Artificial intelligence in surgery.

Journal: Nature medicine
Published Date:

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging in healthcare, yet applications in surgery remain relatively nascent. Here we review the integration of AI in the field of surgery, centering our discussion on multifaceted improvements in surgical care in the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative space. The emergence of foundation model architectures, wearable technologies and improving surgical data infrastructures is enabling rapid advances in AI interventions and utility. We discuss how maturing AI methods hold the potential to improve patient outcomes, facilitate surgical education and optimize surgical care. We review the current applications of deep learning approaches and outline a vision for future advances through multimodal foundation models.

Authors

  • Chris Varghese
    Department of Surgery, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
  • Ewen M Harrison
    Centre for Medical Informatics, Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
  • Greg O'Grady
    Department of Surgery, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
  • Eric J Topol
    Scripps Research Translational Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Scripps Clinic Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Electronic address: etopol@scripps.edu.