Carleton University, CHEO teaming up to create AI-powered pediatric surgery simulator
Researchers at CHEO are teaming up with Carleton University students to build an artificial intelligence simulator that will help train the next generation of pediatric surgeons.
The AI-powered simulator aims to help surgeons in training hone their skills for highly technical laparoscopic procedures. In these procedures, long, narrow wands equipped with a camera and a light are inserted through slits as tiny as two to three millimetres long, allowing surgeons to operate inside pediatric patients, causing less stress on their bodies.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
Huda Sheikh, wrapping up her fourth year at Carleton University, is part of the team partnering with CHEO to build the simulator.
"My role in this project was to develop a user interface that would support the technology we had implemented over the past year," she said. "So this involved creating an intuitive, user-friendly, controlled, risk-free learning environment that trainees and medical residents can use to practice their laparoscopic techniques."
Dr. Ahmad Nasr, pediatric surgeon and researcher at CHEO, says his team came up with the idea for the simulator during the pandemic.
"We teach the machine and then the machine will teach the trainee and this will minimize or even eliminate the need for an in-person instructor in the same room," Nasr said.
Rather than practicing on humans, the simulator allows surgical trainees unlimited hands-on training, performing tasks guided by a computer monitor, mimicking what's going on inside a patient's body.
"It's like the flight simulation in the aviation industry," said Nasr. "We're trying to simulate the simulator to simulate the real O.R."
Each gesture is recorded, analyzed and assessed using artificial intelligence.
"I think this project is very promising and it's paving the way towards better training, and hence, this will translate to less complications and problems in the surgery," Nasr said.
As CHEO and Carleton University work towards a final prototype, Nasr and his team are confident that the simulator will better prepare surgeons for the operating room.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Severe thunderstorms, 15 cm of snow: Canadian weather forecast highlights
Well into spring, some parts of Canada could experience a wintry comeback, while other areas are bracing for severe thunderstorms, according to local forecasts.
Pope apologizes after using 'homophobic terms'
Pope Francis apologized Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church's ban on gay priests.
At least 60 reports of Lyme disease so far as Ontario enters tick season
Peak tick season is only just beginning but reports of bites – and tick-borne illnesses – are already higher than normal in Ontario.
Spy watchdog's foreign interference review finds 'unacceptable gaps' in accountability
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Public Safety Canada lacked a system for tracking who received and read specific intelligence on foreign interference, creating 'unacceptable gaps in accountability,' the national spy watchdog has found.
Tornado touches down west of the Island of Montreal
Emergency services in the town of Rigaud, Que. are investigating after a tornado touched down shortly after 5:30 p.m.
Man convicted in attack on Pelosi's husband back in court after judge's error
A man who assaulted U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband in 2022 will have another day in court on Tuesday after the federal judge overseeing the case failed to allow him to speak during his sentencing hearing earlier this month.
Teen was doing homework at family's Mississauga, Ont. restaurant when gunman opened fire: testimony
The 13-year-old sister of a young man killed in the attack on her family’s Mississauga restaurant in 2021 took the stand in a Brampton courthouse on Monday to describe the terrifying moments of coming under fire.
WATCH Airline pilot treated to stunning northern lights show during U.S.-Portugal flight
An airline pilot got quite a show on May 11 while flying from San Francisco to Lisbon when a solar storm caused stunning auroras.
Richard Dreyfuss' comments about women, LGBTQ2S+ people and diversity lead venue to apologize
The actor Richard Dreyfuss showed up in a dress at a 'Jaws'-themed event in Massachusetts, where the blockbuster 1975 movie he starred in was shot, and then proceeded to make demeaning remarks about women, LGBTQ2S+ people and diversity.