Artificial intelligence anticipates how instruments are used during surgery

In the operating theater of the future, computer-based assistance systems will make work processes simpler and safer and thereby play a much greater role than today. "However, such support features are only possible if computers are able to anticipate important events in the operating room and provide the right information at the right time," explains Prof. Stefanie Speidel. She is head of the Department of Translational Surgical Oncology at the National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC) in Germany. Together with the Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-loop (CeTI) at TU Dresden, she has developed a method that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to enable computers to anticipate the usage of surgical instruments before they are used. This kind of system does not just provide an important basis for the use of autonomous robotic systems that could take over simple minor tasks in the operating theater, such as blood aspiration.