Paul Mussenden
Chief Executive Officer, Cydar Medical
Artificial intelligence (AI) is improving surgical planning, guidance and review, says Paul Mussenden, Chief Executive Officer, Cydar Medical. But its breakthroughs don’t stop there.
Q: How is AI transforming healthcare?
It’s operating in all areas of healthcare and helping join up the different stages of the care pathway. That’s because AI is very good at rationalising lots of complex data in a broad range of areas such as imaging data, diagnostic data, clinical data and genetic data — and using it to personalise healthcare for individual patients. It gives clinicians the best information and new insights to make better decisions.
Q: Can you give an example of AI personalisation?
Over the last 15 years, there has been a big shift to minimally invasive procedures. For instance, in endovascular surgery, an artery near the groin is accessed with a needle, and a small tube — or catheter — is threaded through the blood vessels so that a stent can be placed in an aneurysm. Navigation can be challenging, so we’ve developed a technology that uses AI to create a 3D map of a patient’s blood vessels.
Predictive analytics will help optimise clinical decisions for each patient.
Q: How does this benefit the surgeon and patient?
The 3D map means the surgeon can see the vessels more clearly and accurately during the procedure, with information updated on a screen in real time. In the past, the only way to see the blood vessels was to inject a potentially harmful contrast dye. With this technology, that can be minimised.
Q: How does it help pre- and post-procedure?
Having an adaptable 3D map of the patient allows the surgeon to optimise the procedure plan. After the procedure, outcomes are compared versus the plan. Because it’s cloud-based, surgeons can share information easily, connecting with colleagues in other locations in real time. Collaboration and remote procedure support are no longer limited to a physical location making It easier and more cost-effective.
Q: How will this technology evolve in the future?
Intelligent mapping is bringing a new level of healthcare capability. The technology will generate a map of the patient’s anatomy and compare it with similar previous patients so that surgeons can better predict the outcome. Soon, predictive analytics will optimise the clinical decisions for each patient based on real-world clinical data, their unique anatomy and risk factors. While the current focus is endovascular surgery, the approach will be developed for many other areas of medicine where minimally invasive, image-guided procedures are used.