Extron NAV Systems and TouchLink Control Enable Real-Time Surgical Education at The Faculty Clinic in Stockholm

INTRODUCTION

The Faculty, a large, newly built private plastic surgery clinic in Stockholm, Sweden, is one of the most modern and spacious aesthetic surgery facilities in Europe. The clinic has over 2,000 square meters of space, with six operating theaters, 18 patient rooms (including overnight rooms with private bathrooms and terraces), two outpatient procedure rooms, and an open consultation/ward area.

In addition to daily clinical work, the clinic places strong emphasis on sharing surgical knowledge with staff, visiting professionals, and trainees. This combined mission sets high expectations for digital imaging, documentation, teaching, and international patient communication, all of which push AV requirements well beyond those of a typical clinic.

Surgeons at the new clinic needed a way to record procedures, stream them live, and communicate clearly with people outside the operating room without disrupting workflow. To meet these goals, The Faculty commissioned a custom audiovisual system for its surgical and training environments. The project was delivered by Meetech, a prominent Swedish AV integrator based in Solna, with consulting support from We Make Noise AB.

Together, the teams designed an in-house AV infrastructure that supports live and recorded surgery, real-time interaction, and simple system control for non-technical users. Extron NAV® AV over IP and Extron Control form the core of the solution.

The Extron NAV System works flawlessly and is very responsive.

CHALLENGES

The clinic required a system that could handle high-resolution surgical video and intelligible audio with minimal delay. Live interaction between operating rooms and conference spaces is essential for training, so even small amounts of latency would be noticeable and disruptive.

The AV system had to be built from individual components sourced from multiple manufacturers. At the start of the project, there were also no fixed specifications. Needs emerged gradually as surgeons and staff explored new ways to use video and audio for education.

Ease of use was a critical requirement. Surgeons and clinical staff wanted to be able to operate the system without technical assistance. Controls had to be clear, easy to understand, and reliable in a demanding medical environment. At the same time, the clinic wanted a long-term investment that would reduce reliance on external production services and support future expansion.

DESIGN SOLUTION

Meetech designed a centralized AV over IP architecture using the Extron NAV System for its groundbreaking performance in distributing real-time, lossless video and audio signals over an Ethernet network at low bitrates. NAV encoders and scaling decoders connect operating rooms, conference rooms, and support spaces, allowing any source to be routed to any destination with very low latency. This enabled live surgical training while maintaining image quality and timing accuracy.

Surgical procedures are recorded using Extron SMP 401 multi-channel 4K recording and streaming media processors and stored locally on a network-attached storage system. This allows the clinic to capture nearly every operation for training, review, and documentation. Live streams and recorded content can be shared across the facility without relying on external services.

Multiple surgical camera feeds are routed over the NAV system to a centrally located Extron MGP 641 xi multi-window processor, where video sources can be freely positioned and resized. Surgeons interact with the system using a 55-inch touch display in the operating room, connected via USB over the NAV System, which allows direct annotation on live video. Instructors can mark areas of interest, explain techniques, and guide discussion in real time without interrupting the procedure. The approach keeps processing centralized in the central rack while giving users local, hands-on control.

System control is handled through Extron IP Link Pro xi control processors and TouchLink Pro touchpanels. The control interfaces allow users to easily select sources, manage recordings, adjust audio levels, and switch between speakers or in-ear monitoring. The design simplifies interaction so staff can focus on clinical and educational tasks rather than technology.

Audio processing is managed centrally to support microphones in operating rooms and training spaces. This ensures clear speech for both local listeners and remote participants. The Extron platform also made it easier to integrate cameras, displays, and audio components from other manufacturers into a single, cohesive system.

Extron was selected because it could provide a complete range of products for signal distribution and control from one manufacturer. The integrator cited system stability and reliability as key reasons for choosing Extron for this project.

The system is built with all the bells and whistles and is future safe for scalability. The Extron team has been fantastic during this project, from system design to onsite troubleshooting.

RESULTS

The AV system is now used daily throughout the clinic. Almost every surgical procedure is recorded, and live sessions are routinely shared with training and conference spaces. Surgeons and participants can communicate in real time, which supports interactive learning and immediate feedback.

The easy-to-use Extron TouchLink Pro touchpanels have lowered the barriers to using AV technology in training scenarios. Staff can operate the system without technical support, which encourages wider use and more frequent training sessions.

The investment in in-house technology has reduced the need to hire external production services. According to the integrator, the system has already proven its value and continues to attract interest as a reference installation for similar projects.

From design through commissioning, Extron support played an active role in the project. The integrator reports that the NAV system performs reliably and responds quickly, while the overall design leaves room for future growth as the clinic’s needs evolve.

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