Theatre efficiency
is increasing, so we have to utilise means and ways of carrying out safe surgery, utilising technology. I think it is testament to the human spirit and innovation. We’ve come such a long way from doing surgery that would debilitate, to doing surgery that is least restrictive and gets the patient back from their feet as quickly as possible. Without robotics – sometimes utilising AI – we wouldn’t be where we are,” said Dr. Mukherjee. “We are now working out how we can build
AI into these robotic platforms. Firstly, as a way of training the next generation of robotic practitioners, whether it be surgical scrub practitioners, or whether it be surgical first assistants, or whether it be training surgeons, resident surgeons, or junior consultants,” he commented, highlighting a paper by Heard et al,3 which looked at how an AI model could predict patient outcomes from surgical gestures and provide valuable insights for training purposes. The paper explains that the sequence of
surgical gestures, the smallest discrete actions of surgery, during the nerve-sparing step of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, has been used to predict one-year erectile function (EF) outcomes after surgery. To improve this prediction and extract clinically meaningful insights, the researchers described the addition of anatomic and functional context to surgical gestures. They analysed surgical video of 147 patients at five surgical centres undergoing robotic- assisted radical prostatectomy. The addition of anatomic and functional characterisation to surgical gestures improved model prediction of post-operative EF from 0.78 [95%CI: 0.60, 0.92] to 0.85 [95%CI: 0.66, 0.96]. Aggregated attention weight analysis identified novel gesture, anatomy, and function combinations contributing most to EF outcomes. They concluded that identification of these critical gestures can provide a starting point for more data-driven training in clinical practice.
AI can also provide real-time imaging and
navigation. AI analyses scans and endoscopic video during surgery; highlights anatomy, tumours and blood vessels; and improves navigation and reduces tissue damage. In the future, surgeons may be able
to perform surgery over large distances – the first transatlantic robot-assisted telesurgery was performed by Professor Dasgupta working from the London Clinic and performing surgery, via a telelink, on a patient located at St Bernard’s Europort hospital in Gibraltar.
“I don’t think the hero in that instance July 2026 I
www.clinicalservicesjournal.com 19
The innovation will reach a point where we will be doing the procedures more and more efficiently, with better outcomes – but it will be us, within the theatre teams, that will make this happen.
was the technology. I think the heroes were the two teams that were present – the one in London, that was guiding the surgeon and helping them make the links possible, and the direct healthcare staff within the team in the operating room in Gibraltar. AI enabled them to do it – it is a bridge; a link. It is not the solution. It’s not the answer. We are the answer; we are the solution; and that needs to be made very clear right at the start,” he asserted.
“The innovation will reach a point where we will be doing the procedures more and more efficiently, with better outcomes – but it will be us, within the theatre teams, that will make this happen.”
Smart theatres and the black box Dr. Mukherjee explained that machine learning can predict complications and surgical risks, as well as help estimate bleeding risk and surgery
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
