The Technology section is published with the support of Favbet Tech
AI-based surveillance technology is making its way into hospital operating rooms, where it is constantly collects audio, video, patient vital signs and a variety of other surgical data – all to improve safety and efficiency.
The AI-powered platform is called OR Black Box, after the recording devices used on airplanes to help understand accidents that lead to a crash or other incident. But this technology is not a literal black box; it is a set of wide-angle cameras and proprietary artificial intelligence models. It is also not necessarily designed to understand the events leading up to a surgical disaster or incident after the fact. Rather, it is designed to help prevent any accidents, and its creators and users have had to repeatedly reassure medical staff that all-seeing artificial intelligence will not be used to find individual mistakes and assign blame to staff, ArsTechnica reports.
According to the developers, OR Black Box anonymizes people in operating rooms: models blur their faces and multiply their bodies. The software aggregates and analyzes data and reports back to hospitals, providing information on protocol compliance, effectiveness, safety audits, quality control, and key video and audio recordings for viewing, commenting and learning. After 30 days, all entries must be deleted.
For example, Duke Health in North Carolina began using a black box in the operating room four years ago and, after analyzing the data, realized that its surgical teams did not carefully follow the protocol for preparing patient skin for incisions. On the other hand, such an observation makes the hospital staff nervous, which is not so difficult to identify.
However, early adopters focus on the positive aspects of the technology. At Mayo Clinic, which installed Black Box in late 2021, hospital administrators used the technology to discover that key surgical equipment was not optimally located in some operating rooms. Thanks to this, they moved it and increased its efficiency.
The Technology section is published with the support of Favbet Tech
Favbet Tech is IT a company with 100% Ukrainian DNA, which creates perfect services for iGaming and Betting using advanced technologies and provides access to them. Favbet Tech develops innovative software through a complex multi-component platform that can withstand enormous loads and create a unique experience for players. The IT company is part of the FAVBET group of companies.