Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) will likely drive many complex medical devices in the near future. But as with all things, AI can sometimes fail. Companies relying on AI to elevate their medical devices above the competition should be mindful of four common AI failure modes: AI functional errors, software rot, unexplained programming glitches, and the ever-present human factor.
Continue Reading 4 Common Ways That AI Driven Medical Devices Can Fail

Today, major healthcare companies are investing heavily into various AI-powered devices. For example, Zimmer Biomet and the New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery recently inked a three-year deal to create the HSS/Zimmer Biomet Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence in Robotic Joint Replacement. “The collaboration aims to develop decision support tools—powered by data collection and machine learning — to assist surgeons planning and predicting outcomes for robotic-assisted joint replacements.” Additionally, Johnson & Johnson have gone on record saying that they see “a huge opportunity to harness data, machine learning and artificial intelligence to help drive decision-making at all levels of healthcare.” As artificial intelligence starts playing a larger role in the modern healthcare space, a critical question will need to be answered: Are AI-powered solutions products or services?
Continue Reading Is Your Artificial Intelligence a Service or a Product?

Recently, an artificial intelligence-guided robot successfully performed a laparoscopic surgery to connect two ends of an intestine in four pigs, without any human intervention. And according to the researchers involved, the robot surgeon produced “significantly better” results than humans. Though such an accomplishment is astonishing and signals the inevitable rise of fully autonomous medical robots, it is important to remember that the results generated by artificial intelligence are only as good as the information used to train it.
Continue Reading The Risk of Clinical Data Collection Biases In Fully Autonomous Medical Robots

This week, the European Commission unveiled new proposed rules “aiming to turn Europe into the global hub for trustworthy” artificial intelligence. The 108-page first-of-its-kind policy outlines how companies and governments should use artificial intelligence, and sets “limits around the use of artificial intelligence in a range of activities, from self-driving cars to hiring decisions, bank lending, school enrollment selections and the scoring of exams.” Importantly, the proposed rules also directly impact artificial intelligence application in robot-assisted surgery.
Continue Reading Europe’s New Proposed Rules for Artificial Intelligence and Robot-Assisted Surgery