Olympus said Tuesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ewha Womans University Medical Center to cooperate on establishing a smart hospital.

Ewha Womans University Medical Center Director Moon Byung-in (left) and Olympus Korea CEO Okada Naoki hold up their agreement at the hospital in Mokdong, Seoul, Monday.

Ewha Womans University Medical Center employed a new concept of patient-centered hospitals by designing its wards with no high-end rooms. The hospital ward includes only standard rooms, which can hold three patients, and ICU rooms for one patient.

The hospital will become the first local hospital to introduce Olympus’ Endoalpha, which integrates a series of tasks such as control of the laparoscopic system, cautery and video transmission in the operating room.

The platform also provides patient information required for surgery such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and patient medical records on the surgery monitor, which in turn removes the need for a separate monitor.

Medical workers can also preset the values of the medical devices in advance to provide a customized surgical environment for the medical staff and the patient. Olympus has proved such benefits at various hospitals in Japan and Germany.

“As the medical technology and devices advance, a smart operating room that can precisely control various devices in the operating room at once with thorough infection control can be helpful in improving patient safety and treatment results,” Ewha Womans University Medical Center Director Moon Byung-in said.

The medical center will become the smart hospital that provides innovative medical facilities and systems with the latest IT technology and differentiated medical services, Moon added.

Olympus Korea CEO Okada Naoki also said, “We are very pleased to be able to introduce the first line of Olympus' smart and safe operating room integration system, Endoalpha, at Ewha Womans University Medical Center, which aims to be a genuinely patient-oriented hospital.”

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