"Wireless" and "hospital" in the same sentence tends to raise a hospital IT team’s guard, for good reason. Before any wireless surgical video system reaches an OR, it’s worth understanding what "secure" and "safe" actually mean in this context and what Rocoto’s systems specifically do about it.
Proprietary, Standalone Network: Not Wi-Fi or the Hospital Network
Rocoto’s connectivity products don’t join the hospital’s general Wi-Fi network. They operate as closed, point-to-point links between a specific transmitter and receiver, running independently from the enterprise network entirely. That distinction matters: even though the system operates in frequency bands commonly used by Wi-Fi, it is not a Wi-Fi device. It uses a proprietary chipset and communication protocol, and does not communicate using standard Wi-Fi protocols or operate as an 802.11 IBSS/ad-hoc network.
In practice, this means the system creates a dedicated, proprietary wireless link between paired devices only. External devices cannot connect to the system or access the data it transmits, making for a materially smaller attack surface than a device sitting on the broader hospital network.
Encryption and Pairing
Every Rocoto connectivity product encrypts video in transit using AES-256. Before a transmitter and receiver can connect, the two units must first be paired. During pairing, they exchange the AES-256 key that is then applied to the transmission in Rocoto’s hardware. Pairing itself is a physical, deliberate action: the transmitter and receiver are paired via a button press on each unit, not over the network.
Data Handling and Privacy
The system does not store video locally. It streams video in real time only between the two paired devices. Rocoto’s system does not store patient data, and its data handling is HIPAA ready.
Spectrum and Interference: Avoidance and Coexistence
Interference isn’t just a performance issue: an easily disrupted wireless link is also a reliability and safety concern in a live procedure. Rocoto’s systems operate on the 5GHz unlicensed spectrum, the same band used by Wi-Fi, using Automatic Frequency Selection (AFS) and Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) to continuously find the cleanest available channel. This allows multiple links, rated up to 6 sets in the same room, to coexist with hospital Wi-Fi and other wireless equipment without degrading.
The system continuously scans the spectrum for occupied channels and can automatically hop to a clear channel without dropping the link.
The system has also been tested operating alongside electrosurgical devices, maintaining reliable signal performance in these RF dense conditions, in some test scenarios matching or exceeding the reliability of a wired cable connection.
Proven Track Record
Rocoto’s technology has been used in clinical and hospital settings since 2009. That experience has gone into a robust solution, developed and refined together with our OEM and integration partners. With more than 20,000 systems installed worldwide, Rocoto has been able to specifically design and adapt the platform for dense hospital RF environments.
Regulatory and Compliance Considerations
Rocoto’s medical device products are certified and listed under MDR, FDA, UK, Swiss, and additional national medical device regulations, and have been tested to IEC 60601. For OEM partners, Rocoto separately supplies RF certified modules for embedding into their own platforms and solutions, along with the regulatory documentation needed to support their certification.