Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for General Surgeons: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly progressed in the last decade and will inevitably become incorporated into trauma and surgical systems. In such settings, surgeons often need to make high-stakes, time-sensitive, and complex decisions with limited or uncertain information. AI has great potential to augment the pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative phases of trauma care. Despite the expeditious advancement of AI, many surgeons lack a foundational understanding of AI terminology, its processes, and potential applications in clinical practice. This narrative review aims to educate general surgeons about the basics of AI, highlight its applications in thoraco-abdominal trauma, and discuss the implications of incorporating its use into the Australian health care system. This review found that studies of AI in trauma care have predominantly focused on machine learning and deep learning applied to diagnostics, risk prediction, and decision-making. Other subfields of AI include natural language processing and computer vision. While AI tools have many potential applications in trauma care, current clinical use is limited. Future prospective, locally validated research is required prior to incorporating AI into clinical practice.

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