The $250,000 collection of equipment that the Antioch hospital has been using in one of its operating rooms since Sept. 1 is producing higher-resolution pictures of what's happening inside the body during surgery, making it easier for doctors to diagnose and treat a range of conditions using minimally invasive procedures.

"If I see a lesion, I get a much crisper image, which is more (like) real-life," said Ray Rassai of East Bay Surgical Associates, who regularly performs laparoscopic surgery using the so-called Stryker Intelligent Device Network -- SIDNE for short.

One of the biggest differences between the newly named Stryker i-Suite and Sutter Delta's other operating rooms are the two flat-panel monitors suspended from the ceiling.

Unlike the immovable screens perched well above eye level on heavy carts that operating room staff must maneuver into position, the new models are attached to long metal arms that can be raised and lowered as well as swiveled in every direction.

Before Rassai began using the Stryker i-Suite, he had to tilt his head to watch what he was doing on the monitor, straining his neck and shoulders until he needed physical therapy.

As doctors began operating on patients by inserting a slender tube with a tiny video camera into a small incision, they became more dependent on their sight to guide them than their sense of touch, said Linda Gilbert, director of surgical services.

SIDNE's high-definition digital images reflect the shift in emphasis from tactile to visual by enabling surgeons to manipulate their instruments more precisely, she said.

And because the surgeon now has a better view of fine details like tiny blood vessels or small malignant tumors, he also can work more quickly, Rassai added.

That means the patient spends less time under anesthesia and consequently experiences less nausea and other side effects from the medication, he said.

With a few verbal commands, a doctor can activate the machine that pumps carbon dioxide into a patient's abdominal cavity to create more room for the laparoscope.

Other instructions activate the equipment used to cauterize blood vessels or prompt the X-ray lab to transmit digital images of a patient to the operating room's monitors.

Doctors have done approximately three dozen operations in the Stryker i-Suite so far, Gilbert said, noting that the laparoscopic procedures range from appendectomies and tubal ligations to gallbladder operations and vaginal hysterectomies.

Responding to the increasing popularity of laparoscopic surgery, Sutter Delta plans to convert another of its five operating rooms into a Stryker i-Suite next year, she added.

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