This may sound ironic to neurosurgeons, but seriously, deploying AI in medicine doesn’t have to be brain surgery. nearly half of operating rooms are already undergoing some form of AI integration. While the advancement potential of AI in healthcare has received a lot of attention as venture capitalists flock to the next promising application, now is the time to discuss how we can see the potential (and believe in its value) of AI by letting From a clinician and patient perspective.
AI applications in clinical settings are capable of analyzing large numbers of complex, multiple interrelated variables and understanding event sequences or patient variables. The north star of our approach needs to focus on improving patient outcomes, making care more accessible and reducing costs across the board. We also have to work with the doctors who use the technology — surgeons and medical technologists are the data engineers in our industry. The current state of AI surgical development reflects the momentum of technologists and data innovators, but their efforts have yet to fully match the needs of end users. While AI has enormous transformative potential, and fully autonomous surgery is something our industry can aspire to, at the same time, we can accomplish a lot in the conversation around AI. That means technologists need to work with healthcare providers to adapt our approach to AI.
The message is loud and clear: AI will continue to be a game-changer for the industry—and make big promises along the way. 72% of business leaders consider AI technology to be a “business advantage,” so it’s no surprise that companies like Amazon, Callaway, Nike, Starbucks, and others use this technology in their business models. Amazon uses artificial intelligence to provide customers with personalized product recommendations and has an Alexa-enabled voice shopping feature that predicts customer needs. Meanwhile, golf company Callaway is using artificial intelligence to extend hitting time and increase ball speed, claiming their technology can analyze 10,000 repetitions through machine learning.
How can artificial intelligence be leveraged in key areas of spine surgery?
The current clinical and economic outcomes of spinal surgery vary based on many inputs, including but not limited to surgeons, surgical methods, facilities, and implants used, even with the same patient type and condition. The goal should be to collect, analyze, and ultimately prescribe the best treatment options for patients to optimize clinical and economic outcomes. Because there are many inputs to this situation, we need to use artificial intelligence to determine the best approach, and for this, we must collect operational data.
Estimating the AI Market for Surgery will reach $225.4 million By 2024, up from $69.1 million in 2019. However, despite these significant opportunities, an unbridged gulf remains between AI and the healthcare system.Tech giant Google, for example, has stumbled across different iterations of its plans “Expanding the Power of AI in Medicine” Alleviate the global physician shortage by using artificial intelligence technologies to improve access to modern imaging and diagnostic tools, genomic analysis, electronic health records, and advanced testing for life-threatening diseases. There is no shortage of desire when it comes to using AI in medical technology, but the real concern is that it is overhyped and that there is not enough work that can reasonably be done in the field – especially without all stakeholders with meaningful cooperation.
Big Tech: Big Promise
Often, when people think about the future of AI in medicine, they envision a Hollywood-inspired, dramatic perception of surgery that includes fully automated machines running unmanned operating rooms. To be sure, the tech industry does tend to think about the future of doctor-less, AI-driven medicine. However, AI is not a stand-alone solution by itself, and the more those of us in space can directly emphasize the importance of collaboration and coordination between these technologies and the medical professionals who use them, the more effective this future will become and understanding. AI in the operating room will continue to require human intervention to ensure correct use, validate results and troubleshoot errors. Building partnerships and generating interest in AI solutions with the operating room personnel who will use these products is the key to meaningful innovation and driving better healthcare outcomes.
An example of such a collaboration is the collaboration between clinicians at the Mayo Clinic and IBM. Over the past 30 years, the Mayo Clinic has been using artificial intelligence in different ways. They experimented with workflow optimization, natural language processing, and clinical trial management. In 2014, the clinic partnered with IBM’s artificial intelligence platform Watson Develop a cognitive computing system to improve enrollment in oncology clinical trials. With so many clinical trials going on at any given time, it can be difficult for providers to understand all of them and provide patients with the appropriate options for their condition. With AI, they were able to bring relevant information to the forefront and lead to increased enrollment in the three cancer groups where AI was being tested.
This illustrates the huge potential of tech giants working with surgeons to develop AI solutions for healthcare, but it’s been a bumpy road.For example, despite decades of development and collaboration with healthcare providers, IBM’s Watson AI solution later proved to be unprofitable, and Sold in tranches for about $1 billion. While Google shut down its health records service after just three years, they turned in a different direction and are now exploring using Smartphones and artificial intelligence to monitor heart and eye health. We’ve been laying the groundwork for developing new technologies across industries for decades, and it’s time to apply what we’ve learned from trial-and-error development. We all know innovation can be turbulent, but by applying what we’ve learned from these missteps and leveraging expertise between tech companies and surgeons, we can develop meaningful solutions that improve patient and business outcomes across the board.
Surgeons are poised to seize the opportunities offered by AI technology. Healthcare operates in a multi-matrix environment, making it difficult to achieve scale and maintain profits. Surgeons understand this complex environment better than anyone outside the industry. But to be successful, AI needs to drive value in the system. How we use data needs to have an impact on patient outcomes and the economics of healthcare. Technicians dabbling in improving surgery need surgeons—not just buying the technology, but helping to develop it. They need to involve surgeons at the bottom of innovation. They need to understand the complexities of the healthcare industry – both in terms of patient care and innovation in production. It’s time to enter the era of physician-technical collaboration to get serious about AI innovation in medtech—and clinicians are ready and willing.
Image: Daevich Mikalai, Getty Images
