AI Training in Neurosurgery: Outperforms Human Experts

Neurosurgery is one of the most difficult professions in medicine. Surgeons spend long hours doing procedures where their skills can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful outcome for the patient.

Operative injuries are uncommon, but they can be severe and last for a lifetime. Researchers at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill University are hoping to develop brain surgery training by creating real-time, intelligent instructors monitored by artificial intelligence (AI) ().

Artificial Intelligence (AI) — Future of Neurosurgery?
Artificial intelligence (AI) tutoring system is found to outperform expert human instructors in a remote environment for neurosurgical training.

‘AI could soon play a key role in the operating room, helping human instructors enhance surgical training. #AI #neurosurgery #brainsurgery #medindia’

The purpose of these systems is to mimic the function of human surgical instructors in the training. As the student performs brain procedures, these intelligent instructors continuously evaluate their hand movements and provide tailored verbal feedback to help them develop their operative skills.

Neurosurgery Training with AI

Educating the next generation of neurosurgeons is a long, expensive, and complex process. AI and simulation hold the potential to make the learning process easier while maintaining or enhancing the quality of graduating neurosurgeons’ skills.

   Their most recent study was the first randomized controlled trial comparing AI intelligent tutor instruction with human expert instruction during simulated surgery. They divided 97 medical trainees into three groups, either receiving real-time AI feedback, in-person expert instruction, or no real-time feedback. 

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AI vs. Human Expertise

The trainees who received AI instruction performed significantly better than those who received expert instruction and no real-time instruction. The study found that expert instruction alone led to poorer surgical learning outcomes.

By employing their extensive expertise and the new opportunities provided by AI, surgical educators can provide new possibilities for learners to reach their potential as excellent surgeons.

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“This study suggests the future of instruction in the operating room may involve human educators utilizing the capacity of AI to further enhance learner surgical skills acquisition,” says Dr. Rolando Del Maestro, Director, of Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre. The study was published in Nature Scientific Reports on July 2, 2024.

Reference:

Real-Time multifaceted artificial intelligence vs In-Person instruction in teaching surgical technical skills: a randomized controlled trial - (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-65716-8)

Source-Eurekalert