6G networks for the operating room of the future

Technical setups in today’s operating rooms (ORs) are becoming increasingly complex, especially with the integration of applications which rely on the fusion of multiple information sources. While manufacturers have already started to make use of such approaches, the quest for fully integrated ORs becoming standard is still ongoing. We describe a variety of state-of-the-art projects that envision an OR of the future in order to identify missing building blocks. While these initial implementations of sensor fused ORs have shown to be promising, all current proposals lack a scalable networking backbone that serves the needs of future applications. We therefore discuss how the coming 6G standard’s envisioned advancements can provide a flexible and intelligent platform to enable the fully integrated OR of the future.