CHEO researchers are collaborating with Carleton University students to build an artificial intelligence simulator that will help train the next generation of pediatric surgeons.
The AI-powered simulator aims to help surgeons-in-training hone their advanced laparoscopic surgery skills. These surgeries involve inserting a long, thin wand equipped with a camera and light through a small slit 2 to 3 millimeters long, allowing the surgeon to perform the procedure inside the child's body, reducing stress on the patient. will be done.
Huda Sheikh, who is completing her fourth year at Carleton University, is part of the team building the simulator in partnership with CHEO.
“My role on this project was to develop a user interface to support the technology we have introduced over the past year,” she said. “In short, this involved creating an intuitive, user-friendly, controlled, risk-free learning environment that residents and residents can use to practice laparoscopic techniques. .”
Dr. Ahmad Nasr, a pediatric surgeon and CHEO researcher, said his team came up with the idea for the simulator during the pandemic.
“We will teach the machine, and then the machine will teach the trainee. This will minimize or even eliminate the need for direct instruction in the same room,” Nasr said. Ta.
Rather than practicing against a human, the simulator allows surgical trainees to get unlimited hands-on training, performing tasks as instructed by a computer monitor and mimicking what is happening inside a patient's body. I can.
“It's like flight simulation in the aviation industry,” Nasr said. “We’re trying to simulate a simulator to simulate a real OR.”
Each gesture is recorded, analyzed and evaluated using artificial intelligence.
“I think this project is very promising and paves the way for better training, which will therefore lead to fewer complications and problems in surgery,” Nasr said.
As CHEO and Carleton University work to develop the final prototype, Nasr and his team are confident the simulator will better prepare surgeons for the operating room.
