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How AI is Transforming Surgery for a New Era of Patient Care
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Despite a multitude of modern medical and technological advances aiding the efforts of skilled surgeons, the operating theater has the highest mortality rate outside of the military battlefield. Postoperative complications alone account for nearly four million deaths worldwide, annually.
This is not the fault of surgeons, hospital staff, or any of the tools that have been implemented; it is a constant, complex process to monitor the myriad circumstances and variabilities that can lead to errors and fatalities. At Caresyntax, we are leveraging the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) to provide a comprehensive safety net that reinforces patient health and supports surgical staff both inside and out of the operating room (OR).
Predicting and Preventing Complications
As much as half of all perioperative complications are preventable. Our proprietary AI algorithms are capable of predicting and preventing complications by producing analytics using both real-time and historical data. The ability of AI to analyze structured and unstructured real-time data (including surgical and in-room video) gives the Caresyntax platform the ability to identify potential risks for infection, which has been shown to reduce Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) by as much as 60%.
Optimizing Operational Efficiency
In an ideal situation, ORs are utilized to their full potential each day. But the reality is that hospital schedules can easily veer off course, leading to extended shifts for staff, decreased throughput for providers and anxious delays for patients. With AI, providers can better identify scheduling inefficiencies and allocate resources in a more timely manner to prevent backups, bottlenecks or delays. Caresyntax clients worldwide with this capability have seen surgical throughput increase by as much as 10% with improved operating capacity and quality.
Meticulous Error Detection
Retained foreign bodies originating from surgical items left unintentionally in the OR can lead to serious complications from surgery, such as SSIs. The common practice of the in-room “count,” to account for left items leaves room for possible human error. The costs of these preventable incidents can be financially crippling due to the corrective procedures and legal costs that often come with them, result in federal oversight, as well as damaging to provider reputations . AI-based detection and alert systems are capable of reinforcing counting practices with real-time video monitoring and detailed analysis of surgical instrument use.
Enhancing Precision Surgery
AI algorithms can analyze massive amounts of patient data in ways that were not possible in the past. Using this data, clinicians can potentially identify individual risk factors both prior to, and after surgery to create custom pathways for patients and reduce complications. In a cohort of more than 10,000 orthopedic procedure patients, the Caresyntax platform utilized AI data insights which lowered perioperative issues by 40%, leading to shorter hospital stays and reduced costs.
Automation and Device Assistance
As the operating theater grows increasingly automated and device-dependent, careful management and precise usage of a multitude of digital factors can be the difference between success and failure. When hospital staff are strained with monitoring and controlling everything from anesthesia machines to endoscopes to air conditioning and lights—for multiple ORs—the chance for human error reasonably increases. AI-led processes can support staff in monitoring devices and facilitate transitions in the surgical workflow -(preparing instruments, devices and room environment).
An Award-Winning System
These benefits are possible with the vendor-neutral Caresyntax platform, and we are continually seeking to develop effective uses of AI for the benefit of patient safety. For our efforts advancing surgical intelligence, Caresyntax was awarded the Applied User award from the prestigious 2024 German AI Prize in recognition of the outstanding practical application of AI our platform provides. Our software-based technology is cost-effective to implement and continuously updated to ensure a consistent standard of high-quality patient care.
