Patient Warming and Secure Positioning in the OR Don’t Require Separate Solutions

The following is a guest article by Adam Hauke, Global Director, Product Strategy and Innovation at Gentherm

If you ever get the chance to see an operating room in action, you’ll see a medical team managing dozens of variables in real time. Lighting. Room temperature. Equipment. Tools. Robotics. Sterility. Workflow. And, of course, patient safety. 

Two of the most fundamental responsibilities in that environment are keeping the patient warm and securely positioned on the table. This is especially critical with surgeries that require tilted angles. But until now, patient temperature and patient securement have been treated as separate problems with separate solutions. That separation is worth reexamining.  

The OR’s either/or history 

Perioperative hypothermia is described as a core temperature below 36°C (96.8°F), and it’s not uncommon for a patient’s temperature to dip under that level while under anesthesia. It’s also not benign. Clinical research has linked it to increased risk of surgical site infections, higher blood loss, impaired wound healing, longer recovery times, and other complications. Because anesthesia disrupts the body’s natural thermoregulation, active warming isn’t optional; it’s a necessary safeguard. But airflow-based warming comes with drawbacks, including noise and unwanted heat on the surgeons.  

At the same time, patient securement has become more demanding. Robotic and minimally invasive procedures often require steep patient positioning. This results in a limited exposed surface area for traditional warming methods. Anti-slip foam pads help reduce the risk of shifting or slipping, but occupy valuable areas under the patient where warming air blankets would often be used. 

So, clinicians have been left to manage two critical safety variables, patient temperature and patient securement, using tools that were never designed to work together. 

Surgeon’s Ask for a Solution 

This clinical frustration led to the development of the ThermAffyx Patient Safety System. With insights and requests from surgeons, Gentherm engineers designed a system that uses resistive warming integrated directly into a patient securement pad. Instead of circulating heated air, it transfers warmth through close-patient contact using carbon-fiber-based heating elements regulated by precise electronic controls.  

Because ThermAffyx relies on conductive resistive heating, there is virtually no air movement and no added noise. That can make a meaningful difference in an environment where airflow patterns, infection control considerations, and communication clarity are closely managed. It also opens the door to pre-warming once the patient is positioned, allowing clinicians to begin addressing patient temperature management earlier in the workflow. 

By integrating Carbotex(R), a proprietary carbon-fiber-based heating technology, into a conforming foam securement pad, the system maintains securement while improving heat transfer. The foam patient securement pad cradles the patient’s body, increasing contact surface area and enhancing heat transfer. 

The Industry Crossover  

When surgeons asked for Gentherm’s help, our engineers recognized that the physics of conductive heating are the same whether you’re warming a vehicle seat or maintaining a patient’s core body temperature in the operating room. 

The difference is context. 

Healthcare demands deeper validation, rigorous risk management, and regulatory discipline. Those translation efforts were led by experienced medical device R&D and regulatory teams working closely with clinicians. 

There were important technical considerations along the way, including ensuring radiolucency to be compatible with medical imaging tools and designing for potential exposure to surgical fluids. Moving the technology from automotive heating applications to a regulated medical device also required adding redundant temperature monitoring and meeting a higher evidentiary standard under regulatory review. 

But at its core, the innovation was less about inventing something new and more about combining capabilities in a smarter way. 

A Broader Shift Toward Integrated Safety 

Combining these capabilities reflects a broader belief that patient safety technologies should not operate in silos. Patient temperature management, patient securement, workflow efficiency, and pressure distribution are interconnected. Designing solutions that acknowledge those connections can reduce complexity for clinicians and potentially improve patient outcomes. 

In the operating room, warmth and stability are not competing priorities. They are complementary safeguards. 

The opportunity ahead isn’t simply to make individual devices better. It’s to rethink how they work together.

About Adam Hauke

Adam Hauke, Ph.D., is Global Director of Product Strategy and Innovation at Gentherm, where he leads the Global research and development teams in developing portfolio strategy and innovation initiatives across the company’s medical device business. He partners closely with commercial, clinical, and regulatory teams globally to bring differentiated medical technologies to market and to expand Gentherm Medical’s presence in patient temperature management and adjacent therapeutic areas. 

The following is a guest article by Adam Hauke, Global Director, Product Strategy and Innovation at Gentherm

If you ever get the chance to see an operating room in action, you’ll see a medical team managing dozens of variables in real time. Lighting. Room temperature. Equipment. Tools. Robotics. Sterility. Workflow. And, of course, patient safety. 

Two of the most fundamental responsibilities in that environment are keeping the patient warm and securely positioned on the table. This is especially critical with surgeries that require tilted angles. But until now, patient temperature and patient securement have been treated as separate problems with separate solutions. That separation is worth reexamining.  

The OR’s either/or history 

Perioperative hypothermia is described as a core temperature below 36°C (96.8°F), and it’s not uncommon for a patient’s temperature to dip under that level while under anesthesia. It’s also not benign. Clinical research has linked it to increased risk of surgical site infections, higher blood loss, impaired wound healing, longer recovery times, and other complications. Because anesthesia disrupts the body’s natural thermoregulation, active warming isn’t optional; it’s a necessary safeguard. But airflow-based warming comes with drawbacks, including noise and unwanted heat on the surgeons.  

At the same time, patient securement has become more demanding. Robotic and minimally invasive procedures often require steep patient positioning. This results in a limited exposed surface area for traditional warming methods. Anti-slip foam pads help reduce the risk of shifting or slipping, but occupy valuable areas under the patient where warming air blankets would often be used. 

So, clinicians have been left to manage two critical safety variables, patient temperature and patient securement, using tools that were never designed to work together. 

Surgeon’s Ask for a Solution 

This clinical frustration led to the development of the ThermAffyx Patient Safety System. With insights and requests from surgeons, Gentherm engineers designed a system that uses resistive warming integrated directly into a patient securement pad. Instead of circulating heated air, it transfers warmth through close-patient contact using carbon-fiber-based heating elements regulated by precise electronic controls.  

Because ThermAffyx relies on conductive resistive heating, there is virtually no air movement and no added noise. That can make a meaningful difference in an environment where airflow patterns, infection control considerations, and communication clarity are closely managed. It also opens the door to pre-warming once the patient is positioned, allowing clinicians to begin addressing patient temperature management earlier in the workflow. 

By integrating Carbotex(R), a proprietary carbon-fiber-based heating technology, into a conforming foam securement pad, the system maintains securement while improving heat transfer. The foam patient securement pad cradles the patient’s body, increasing contact surface area and enhancing heat transfer. 

The Industry Crossover  

When surgeons asked for Gentherm’s help, our engineers recognized that the physics of conductive heating are the same whether you’re warming a vehicle seat or maintaining a patient’s core body temperature in the operating room. 

The difference is context. 

Healthcare demands deeper validation, rigorous risk management, and regulatory discipline. Those translation efforts were led by experienced medical device R&D and regulatory teams working closely with clinicians. 

There were important technical considerations along the way, including ensuring radiolucency to be compatible with medical imaging tools and designing for potential exposure to surgical fluids. Moving the technology from automotive heating applications to a regulated medical device also required adding redundant temperature monitoring and meeting a higher evidentiary standard under regulatory review. 

But at its core, the innovation was less about inventing something new and more about combining capabilities in a smarter way. 

A Broader Shift Toward Integrated Safety 

Combining these capabilities reflects a broader belief that patient safety technologies should not operate in silos. Patient temperature management, patient securement, workflow efficiency, and pressure distribution are interconnected. Designing solutions that acknowledge those connections can reduce complexity for clinicians and potentially improve patient outcomes. 

In the operating room, warmth and stability are not competing priorities. They are complementary safeguards. 

The opportunity ahead isn’t simply to make individual devices better. It’s to rethink how they work together.

About Adam Hauke

Adam Hauke, Ph.D., is Global Director of Product Strategy and Innovation at Gentherm, where he leads the Global research and development teams in developing portfolio strategy and innovation initiatives across the company’s medical device business. He partners closely with commercial, clinical, and regulatory teams globally to bring differentiated medical technologies to market and to expand Gentherm Medical’s presence in patient temperature management and adjacent therapeutic areas.