Abstract
The practice of surgery involves physical manipulation of tissue to treat disease. Over many centuries, surgical outcomes have improved with increasing human knowledge and the development of novel tools. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been defined as the study of algorithms that give machines the ability to reason and perform functions such as problem solving, object and word recognition, inference of world states, and decision-making. Surgery is therefore a natural and yet complex application for AI technologies. Operations require surgeons to synthesize data from multiple sources to make decisions, identify anatomy, and carry out physical tasks in rapidly changing scenarios. Outside of the operating room, components of surgical care include diagnosis, preoperative assessment, postoperative care, assessment of outcomes, and training of surgeons. AI promises to improve the quality and efficiency of perioperative care, improve surgical decision-making, augment the physical capabilities of human surgeons, and offer many exciting opportunities for future investigation. In this chapter, past, present, and future applications of AI in surgery are reviewed.
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