Estoril, 16 September 2025

IWISH enhances operating room efficiency through AI and data-driven innovation

The ITEA project IWISH (Intelligent Workflow optimisation and Intuitive System interaction in Healthcare) has received the prestigious ‘ITEA Award of Excellence for Business impact’ for its significant contributions to improving operating room (OR) efficiency and clinical workflow innovation. By utilising advanced machine learning, synthetic data generation and gaze tracking into real-time workflow management, IWISH addresses inefficiencies that cost European hospitals an estimated EUR 9 billion annually.

From bottlenecks to breakthroughs

Arising from the ITEA project IMPACT, IWISH focused on enhancing OR efficiency through real-time procedure tracking and scheduling optimisation. Traditional OR planning systems fail to adapt to the dynamic nature of surgeries, leading to delays and underuse of resources. IWISH addressed this by developing automated, video-based tracking technologies capable of recognising intraoperative phases and activities, even in unobserved procedures. As part of this effort, ARD Group contributed to the development and validation of an end-to-end surgical workflow optimisation system, integrating mobile-based operation start registration, real-time phase monitoring, and scheduling optimisation. These tools support accurate end-time predictions and allow scheduling systems to respond in real time to delays and unexpected events.

The project also delivered AI engines that support elective appointment booking and dynamic rescheduling, tested across four distinct use-cases: gynaecology, cardiac catheterisation, gallbladder surgery and resource allocation. This capability provides hospital staff with the means to manage parallel ORs more effectively.

Driving clinical intelligence with synthetic data and gaze tracking

Accessing real-world clinical data remains a key barrier to healthcare innovation. IWISH tackled this by developing the Syntho Engine, a scalable synthetic data platform tailored for clinical contexts. Validated against real-world data, it delivers near-identical performance with only a 0.6% accuracy gap, allowing faster – from up to four months to almost immediate - privacy-compliant access to training data for AI models and analytics. Dutch SME Syntho has been able to release the engine as a license-based product and is working to expand it to other industries such as finance and governance. In the process, their involvement in IWISH has allowed them to grow from three to 15 employees. Philips will implement and test IWISH technologies integrated with their X-ray imaging system in cooperation with clinical partners.

In the IWISH project, Barco laid the groundwork for using gaze tracking technology in combination with medical displays, demonstrating its potential to enhance diagnostic imaging workflows. For example, gaze tracking can be used to control the Barco SpotView Intuitive Workflow Tool, enabling more natural and efficient interactions. Barco plans to launch its first products with built-in gaze tracking support by the end of 2028.

A solid foundation for the future of minimally invasive surgery

IWISH has already demonstrated a 36% improvement in procedures finishing on time and a significant boost in algorithm accuracy for phase and activity recognition. These advances mark a key step towards smarter, more efficient ORs.

The IWISH project has demonstrated how AI-based applications can help optimise clinical workflows and reduce healthcare costs. It was great to work with such a dedicated consortium and I look forward to making its achievements part of everyday clinical practice.

Robert Hofsink, Manager Public Private Partnerships & Open Innovation at Philips

Looking ahead, project partners are continuing development on video-based tracking, situational awareness and decision support. With clinical integration on the horizon, thanks to the strong involvement of end users throughout the project, IWISH is set to help healthcare providers reduce costs, optimise patient care and bring intelligent clinical workflows into everyday practice.

This project has received funding from:

For interview requests, questions and additional information about IWISH and ITEA, please contact:

IWISH Contact person
Robert Hofsink
Philips
robert.hofsink@philips.com

ITEA Contact person
Régis Cazenave
ITEA Office
regis.cazenave@itea4.org

IWISH project partners
https://itea4.org/project/iwish.html

About ITEA
ITEA is the Eureka Cluster on software and systems innovation, enabling a large international community to collaborate in funded projects that turn innovative ideas into new businesses, jobs, economic growth and benefits for society.
https://itea4.org