UAE Researchers' AI Tool for Surgical Guidance Wins International Acclaim

Researchers from Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi have achieved international recognition, winning an award at a robotic surgery conference in Italy for their innovative AI tool, Janus AI. This groundbreaking technology is designed to assist surgeons during complex operations by providing real-time guidance.

Janus AI functions by analyzing video footage from robotic surgeries and retrieving relevant 30-second clips from similar past procedures. This capability is likened to a 'Google search for robotic surgery clips,' enabling surgeons to quickly access examples of how others have navigated specific stages of an operation. The system can display footage from up to three previous operations at the same procedural point, allowing surgeons to compare different approaches and learn from past experiences.

Professor Cesare Stefanini, who oversaw the technology's development at MBZUAI, explained, "While performing robotic surgery, we can have superimposed a number of small videos that show similar procedures, successful procedures, good procedures, in the exact same moment, so there is a guideline to follow." He further elaborated that the tool offers a form of 'human content' to surgeons who might otherwise lack immediate access to a colleague's input during an operation.

The name Janus AI is inspired by the Roman god Janus, symbolizing the system's function of looking to the past to inform present decisions. The award received was the Robotic Urology Breakthrough Innovation Challenge award, presented at Erus 26, a robotic urology surgery conference held in Padua, Italy, in September.

"It’s very rewarding to be acknowledged by a community which is not only the computer science, AI, and robotics community, but also the medical community, [as it shows] that we are doing something that can be useful in the future," stated Prof Stefanini. The project was a collaborative effort involving surgeons from the University of Illinois Chicago and contributions from the University of Turin in Italy.

Edoardo Fazzari, a postdoctoral researcher at MBZUAI, was instrumental in the system's development over approximately five months. He highlighted the project's practical impact beyond academic research, noting, "Why it’s helpful for the resident, for the surgeons, is that you can look at the future. We are using past experience to help humans make the next steps." The system aims for rapid retrieval, with queries expected to return results in milliseconds.

Currently, the Janus AI video library focuses on robotic urology procedures, such as nephrectomies. The researchers aim to expand its scope to other robotic surgeries as the library grows. While the technology shows immense promise, it is not yet ready for clinical use and requires further refinement and regulatory approval before commercialization.

The MBZUAI team hopes to secure a commercial partner to bring Janus AI to market. Professor Stefanini expressed pride in the UAE's contribution to such world-class innovation, emphasizing MBZUAI's role in fostering an environment for AI research and development. "We’ve proven we can produce world-class results in the UAE, with the talent and vision that we have here. It’s encouraging for the future," he concluded.