Can artificial intelligence pass the written European Board of Hand Surgery exam?

Journal: Hand surgery & rehabilitation
Published Date: May 28, 2025

Abstract

Various artificial intelligence-based applications have emerged as transformative tools across numerous domains. Among these, ChatGPT has earned global recognition with its capacity for dynamic user interaction and holds significant potential in the medical sector. However, the subject-specific accuracy of ChatGPT remains a matter of debate. This study assesses the capabilities and knowledge of different artificial intelligence chatbots (ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Claude) in the domain of hand surgery. Each chatbot conducted a full written EBHS exam. The test results were analyzed according to the EBHS-guidelines, focused on the total scores and the ratio of correct to incorrect responses for each artificial intelligence model. Findings revealed that three out of the four chatbots achieved passing scores on the exam. Notably, ChatGPT-4o1 demonstrated significantly superior performance. This study highlights the subject-specific expertise of different artificial intelligence programs within the specialized field of hand surgery while also underscoring their variability and limitations.

Authors

  • Sinan Mert
    Division of Hand, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, LMU University Hospital, Munich, Germany. Electronic address: sinan.mert@med.uni-muenchen.de.
  • Lindsay Muir
    Consultant Hand Surgeon, Hand and Plastic Surgery Department, Salford Royal Hospital, Lancashire, United Kingdom; Chairman, Examination Committee, European Board of Hand Surgery (EBHS) and Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand (FESSH).
  • Benedikt Fuchs
    Division of Hand, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, LMU University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
  • Vanessa Lucksch
    Division of Hand, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, LMU University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
  • Felix H Vollbach
    Department of Hand-, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Microsurgery, Burn Center, BG Center Ludwigshafen, University of Heidelberg, Ludwigshafen, Germany.
  • Elisabeth M Haas-Lützenberger
    Division of Hand, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, LMU University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
  • Riccardo E Giunta
    Division of Hand, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, LMU University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
  • Nikolaus Thierfelder
    Division of Hand, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, LMU University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
  • Wolfram Demmer
    Division of Hand, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, LMU University Hospital, Munich, Germany.

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