its potential for broader applications in clinical practice awaits further exploration via clinical studies are planned