Using the new AI technology, trainee surgeons are learning more accurate keyhole brain surgical techniques. It was created at University College London and shows important anatomical features like blood arteries in the brain’s center as well as tiny tumors.
According to the government, it might be “a real game-changer” for UK healthcare.
Crucial frameworks
Brain surgery is extremely precise and painful; even a small mistake could result in the patient’s sudden death.
It’s vital to prevent harming the grape-sized pituitary gland located in the brain’s center. It regulates every hormone in the body, and any issues with it can result in blindness.
According to consultant neurosurgeon Hani Marcus of the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, “if you go too small with your approach, then you risk not removing enough of the tumour.”
“If you go too large, you risk damaging these really critical structures.”
After analyzing over 200 recordings of this particular pituitary surgery, the AI system reached a level of experience in just 10 months that would take a surgeon ten years to get.
“Surgeons like myself – even if you’re very experienced – can, with the help of AI, do a better job to find that boundary than without it,” said Marcus.
“You could, in a few years, have an AI system that has seen more operations than any human has ever or could ever see.”
Dr. Nicola Newell, a trainee, likewise found it to be “very helpful”.
“It helps me orientate myself during mock surgery and helps identify what steps and what stages are coming up next,” she explains. Government minister for artificial intelligence Viscount Camrose describes AI as a “marvel superhero” that increases productivity in all areas of life.
“It kind of almost makes you the Marvel superhero version of yourself.”
He claimed that this kind of technology has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, enhancing results for all parties involved and presenting a “very promising” future. One of the 22 universities that recently received funding from the government to help transform healthcare in the UK is University College London (UCL).
At the Wellcome / Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences, scientists, doctors, and engineers are collaborating on the project.
