How is Machine Learning Changing Plastic Surgery?

As more and more data is being collected by the country's healthcare system, researchers are exploring the option of using a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI), namely machine learning to help improve the quality of medical care and patient outcomes. An overview of some of the ways in which machine learning has the potential to contribute to advancements in plastic surgery were published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery recently. Dr. Jonathan Kanevsky from the McGill University in Montreal and his colleagues wrote, "Machine learning has the potential to become a powerful tool in plastic surgery, allowing surgeons to harness complex clinical data to help guide key clinical decision-making." A few key areas were highlighted, all of which showed how machine learning and "Big Data" would be able to contribute to progress in the fields of reconstructive and plastic surgery. Machine learning analyzes historical data to develop algorithms that are capable of knowledge acquisition.