AI Can Provide Surgeons with Valuable Data and Real-Time Feedback

Preoperative diagnostics and planning

Current practices in preoperative procedures largely rely on the experience and instincts of diagnosing physicians. The accuracy of a diagnosis or the choice of specific procedures can thus be influenced by human factors.

For example, in pulmonary segmentectomy, there are considerable anatomical differences between patients. Improving preoperative planning could involve integrating virtual reality with AI-based segmentation systems. A study focused on AI-driven segmentation proposed significant changes to standard procedures in four out of ten observed cases.

AI could also enhance diagnostics in endoscopic, histological, radiological, and other examinations. Accurate preoperative diagnostics can optimise subsequent multidisciplinary surgical approaches, especially in cases where early diagnosis is crucial.

Monitoring and assistance during surgery

Surgical procedures require constant monitoring of numerous data points. During operations, it is essential to track various physiological parameters and reactions to interventions. Even minor steps during surgery can significantly affect the success of the procedure. However, studies suggest that only a small portion of measurable parameters are currently monitored.

AI has the potential to improve this monitoring. By analysing data in real time based on patient responses, AI could lead to more efficient decision-making and shorter surgery durations. Surgeons could also adjust their procedures during operations based on recommendations provided by AI systems.

AI can further assist with specific manual tasks. One of the most significant advancements in this area is a system that analyses video footage and other data to precisely identify and evaluate the quality of surgeons’ actions during operations, such as the depth and angle of an incision.

Future advancements include systems that provide better feedback to surgeons, such as haptic feedback from laparoscopic and other surgical instruments.

There is also ongoing discussion in medical circles about autonomous robotic systems that could potentially replace surgeons' hands and skills in certain cases. Among all AI possibilities, however, this is the furthest from becoming a reality. Achieving even theoretical implementation will require significant time and technological progress.

Improved recovery planning and complication prediction

The postoperative period in many healthcare facilities worldwide has seen little innovation. Monitoring often relies solely on observation during unnecessarily prolonged hospital stays dictated by historical protocols and traditional universal approaches.

AI offers numerous new opportunities and technological solutions, such as wearable devices for continuous monitoring of various parameters. This could contribute to better recovery planning and faster discharge to home care. Moreover, AI algorithms could calculate and alert healthcare providers to potential risks and complications specific to individual patients, further enhancing the efficiency of surgical care.

The inevitable expansion of AI

Although the integration of AI into surgery is much more challenging and slower than in other fields of medicine, its adoption in this domain is essentially inevitable. Progress will require intensive interdisciplinary collaboration, exploration of new possibilities, and further development of digital surgical infrastructure. If successful, AI could significantly improve surgical care for both patients and surgeons.

Editorial Team, Medscope.pro

Sources:

1. Varghese C., Harrison E. M., O’Grady G., Topol E. J. Artificial intelligence in surgery. Nat Med 2024 May; 30 (5): 1257–1268, doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-02970-3.
2. Sadeghi A. H., Maat A. P. W. M., Taverne Y. J. H. J. et al. Virtual reality and artificial intelligence for 3-dimensional planning of lung segmentectomies. JTCVS Tech 2021; 7: 309–321, doi: 10.1016/j.xjtc.2021.03.016.