RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Potential Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Spine Surgery Across the Continuum of Care
JF International Journal of Spine Surgery
JO Int J Spine Surg
FD International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery
SP S26
OP S33
DO 10.14444/8507
VO 17
IS S1
A1 Samuel R. Browd
A1 Christine Park
A1 Daniel A. Donoho
YR 2023
UL http://ijssurgery.com//content/17/S1/S26.abstract
AB The worlds of spinal surgery and computational science are intersecting at the nexus of the operating room and across the continuum of patient care. As medicine moves toward digitizing all aspects of a patient’s care, immense amounts of patient data generated and aggregated across surgeons, procedures, and institutions will enable previously inaccessible computationally driven insights. These early insights from artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)–enabled technologies are beginning to transform medicine and surgery. The complex pathologies facing spine surgeons and their patients require integrative, multimodal, data-driven management strategies. As these data and the technological tools to computationally process them become increasingly available to spine surgeons, AI and ML methods will inform patient selection, preoperatively risk-stratify patients based on myriad factors, and inform interoperative surgical decisions. Once these tools enter early clinical practice, their use creates a virtual flywheel whereby the use of these tools generates additional data that further accelerate the evolution of computational “knowledge” systems. At this digital crossroads, interested and motivated surgeons have an opportunity to understand these technologies, guide their application toward optimal care, and advocate for opportunities where these powerful new tools can deliver step changes in efficiency, accuracy, and intelligence. In the present article, we review the nomenclature and basics of AI and ML and highlight the current and future applications of these technologies across the care continuum of spinal surgery.