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NAVFAC Uses 3-D Model for Construction at Bethesda

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100828-02
8/28/2010

By Timothy R. Smith, Public Affairs, Naval Facilities Command—Officer in Charge of Construction, Bethesda Public Affairs

BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command's (NAVFAC) – Officer in Charge of Construction, Bethesda (OICC) announced Aug. 26 they will begin using a 3-D computer-simulated model to renovate the main operating rooms at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bethesda.

During construction at NSA Bethesda for the future Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda – a more than $1 billion project – construction crews have built full-scale model rooms to gain perspective of what a room would like upon completion.

For a surgery room, however, the cost of such a mock up in the past was immense, due to the creation of mock medical fixtures, special furniture, cables and computers.

NAVFAC, this fall, will use a 3-D computer model to provide a realistic view of future operating rooms. This 3-D model will allow engineers and architects to not only visualize a full scope of the project, but also save more than $500,000 and several months of production time.

Additionally, with the 3-D model, engineers, architects and doctors will have the capability to easily relocate a monitor or shift modeled people around the room.

"It's definitely not as expensive and it's a lot easier to make changes," said Denver Terrance, a project manager overseeing construction of the main operating rooms.

Had the contractor built a full-scale model of the operating rooms, doctors and nurses would have had to go to the space to practice their medical runs and determine the facility's efficiency, something which could have detracted from patient care.

"Our goal is to always maintain patient safety and availability to our medical staff," said Cmdr. Sallyanne Jarvis, an operating room nurse with NNMC who is also working on the development of the main operating rooms.

Upon completion of the project, 20 larger operating rooms providing world class surgical capability including robotic surgery, worldwide tele-conferencing and two hybrid operating rooms equipped with modern fluoroscopy (x-ray) capability, are scheduled for use.