Enhancing Surgical Precision with AI Tools

AI Surgeon Performs First Fully Autonomous Procedure - No Human Hands Required >> 🤖A Johns Hopkins-led team has achieved a world first, an AI-controlled robot autonomously performed gallbladder removal with 100% success across eight trials, without any human intervention 🤖 The robot, named SRT-H, was trained on surgical videos using imitation learning and guided only by voice prompts, then made its own decisions in real time, adapting to unexpected anatomical variations and environmental changes 🤖 The operation involved 17 precise steps including identifying arteries and ducts, placing clips, and cutting tissue, tasks the robot executed with consistency and mechanical precision on lifelike models (yes not yet on real humans) 🤖 Built on the same machine learning architecture that powers ChatGPT, importantly SRT-H didn’t just mimic moves, it understood the procedure and adjusted when things didn’t go to plan 🤖 The breakthrough moves robotic surgery from task automation to full procedural autonomy, offering a glimpse of a future where AI surgeons could handle simple soft-tissue surgeries with minimal supervision 🤖 While slower than human surgeons today, SRT-H plotted more efficient movements and corrected itself up to six times per procedure, potentially offering fewer errors and less tissue trauma over time 💬 Once this moves into real humans, there will be new challenges. Live patients breathe, bleed, and move , so real-world safety will demand further testing and training. But it offers an exciting view of the future #digitalhealth #ai

Picture a surgeon donning a headset that overlays crucial data and 3D holographic visuals directly onto the patient’s body in real time. Augmented reality (AR) combined with computer vision will be changing how doctors plan and perform surgeries. The goal? Greater precision, fewer complications, and reduced costs for hospitals. Key Advancements in AR-Driven Surgery: - Interactive 3D Models: Surgeons can view virtual, layered images of organs and tissues, helping them pinpoint exact incision sites and navigate complex procedures. - AI Powered Decision Support: By analyzing patient scans and historical data, the system can highlight potential risks or offer real-time suggestions to the surgical team. - Hands Free Controls: Gesture recognition replaces the need to manipulate devices physically, minimizing distractions and contamination risks in the operating room. - Seamless Hospital Integration: These tools can sync with patient records and other hospital systems, making it easier for the entire care team to stay updated. Could AR become the new gold standard in operating rooms worldwide? Would you feel more at ease knowing your surgeon is wearing an AR headset? #innovation #technology #future #management #startups

AI in surgery is entering the era of real-time digital twins… I came across an interesting article in Nature on Digital Twin-Assisted Surgery (DTAS), a concept that integrates real-time virtual models with surgical workflows to enhance precision, planning, and decision-making (link in the comments). The article outlines how DTAS merges AI, extended reality (XR), and real-time physiological data to create patient-specific digital twins, allowing surgeons to simulate and adjust procedures dynamically. Some takeways: 👉 Unlike current Computer-Assisted Surgery (CAS) tools, DTAS continuously updates based on intraoperative data, predicting tissue behavior, blood flow changes, and surgical outcomes in real-time. 👉 One of the biggest challenges in robotics is the lack of haptic feedback. DTAS integrates sensor data and AI-driven modeling to replicate force and tactile sensations, improving surgeon control. 👉 DTAS allows for preoperative virtual simulations, intraoperative navigation, and even remote-assisted procedures, making complex surgeries more accessible worldwide. It prompted me to highlight the work of one of our portfolio companies in this space, Medivis. We backed them some years ago because they are advancing spatial computing in surgery with its SurgicalAR platform, which translates CT and MRI scans into interactive 3D holographic models for real-time surgical navigation. Check them out! 👇 Image credit Medivis, from a live hospital implementation