Enhancing Surgical Outcomes with Optical Flow Analysis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Optical Flow Analysis in Robotic, Endoscopic, Micro and Ophthalmic Surgery - Developing Feedback Algorithms for Enhanced Outcomes
IRAS ID
137685
Contact name
George Saleh
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Moorfields Eye Hospital
Research summary
Studies have shown that a good surgeon will display quick, economic, and precise movements and by evaluating metrics such as path length, time of procedure and number of movements, surgical skill levels can be discriminated.
We are using video recordings of routine surgical procedures to see if the instruments used during surgery can be tracked (that is to say whether this technology is able to follow accurately the instruments movement during the surgery).
The aim of this work will be to evaluate and validate this tool in a much broader variety of domains with the ultimate goal being enhanced and better quantified feedback to accelerate skills acquisition.Lay summary of study results: This project developed a new AI tool for Cataract Surgery, one of the first of its kind. We trained the AI system to analyse phases of cataract surgery, recognise instruments and offer feedback including timing and risk analysis. Once developed it was successfully deployed in the operating room and offered many benefits for recorded and live surgery. These included displaying the phases of the operation on screens in the operating room and various analytics relating to this (also available off line). These can be applied to team training, improvement of patient and operational flow, better tailored utilisation of instruments, predicting when the next phase of the operation is going to take place (for nurses or other staff less familiar) and also patient safety.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/WM/0038
Date of REC Opinion
31 Jan 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion