Today, operating rooms are filled with enough gadgets and displays to drive an electronics buff wild. These devices operate on electricity, so Hospitals and medical centers present excellent opportunities for electricians to apply their trade while also being a part of cutting-edge medical technology.

In 2013, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital (HFWBH) received approval for a 9,600-square foot, a single-story vertical expansion that would provide three new larger, interconnected operating rooms (O/R) and the rough-in for a fourth. These rooms host a series of neurosurgery procedures, including head and neck.

HFWBH and the project’s general contractor, Turner Construction, chose Motor City Electric Co. and its minority affiliate, Williams Electrical and Telecommunications Co., to install the electrical systems that power all of the new state-of-the-art O/R equipment.

Modern operating rooms contain sophisticated electrical equipment like fluoroscopes, ultrasound units, electrocauteries, and cutting devices. Flat-panel displays are mounted on articulating arms, and cables are housed in ceiling booms and trays rather than draped across the floor.

Medical lighting systems must be flexible in movement, positioning, and intensity control to adapt to different procedures. Green lighting has become a ubiquitous component of these lighting systems. Because the human eye is most sensitive to green and quickly adapts to green light, it is ideal for surgeons to view fine lines or smaller objects on flat-panel displays in the O/R.

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital now has a total of 13 operating rooms. Each operating room is identical, so the equipment, tools, controls, and even the placement of the patient are in the same place in every room. This familiarity can save precious seconds at critical times.