Artificial intelligence in total and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty

Abstract

The application of Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools in total (TKA) and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) emerges with the potential to improve patient-centered decision-making and outcome prediction in orthopedics, as ML algorithms can generate patient-specific risk models. This review aims to evaluate the potential of the application of AI/ML models in the prediction of TKA outcomes and the identification of populations at risk.An extensive search in the following databases: MEDLINE, Scopus, Cinahl, Google Scholar, and EMBASE was conducted using the PIOS approach to formulate the research question. The PRISMA guideline was used for reporting the evidence of the data extracted. A modified eight-item MINORS checklist was employed for the quality assessment. The databases were screened from the inception to June 2022.Forty-four out of the 542 initially selected articles were eligible for the data analysis; 5 further articles were identified and added to the review from the PUBMED database, for a total of 49 articles included. A total of 2,595,780 patients were identified, with an overall average age of the patients of 70.2 years ± 7.9 years old. The five most common AI/ML models identified in the selected articles were: RF, in 38.77% of studies; GBM, in 36.73% of studies; ANN in 34.7% of articles; LR, in 32.65%; SVM in 26.53% of articles.This systematic review evaluated the possible uses of AI/ML models in TKA, highlighting their potential to lead to more accurate predictions, less time-consuming data processing, and improved decision-making, all while minimizing user input bias to provide risk-based patient-specific care.