Digital data collection in the OR has blossomed in the last two decades, updating internal supply systems and patient records while powering analyses that range from the individual surgeon to the hospital as a whole. Now we’re thinking beyond those parameters.
We can employ AI to interpret data from millions of da Vinci robotic-assisted procedures, identifying and analyzing a wealth of variables before, during and after surgery, all while adhering to patient data privacy requirements. Can we harness AI to optimize surgery and productivity by predicting the pathway that produces the best patient outcomes, and even suggest the best specific actions for surgeons to take in real time? We call this idea integrated intelligence, and we believe it will change the future of healthcare.
Improving Case Volumes and Costs
Robotic-assisted surgery with da Vinci surgical systems accounts for more than 1.5 million minimally invasive surgeries per year, with a wealth of automated data collection for each procedure. Analyses of the data have facilitated more precise surgical planning and execution, faster recovery times, better clinical outcomes, and shorter hospital stays, ultimately lowering the total cost of care. Decades of data are now providing the foundation for integrated intelligence to help hospitals achieve their goals for better outcomes and efficiency:
- Franklin Woods Community Hospital, Johnson City, Tenn.
Franklin Woods has relied on integrated intelligence in their robotics system to achieve better standardization and accelerate learning, so more surgeons can perform minimally invasive robotic-assisted procedures across all three of their hospitals.
An integrated hub allows Franklin Wood surgeons to capture video and images of a surgical procedure, with automated bookmarking of key actions during surgery for future reference. This can be shared through telepresence—a technology that allows surgeons to teach, coach and learn remotely during surgery—or shared later. Faster delivery of education has enabled surgeons throughout the health system to expand the types and complexity of procedures they perform. Every surgeon performing robotic-assisted procedures in all three Franklin Wood hospitals reported an increase in case volume. In addition, their surgeons credited an integrated customer portal with providing the powerful data they needed to standardize purchasing and lower costs.
- Rey Juan Carlos Hospital, Madrid, Spain
A surgical team at Rey Juan Carlos Hospital used integrated intelligence to analyze total case counts, instrument use, console times and other specific characteristics for each robotic-assisted procedure they performed. The system enabled them to create visual timelines of their surgical cases, including details on the use of each robotic arm.
Surgeons reported that this analysis allowed the team to identify issues that were causing delays in their cases and solve those issues preoperatively. They now spend less OR time per case and see a higher case volume per day. Insights from integrated data also helped them to optimize instrument configuration, which means they now use fewer instruments per case and save on costs.
Delivering Data-Driven Support During Surgery
In addition to helping the hospital and surgical team, AI-driven integrated intelligence can leverage data collection, imaging and computer vision technologies to harness actionable data for the surgeonin the OR. Already, Intuitive is collaborating with more than 200 renowned surgeons worldwide to build surgical insights and enable da Vinci systems to provide postoperative learning tailored to support the skills that surgical teams need most. The next step is a potentially transformative idea: delivering knowledge and recommendations directly to the surgical suite during surgery.
For example, millions of anastomoses (connecting two parts of a vessel) have been performed in robotic-assisted surgeries with the da Vinci system. Data recorded from those cases show how surgeons use the instruments to complete the suturing task. Collectively, data can show which suturing techniques (positioning of the needle, for instance) will produce the optimal outcomes—data-driven insights that could be shared with surgeons to inform actions in the OR in real time.
Exploring and fulfilling the potential for integrated intelligence requires ongoing collaboration and development with surgeons, hospitals and care teams. By working together, we can use innovation to bring real value and improved patient outcomes to the surgical suite of the future.
Brian Miller, PhD, is executive vice president/chief digital officer, Intuitive.
A Premier Corporate Sponsor of ACHE, Intuitive was founded in 1995 to create innovative, robotic-assisted systems that help empower doctors and hospitals to make surgery less invasive than an open approach. For more information, visit ache.org/Intuitive.