In a recent virtual briefing, researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore discussed the latest in robotics and the use of AI in surgery.
Here are four takeaways from the talk:
1. Surgical robots as a partnership. Russell Taylor, a professor of computer science and a leading medical robotics researcher, said that current research aims for physicians to inform robots about the surgical plan and use their expertise to guide development.
"It's like power steering in a car," he said. "The [human] surgeon and the robot both have the tool, but the robot is following the hand of the human,"
2. Autonomous robots could aid the physician shortage. One of the most promising aspects of autonomous robots could be its ability to address the shortage of physicians ahead of a growing and aging population.
"[The] caseload is projected to rise more than twofold in the next 10 years," said Axel Krieger, a medical roboticist and associate professor of mechanical engineering. "So we really need more assistance to keep up with that rising caseload."
In this vision, physicians would eventually take a more advisory role and could "intervene or take control if needed," Mr. Krieger said. "The goal is to reduce complications, democratize access to everyone for expert surgery and alleviate that shortage of trained surgeons."
3. A ripple effect over all healthcare. The introduction of more advanced forms of robotic surgery will be felt across all healthcare, not just surgery, said Mathais Unberath, an associate professor of computer science.
"We also need to think about how the introduction of this type of technology changes the overall ecosystem that is healthcare," he said.
4. Feedback is critical. As robotic surgery becomes more autonomous, surgeons are inevitably distanced from the "feel" of surgery, which makes haptic feedback critical as these technologies continue to develop.
In reference to Mr. Taylor's power-steering analogy, Jeremy Brown, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, said, "We didn't jump from manual transmissions in our cars to robotaxis. Just like a surgical resident learns to do surgery, AI does as well."