8 June 2023IN MY OPINIONThe COVID19 pandemic has refocused society's attention towards the need for rapid and scalable research in healthcare. With medical research rising up as a priority, there is no better time to be involved in translational research and development to improve our delivery of care. Teams who are able to combine multi-disciplinary expertise are the ones who will make the greatest impact towards the improvement of care.An extraordinary revolution in technology has occurred before our eyes, bringing with it improvements in the delivery of surgical care. With the advanced development of biomedical sensors, portability, and miniaturization of computing power and enhanced techniques of large data processing using machine learning or artificial intelligence-based analysis surgeons are now able to plan and prepare for high complexity operations better than ever. This allows procedures to be performed utilizing state-of-the-art minimally invasive techniques facilitating improved patient recovery and outcome. Innovation in surgical care has occurred along many fronts including enhancements in robotic technology and endoscopic instrument design, high-fidelity imaging which can provide real-time navigation to the surgical field, development of percutaneous techniques to eliminate the need for invasive incisions, and real-time tissue diagnostics to provide a microscopic level of detail from tissue on the surgical field. For example, I collaborated with scientists and engineers at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to test a handheld device, the MasSepcPen, that would rapidly and accurately identify cancerous tissue during surgery, delivering results in about 10 seconds. This is more than 150 times as fast as existing technology. This device gives surgeons precise diagnostic information about what tissue to cut or preserve as they are performing surgery, helping improve treatment and reduce the chances of cancer recurrence. I worked with the scientists and engineers to design the MasSpec Pen in a way that is efficient and comfortable to use by surgeons during operations.In addition, Dr. Bijan Najafi, professor and director of clinical research in the division of vascular surgery and endovascular therapy, recently published a paper on a test that uses a wrist-worn sensor to measure frailty in vascular surgery patients. Najafi, a biomedical engineer, is the director of the Interdisciplinary Consortium on Advanced Motion Performance (iCAMP) at Baylor.Frailty is a good indicator for which surgery patients may develop adverse outcomes following their procedure, but Technology in the Operating Room - Precision Guided SurgeryBy James Suliburk, Associate Professor of Surgery, Director of Continuous Quality Improvement and Chief of Endocrine Surgery, Baylor College of MedicineJames Suliburk
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