Predictions for AI in Orthopedic Outpatient Surgery

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to play an extensive role in the future of outpatient surgery. As an ambulatory surgical center (ASC) surgeon, owner and advisor, I believe orthopedics will be the specialty that benefits the most from the use of AI.

AI is setting standards for predictive analysis and surgical precision in a way that elevates the surgeons’ performance and, ultimately, patient outcomes. We will see symbiotic growth for both humans and machines, with the common goal of enhanced patient safety and care.

Here are six developments led by industry that will shape the use of AI in outpatient orthopedic surgery.

1. Bone Fracture Detection and Classification

AI is increasingly being used to detect, triage and classify fractures with unprecedented accuracy. Orthopedic surgeons and radiologists are using technology that can analyze imaging studies like CT scans and X-rays in seconds while identifying subtle fractures that trained eyes would have missed. This technology will be invaluable for treating trauma injuries to complex joints like the ankle, wrist or pelvis.

Startup companies like IMAGEN and Gleamer have developed tools that optimize workflows by helping to read images faster and more accurately. These platforms could assist orthopedic surgeons in outpatient settings, especially in areas where radiological resources are limited, by detecting fractures, providing suggestions on what the next step should be and helping to streamline the treatment and management process.

2. Preoperative Imaging and Planning

AI is transforming surgical planning by adding speed and accuracy to the preoperative care process. I predict that the days when only humans interpret x-rays and MRIs will disappear. AI-powered platforms are now analyzing images and data from thousands of patients simultaneously, while concurrently analyzing multiple imaging results for a patient in 3D. These machine learning activities create optimized surgical blueprints and lead to enhanced predictability in the O.R.

Dozens of implant and technology companies offer preoperative planning tools with advanced modeling capabilities. While surgeon expertise will never take a backseat in patient care, modalities like this will be able to leverage AI to reduce the chances of surgical surprises and enhance procedural efficiency.

3. Personalized Implant Selection

The world of implant selection will change with the advent of AI. Machine learning algorithms can now analyze comorbidities, bone density, demographics and even the gait pattern of patients to suggest the most suitable design for an individual patient’s implant. The use of AI to identify implant size will lead to a significant reduction in complications, like malalignment, implant loosening and other postoperative issues. Understanding implant size ahead of surgery will also reduce the amount of inventory needed in space-conscious ASCs.

Companies like Corin are using AI-driven platforms like OPSInsight to simulate and predict outcomes for different implant choices and placements. This level of à la carte intervention and concierge-style approach to outpatient surgery will prove to be very precise and cost-effective.

4. Robotics and Navigation for Joint Replacements

Robotics and navigation are helping achieve precision in orthopedic procedures. Systems like Stryker’s Mako SmartRobotics and Zimmer Biomet’s ROSA are transforming how joint replacements are being performed in ASCs.

I have witnessed robotics and navigation play an integral role in the growth of orthopedic ASCs. These platforms already use advanced predictive algorithms to generate a real-time map of a patient’s anatomy and suggest operative adjustments based on bone morphology, ligament tension and movement of the joint. AI will play an integral role in robotic platforms of the future, helping surgeons to make even more educated decisions that lead to better joint replacement kinetics and reduction in revisions.

5. Spine Alignment and Deformity Correction

Spine surgery remains among the most precision-driven specialties in medicine, regardless of where the procedures are performed. Razor-sharp accuracy is needed to avoid neural complications and resultant disability, and AI will play an essential role in outpatient settings by helping surgeons correct spinal alignments for conditions like kyphosis, degenerative disc disease or scoliosis.

Companies like Medtronic employ AI to design rods specifically tailored to each patient to fix spinal deformity, basing their model on predictive biomechanics. These tailored solutions will result in reduced spinal hardware failure, decreased surgery time and improved surgical correction. This type of care will revolutionize service in the outpatient setting.

6. Postoperative Monitoring and Wearable Integration

AI will also play an integral role as wearable technology and implanted sensors track patient information postoperatively. Zimmer Biomet’s Persona IQ smart knee implant can track recoveries in real-time, including monitoring a patient’s gait, joint swelling and physical therapy compliance.

New platforms will use active data to detect early complications, even before patients realize that something is wrong. This type of predictive care will be priceless in outpatient centers, where patients are discharged soon after surgery and complications can occur after they return home.

Orthopedic surgery is no longer solely about hardware. It involves analytics, complicated algorithms and the pursuit of razor-sharp accuracy for patient success. AI is helping orthopedic surgeons perform surgeries that are safer, more efficient and, most importantly, more personalized.

The next decade will see an exponential rise in AI-associated orthopedic care — so much so that current predictions will sound anachronistic a few years from now. What we do know is that, if used appropriately, it will be a positive, revolutionary step for patient care.