Artificial Intelligence (AI) — Future of Neurosurgery?

Technical performance and learning outcomes during simulated brain tumor removal may be enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) as per a study at the Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, Mcgill University, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Network Open). With presenting challenges and opportunities by COVID-19 pandemic, medical training especially remote learning technology has become progressively significant in several fields.

The team had recruited 70 medical students to perform virtual brain tumor removals on a neurosurgical simulator, where they were randomly assigned to receive instruction and feedback by either an AI tutor or a remote expert instructor. The third control group received no instruction.

Safe and efficient surgical techniques with personalized feedback were provided by an AI-powered tutor called the Virtual Operative Assistant (VOA) through a machine learning algorithm. Further to this, the student performance was assessed by a deep learning Intelligent Continuous Expertise Monitoring System (ICEMS) and a panel of experts.

It was found that students who received VOA instruction and feedback learned surgical skills 2.6 times faster and achieved 36% better performance compared to those who received instruction and feedback from remote instructors.

“Artificially intelligent tutors like the VOA may become a valuable tool in the training of the next generation of neurosurgeons. The VOA significantly improved expertise while fostering an excellent learning environment. Ongoing studies are assessing how in-person instructors and AI-powered intelligent tutors can most effectively be used together to improve the mastery of neurosurgical skills,” says Dr. Rolando Del Maestro, the study’s senior author.

Source-Medindia