According to a prominent neurosurgeon, we might witness the potential for brain surgery with the aid of artificial intelligence in as soon as two years, promising increased safety and efficacy.
New AI technology is helping less experienced junior surgeons perform more accurate keyhole brain surgery through learning. Produced on the premises of the University College London, it enhances visualisation of minor tumours on the brain together with the vital blood vessels found in the centre.
According to the government, this initiative could be “a real game changer” for healthcare in Britain.
Newly invented AI technology is being exploited by trainee surgeons conducting sharper keyhole brain surgery. It was designed at University College London and depicts the most important parts to highlight, including tiny tumors in the center of brain and blood vessels.
As reported by BBC News, the government says that “it could really be a game-changer” for the NHS (National Health Service) in Britain.
Brain surgery demands meticulous precision, with even the slightest deviation having potentially fatal consequences. Avoiding harm to the pituitary gland, a mere grape-sized structure at the brain’s core, is of utmost importance. This gland governs the body’s hormonal balance, and any damage to it can lead to vision impairment.
Hani Marcus, a consultant neurosurgeon at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, highlights the delicate balance required in the surgical approach: “If you go too small with your approach, then you risk not removing enough of the tumor. If you go too large, you risk damaging these really critical structures.”
An AI system has scrutinized over 200 videos of pituitary surgery of this kind, achieving in just 10 months a level of expertise that would typically take a surgeon a decade to attain.
“Even surgeons that are well-trained like me can use AI to pinpoint that line better than without its help,”says Mr Marcus.
In a few years, you could have a better AI system than all humans seeing a lot of operations.
It’s very useful to trainee Dr Nicola Newell.
She adds “it assists me orient myself in the mock surgical situation, and it also shows me on which stage I am going”.
As Mr Marcus says, “surgeons like myself – even though, you’re very experienced – with the aid of AI, we can perform better in order to identify the boundary”.
Within a few years you may have an A.I.system who will have witnessed as many operations as a human will never even hear of, let alone witness!
It is very helpful even with trainee Dr Nicole Newell.
BBC
According to her, it directs on the mock surgery and assists in determining on which level is the subsequent stage.
According to Viscount Camrose, an AI government minister, artificial intelligence has the potential to significantly boost productivity across various fields, effectively turning individuals into an enhanced, superhero-like version of themselves. He believes that this technology could be a game-changer for healthcare, offering a very promising future and improving outcomes for everyone.
Recently, the government allocated funding to 22 universities, including University College London (UCL), to drive innovation in healthcare within the UK. At UCL’s Welcome / Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences, engineers, clinicians, and scientists are collaborating on this transformative project.
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