Ben O'Connell
You may not think artificial intelligence could be useful in surgery, but new research shows it can help tackle major challenges.
New research out of the University of Auckland shows how AI can help solve problems for patients, doctors and the health system.
An article on AI in surgery, led by surgery researcher Dr Chris Varghese at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, was just published in the leading journal Nature Medicine.
“I think AI has a role in every part of a patient’s surgical journey, before surgery, during surgery, and, most interestingly, after surgery,” Dr Chris Varghese says.
“Each time that we leave the hospital, we are at increased risk of having complications from surgery.
“AI has got a real potential to provide monitoring and safety-netting to ensure that we can mitigate and prevent some of these complications and enhance the recovery that you’re able to achieve at home.”
AI is already used here. Automated algorithms can process long waiting lists and prioritise them based on need so the right patients are seen at the right time.
AI algorithms can analyse patient data to identify potential complications and suggest personalised surgical approaches.
AI can also help surgeons avoid mistakes by highlighting relevant information, predicting potential issues, and offering real-time guidance. Streamlined procedures and fewer complications can lead to shorter surgery times and faster patient recovery.
An emerging area is the use of AI during surgery using ‘computer vision’. “AI is trying to learn what surgeons see, what the surgical instruments look like, what different organs look like,” Dr Chris Varghese says.
“And the potential there is to identify abnormal anatomy and [determine] what the safest approach to an operation might be.
“Using virtual reality and augmented reality to plan ahead of surgeries can be really useful for cutting out cancers and more.”
AI in medicine does have its limitations, especially in overcoming issues of data privacy and ethics. It’s important to remember that AI is a tool to empower surgeons, not replace them. Surgeons will continue to provide their expertise, experience, and judgment, while AI offers valuable support for improved outcomes.
“AI is based on building models from lots and lots of data and ensuring that the data we feed into these algorithms are unbiased and are not perpetuating existing inequities in our data sets, and our research is essential,” Dr Chris Varghese says.
“So, really ensuring that what we feed into these models and train these models on is really robust and achieving the best outcomes for our patients.
“In terms of what’s next for New Zealand, I think there needs to be a big focus on investing in our digital infrastructure.
“Right now, we have hospitals across the country using different healthcare systems that don’t communicate with each other.
“It is a real potential to unify our healthcare data systems with Te Whatu Ora and bring in everyone’s data in a safe and robust manner to ensure that we can keep abreast and be leaders in the field as we integrate AI technologies into healthcare.”