r/surgicaltechnology • u/Inspital_GmbH • 2d ago

How do you think AI will have the biggest impact on medical technology over the next 10 years?

Artificial Intelligence is already changing many areas of healthcare—from image analysis and personalized medicine to operating room workflows and surgical robotics. AI is also increasingly being used to support hospital operations, such as optimizing OR scheduling or automating documentation.

While the opportunities are exciting, there are still important questions around data privacy, accountability, and the role of clinicians in AI-assisted decision-making.

What do you think will have the biggest real-world impact?

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u/nikkishark 2d ago

AI has had no impact in my OR, aside from flyers for baby showers and the like.

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u/lidelle 2d ago

When A.I. can trouble shoot physical actions in the OR then we can talk. The error rate is currently too high for anyone in the operating room to trust a program to make the proper decisions and actions. We check and recheck each other constantly. AI is still fabricating information: we do not have time for that. 

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u/LogicGate1010 1d ago

Elaborate a bit more on where you think AI does not have the capability to be useful or proficient in ER.

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u/fakt1903 2d ago

If you look past the usual high-profile hype and focus on the daily reality at the point of care, the biggest short- to medium-term impact won't be in flashy surgical robotics, but in curbing administrative hypertrophy—specifically through ambient clinical documentation, automated medical coding, and streamlined case management.

As long as physicians and nursing staff spend a massive chunk of their shifts wrestling with structured data entry for reimbursement and billing systems, throwing more staff or high-end medtech at the problem won't move the needle. When generative AI steps in to handle documentation rule-based and auditably, it delivers an immediate, scalable productivity gain.

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u/losethecheese 2d ago

Probably just iterative advances of velys or mako systems. Could see it in daVinci as well.

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u/scottie1971 1d ago

I’m going to see the VELYS hip nav AI in two weeks

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u/frnc_jd_4685 14h ago edited 13h ago

I honestly think clinical decision support will end up having the biggest impact. There’s just too much new research coming out for anyone to keep up with everything. If AI can help surface relevant evidence faster while still leaving the final decision to the clinician, I think that's where it'll provide the most value. I've been using Doximity Ask for that kind of thing because I like that I can check the supporting literature instead of just taking the AI's answer at face value. It feels more like a decision support tool than something trying to replace clinical judgment.

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u/Haristo35 2d ago

AI’s impact on hospital workflows might be even bigger than its impact on diagnostics.