“We are ERUS, we will make it happen!” said ERUS Chair Prof. Alberto Breda (ES), citing the possible disruption to patient admissions, teamwork and other logistical essentials the meeting might face as a result of the week-long tube strike in London.
The 22nd edition of the annual meeting of the EAU Robotic Urology Section started in the British capital this morning, following introductions by Prof. Breda, Mr. Ben Challacombe (GB) on behalf of the local organisers and with a video message from UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Rt. Hon. Wes Streeting (GB).
Mr. Streeting is a kidney cancer survivor, having been treated robotically four years ago. He referred to the plans of the current British government to increase the number of procedures performed in the UK robotically from 70,000 to 500,000 by 2035, citing the advantages of shorter hospital stay and shorter recovery time and reducing pressure on the NHS. A National Robotic Surgery Registry will be a part of this drive to increase the volume of procedures.
AI supporting surgeons in different forms
Prof. Nikhil Vasdev (GB) presented the potential of AI in the planning of robotic surgery, going so far as to say that AI would have an important role in developing the next generation of surgical robots.
“A broad array of data is being captured, that is key to improving patient outcomes. Robotic platforms are generating more and more data, giving us a model implementation challenge. Captured data needs to be ironed out and uniform,” said Vasdev.
“We also need more academic research as part of AI implementation. Sensitivity thresholds are still between 90 and 95% due to AI’s tendency to occasionally ‘hallucinate’ its answers. The Responsible Ai UK international ecosystem was set up to improve research in AI and create best practices.”
Concretely, AI can assist in planning complex cases, for instance telesurgery involving great distances and many variables. Even the development of future robotic platforms (Prof. Vasdev mentioned a miniaturised ‘suitcase’ robot currently in development) AI is expediting data for its development. “The marriage of robot and AI is the future.”
Prof. Vasdev: “With smart device use being widespread, there are vast amounts of patient-generated health data, and an appropriate strategy should be developed for this. AI data analysis already allows us to predict which patients might experience complications, based on factors like step count.”
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Live surgery
The theme of AI carried over into the first Live Surgery session. Mr. Challacombe hailed the 36 cases, four hospitals and six different surgical platforms being demonstrated over the coming three days as a huge achievement for the local organisers and ERUS and a reflection of the maturity of robotic surgery in general.
The first session had three procedures broadcasted simultaneously: two Robotic Assisted Radical Prostatectomies and one Robotic Assisted Partial Nephrectomy.
Prof. Prokar Dasgupta’s (GB) RARP was notable in that it featured three uses of AI. His case presentation was done by a virtual avatar, cloning Prof. Dasgupta’s voice. He also received a MonaAI Label 3D-printed model of the prostate he would be operating on, which showed tumours and nerve bundles. According to Prof. Dasgupta, the AI that was used to create the model also picked up on a tumour that the initial MRI had missed.
A third novel use of AI in the procedure was the presence of a virtual Prof. Alex Mottrie (former ERUS chair and CEO of ORSI) that helped with the moderation of the case. Dr. Pieter De Backer (BE) demonstrated an early ‘alpha’ version of this tool, which has access to case data and can also offer visual analysis, all while simulating the voice of Prof. Mottrie.
On the first day of ERUS25, there was also a special Nurses’ programme for nurses who work in robotic teams. Later in the day, two further live surgery sessions will be held, as well as plenary sessions and special courses from the European School of Urology. ERUS25 will be in London until Friday, September 12th.
