Fully automated sterilization centers at Herlev Hospital and Rigshospitalet

In 2011, Gibotech installed the world’s first fully automated central sterilization department at Gentofte Hospital. The experience gained at Gentofte subsequently served as inspiration for the development and installation of two new central sterilization departments at Rigshospitalet and Herlev Hospital. These facilities now centralize all sterilization processes for surgical equipment in the Capital Region.

The purpose of centralizing the two sterilization centers was to consolidate all equipment requiring sterilization from across the region and perform the work in fully automated, high-performance facilities. The benefits of centralization—and not least the storage of surgical equipment—were to make surgical equipment more readily available and to maintain the quality of processes in the central sterilization department and documentation at a consistently high level with fewer manual interactions.

Logistics and the transport of equipment—from arrival until the sterilized surgical instruments are ready for use—are now automated using robots, conveyor belts, automated warehouses, and mobile robots. Automated handling improves hygiene and reduces the risk of infections—ensuring a high level of patient safety.

The automated central sterilization units in the Capital Region have a capacity equivalent to 100,000 surgeries per year.

There is great potential for automation in the healthcare sector because we have so many standardized processes that are ideal for automation—central sterilization units are just one example.
With the new central sterilization unit, we are creating a comprehensive solution in which the individual automation solutions are linked together like beads on a string.

Kevin Jungløv, advisor at Niras