Book intro--Digital Surgery
What is digital
surgery? Perhaps its definition should be left bound not by
diction but rather by imagination. To some degree, digital surgery is
kaleidoscopic—its facets and shapes, shifting. In its commonest context, it
entails the
application of artificial intelligence toward computer vision and automation in robotic-assisted surgery. More generally, however, the objective is to digitally define the patient, the surgical
field, and the surgical problem or task at hand—
to operate based on information, rather than based on anatomic
planes alone.But digital surgery has shapeshifted into other, equally
intriguing facets—many of which are exemplified by chapter headings throughout this book.
Digital surgery is fundamental to 3D-printed organs, mind-controlled limbs, image-guided navigation, and tele-mentoring. It is the key that unlocks the
metaphorical doorway to surgical access, thereby creating a global framework
for surgical training, education, planning, and much more. This 4.0-version of
surgery will also provide methods of measurement and perception outside of the human umwelt—including the ability to visualize fields beyond the visible light spectrum, via near infrared fluorescent organic dyes which are rapidly being bioengineered to target specific tumors, as well as native
anatomic structures of interest.
Digital surgery ushers in the era of patient centricity. Rather than focusing solely on the anatome, surgeons will operate with an enriched understanding of an individual’s specific attributes: including the human phenome, physiome, microbiome,
genome, and epigenome. In parallel, digital surgery will
harness the power and fluidity of the cloud. The cloud is poised to emerge as a significant resource for surgeons over the next decade—especially through
shared machine learning, both regionally and globally. It is important to understand that digital surgery is not
the last step in evolution, but only the
next. A touchstone towards computer-centric surgery and the new age of surgical
automation, robotic-machine learning, augmented environments, and the like.
In 2005, when I was a
fourth-year surgical resident in training, I was
reminded of where we stand with regard to innovation in surgery on a grand scale. I had the opportunity to meet famed surgeon Michael DeBakey that
year. At our encounter, I asked him with genuine curiosity, “do you think the era of innovation and discovery in surgery is over and done?” I went on to ramble off several seismic milestones—the first heart transplant in a human,
the development of general anesthetics, the creation of the lung-heart bypass machine, electrocautery, and so on. He shook his head at me and, with a wide
grin and a sparkle of certainty in his eyes, said, “Not at all!” … he
added with a chuckle, “This is just
the beginning!”
DeBakey was right. Indeed, we are at one of the most exciting
times in the history of surgery, and we are only getting started. Off we go... a great
odyssey lies ahead! We are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is
not unreasonable that
we grapple with problems. But there are tens of thousands of years in the
future. Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions,
and pass them on. ― Richard P.
Feynman
Orlando, FL, USA Sam Atallah, MD"
28
Digital Medical School: New Paradigms for Tomorrow’s Surgical Education, Joanna
Ashby, Isaac Ndayishimiye, Arsen Muhumuza and Sylvine Niyoyita
29
3D Simulation and Modeling for Surgeon Education and Patient Engagement, Anna
Przedlacka, Przemyslaw Korzeniowski, Paris Tekkis, Fernando Bello, and Christos
Kontovounisios
30
Next-Generation Surgical Robots, Shinil K. Shah, Melissa
M. Felinski, Todd D. Wilson,
Kulvinder S. Bajwa, and
Erik B. Wilson
31
Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision, Sam
Atallah
32
The Future of Surgery, Rebecca A. Fisher,
Suewan Kim, and Prokar Dasgupta
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