Using evaluative measures an operation room layout is described and measured for compliance with an adjacency matrix, providing a score for how well a given layout performs for operational efficiency and patient experience. This process required developing a method for analysis of existing plans and for generating new plans based on those existing using a spatial adjacency matrix. The process is implemented using a ‘straight line’ network to calculate distance between program areas and then compared to an idealized spatial matrix calculated from the perspective of various stakeholders. The comparison is used to generate a score that is used as a fitness function for an optimization routine.

The A* algorithm is implemented with the adjacency matrix generator with Grasshopper for Rhinoceros 3D, through the Shortest Path tool. This research is the subject of a forthcoming article.